Kinship and Boundaries

When do our boundaries around personal things (property, time, space, investments) become a dividing wall to kinship? When do they become barriers either in [our[ church community or in own moving through the world? How does your needing to hold on to whatever is important to you become a wall?  

In speaking about Acts 2:42-47, Nadia VanderKuip left us with questions like these, ones that she hoped would become part of our conversations as a community as we engage with our understanding of Kinship.

In our context— our particular, Western, individualistic, capitalistic culture, she urged us to see that this passage in Acts is one that we have to learn to hold in creative tension.

A “facade of kinship” develops when we in the church are “all similar, [with] unwritten rules that [everyone] understands and abides by whether we consciously realize it or not”.  In a truly multi-ethnic, multi-cultural bipoc-led church the tension is lived out constantly as every single person is coming from a different space and place and these conversations are ongoing.

The passage in Acts acts as a signpost for real Kinship, pointing to the importance of “developing roots and rhythms that hold the centre of a community together, like fellowship and prayer, eating together. It’s about being willing to sit down with each other and being honest about our capacity and commitment. Being honest about our internal biases and acknowledging systems that might be harmful. And perhaps most importantly, it’s about being vulnerable with one another. acknowledging where we need help and support, without feeling shame or guilt.”

“Kinship does not happen in a vacuum: it takes intentionality, love, a willingness to do the hard work and have the tough conversations. Kinship calls us to constantly think about our posture in our personal faith, in our collective community and in our world. It is messy, it is uncomfortable and it is challenging, but it can also be life giving and life changing.”

If you’d like to go deeper, Nadia drew upon the book by Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters.

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Thank you very much to Nadia VanderKuip (June 19) and to Donelda Seymour (July 3) who’ve offered meditations during Anne’s vacation absence. 

If you missed any mediations during this series exploring Kinship, the audio files are posted here on our website. 

Worship Calendar

If you’re planning to join us for an in-person service, please read our Covid policy. It’s kept up to date, here.

Location & Zoom. We meet on Sundays at 15639 24 Avenue, Surrey. Zoom is offered if you cannot attend in person. If you have trouble with the zoom link, use: meeting ID: 831 1690 9977 with password: 753319

Sermons Are Podcasted
Catch up on Southpoint sermons by finding the podcast “Meditations from the Church at Southpoint” on Spotify, Apple and Google. They’re also available on our website: www.southpoint.ca.

Sun. Jul 3
Kinship and Restorative Justice
Speaker: Donelda Seymour

NB on Summer Services this year :
– a 45-minute intergenerational service with communion  
– linger to eat and talk post-service

Sun. Jul 10
Intergenerational service at Sunnyside 

Sun. Jul 17
Intergenerational service at Sunnyside 

Sun. Jul 24
All Out – No service at Sunnyside **

Sun. Jul 31
Intergenerational service at Sunnyside 

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). Read Pastor Anne Baxter Smith’s bio here. Our website is southpoint.ca.

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To reach out by email please write to office@southpoint.ca.