Joseph’s “Yes”

WITHIN the story of Mary’s pregnancy, while these events are all unfolding for Joseph, her pregnancy—which we look upon as a holy story—did not feel holy. It did not feel of God. In fact, it appeared like the opposite. It felt to him like moral failure. It felt like betrayal. The subtle butterfly movements of the son of God within his life first felt like shame, fear, disappointment, betrayal, shock.

Have you ever, like Joseph, felt disappointed by the gap between the curving horizon line of your wants and desires, and the sharper edges of reality?

We can be sad, disappointed and feel grief when our desires are thwarted,and yet, it’s how we SHOW UP next that reveals who we are.  

Joseph illustrates this beautifully. Joseph’s original desired outcome for his marriage and family did not happen like he planned. But Joseph took the words of the angel to heart.

Joseph took Mary and Jesus into his home and protected them, much like Mary took Jesus into her womb and protected him. One in their generosity of spirit and faith, they raised him. Together, they gave him life and made a sanctuary for him, a safe place where he could grow. These choices were holy, moments when the desires and purposes of God were woven into human history.

In this third week of Advent, when we light the candle of joy, I invite you to hold your head high and be proud in the best sense of that word. Celebrate the ways you, like Joseph, have shown up with love and compassion, resolve and strength, kindness and faith, in the midst of circumstances that are far from your original hope or expectations. Through your choices in these moments, the holy gets birthed into the world. 

Deep peace and blessing,

— Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Church at Southpoint

Instructions For A Hard Choice

First, you must take a deep breath.
Let oxygen dance through your lungs.
Exhale it slowly. Allow the hurt, the shame,
the anger to rise up in you. Let your mind run wild,
like a million loose horses. Let the narratives unfold, unroll,
a river of choppy water. Ask yourself how you got here. Look
down at your feet. Roll your shoulders back. Remember who you
are. Take another deep breath. Then, walk it back to the beginning.

Instead of looking at your feet, look at hers. Imagine where she stands. Imagine what he needs. Dry the
river of false stories in your mind. Turn rushing water into a dry creek bed, certainly not clean enough to
drink. Call the horses. Bring them home.
Watch as they shake off the dust of the day. Name what
you’re feeling. Inhale again. Now you are ready
to choose a better
way.

Poem by Rev. Sarah Speed
A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org

All Through the Night

Angela has been leading this song during the children’s time, and adding actions. She thought you may like to have a link to Tom & Karen Wuest’s original song.  Here is a song sheet with the lyrics (and chords).

Worship Calendar

Location & Zoom. We meet on Sundays at 15639 24 Avenue, Surrey. Zoom is offered if you cannot attend in person. Zoom link. Meeting ID: 831 1690 9977 password: 753319

Listen to Sermons
Follow “Meditations from the Church at Southpoint” on Spotify, Apple and Google

Blogs
Catch up on Anne’s recent blogs under “News” on our website, southpoint.ca

Sun Apr 7
(2) Opening to Love
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
John 21:1-19

Sun Apr 14
(3) Receiving Clarity
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
Acts 3:12-19
 
Sun Apr 21
Rev Scott Swanson
Acts 4:5-12

New to Southpoint?

At Southpoint, it all begins with God’s love. Just as a plant grows, it receives sunshine, so we grow as we receive God’s love. At Southpoint, we are growing in our capacity to love God, ourselves, one another, and creation.

We seek to be a community of grace that is intentional yet organic, spacious yet authentic, grace-filled yet accountable. * We are fully welcoming. *

We encourage relationships rather than run programs, yet we recognize the importance of intentionality and structure as we nurture life together.

As a community, we seek to put our love in action. We value helping out on Sunday mornings, sharing food, and showing up in hard times. We keep our church life simple so folk have time to build relationships with family, friends, and neighbours. We encourage folk to serve in tangible ways within the wider community. We rent space rather than own a building, allowing us to do more with less, supporting missions at home and abroad.

Curious to know more?

These six slides express what motivates our ministry (best viewed on a monitor). Here’s the bio of our Pastor, Rev. Anne Baxter Smith.

If you’d like to really peek inside, sign up for our weekly Southpoint News (scroll to brown footer at bottom of page). The Southpoint News is a MailChimp distributed email—you can unsubscribe anytime and will not be added to our contacts list. Email us at office@southpoint.ca. Website: southpoint.ca.

Sun Dec 18, 10:00 am
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Children’s Pageant! 

Sat Dec 24, 4:00 pm (no zoom)
Christmas Eve service at Kingfisher Farm (barn) 512 172 Street, Surrey

Sun Dec 25
NO service

Sun Jan 1, 10:00 am
Christmastide 

New to Southpoint?

At Southpoint, it all begins with God’s love. Just as a plant grows, it receives sunshine, so we grow as we receive God’s love. At Southpoint, we are growing in our capacity to love God, ourselves, one another, and creation.

We seek to be a community of grace that is intentional yet organic, spacious yet authentic, grace-filled yet accountable. * We are fully welcoming. *

We encourage relationships rather than run programs, yet we recognize the importance of intentionality and structure as we nurture life together.

As a community, we seek to put our love in action. We value helping out on Sunday mornings, sharing food, and showing up in hard times. We keep our church life simple so folk have time to build relationships with family, friends, and neighbours. We encourage folk to serve in tangible ways within the wider community. We rent space rather than own a building, allowing us to do more with less, supporting missions at home and abroad.

Curious to know more?

These six slides express what motivates our ministry (best viewed on a monitor). Here’s the bio of our Pastor, Rev. Anne Baxter Smith.

If you’d like to really peek inside, sign up for our weekly Southpoint News (scroll to brown footer at bottom of page). The Southpoint News is a MailChimp distributed email—you can unsubscribe anytime and will not be added to our contacts list. Email us at office@southpoint.ca. Website: southpoint.ca.