Refreshing the Earth

This summer, I hope you have experienced refreshment. I hope you have found meaning in remembering your birthright as children of the earth and children of God. God has knit into your created bodies the ability to rest, play, feel, move, reach out, and experience delight within creation. As summer comes to a close, we are widening our lens to include all of creation. It is God’s desire that the right to refreshment and renewal would be extended to all the corners of the Earth. 

On September 2nd, we begin a new season of the church year, the Season of Creation. The Season of Creation is an annual, global celebration to pray and respond to the cry of Creation. We will join in this ecumenical celebration once again this year, uniting to listen and care for our common home (link).

This year’s theme is “Let justice and peace flow”. In Amos 5:24, the prophet Amos cries out, “Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” We are invited to join this river:

“We are called to join the river of justice and peace, to embrace climate and ecological justice, and to speak out with and for communities that are most impacted by climate injustice and biodiversity loss.

Our prayers must call for justice not only for human beings, but for all creation. In covenant with peace, we are called to repent of our ecological sins and to change our attitudes and actions….

… The urgency is growing and we must make peace with the Earth and on the Earth visible, while justice calls us to repentance and a change of attitude and actions. When we join the river of justice and peace with others, it creates hope instead of despair.”

It is time to release our fixation with narrow denominational identities and national loyalties to join together, like streams flowing into a watershed, refreshing the earth.

Deep peace and blessing,
Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Church at Southpoint

(1) Forest Sunday
(2) Land Sunday
(3) Wilderness Sunday

Worship Calendar

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 Oct 1  Joy Banks
Refreshing Our Imagination
Introducing our Core Images.
Isaiah 55

Sun Oct 8   Jake Tucker
Thanksgiving Sunday
The God of Small Things
Luke 13: 18-21

Sun Oct 15  Anne Baxter Smith
Well
John 4:1-42 (**v 13-14)

Sun Oct 22 ALL OUT
No service in the Sunnyside building

For our next All-OUT Sunday, we’ll be splitting up into three ‘teams’ to enjoy a mixture of work and play near the ocean. Folks on the green team will get to join an invasive species removal event hosted by Green Teams Lower Mainland at Ruth Johnson Park. Just a short walk down from the park, folks on the blue team will participate in a beach clean-up walk. Finally, anyone who’d prefer coffee and conversation at the cafe can join the brown team — you are encouraged to bring brownies with you! 🙂 

Sun Oct 29 Fifth Sunday Brunches
No service in the Sunnyside building

Sun Nov 5   Anne Baxter Smith
Table 
Matthew 14:13-21

Sun Nov 12  Anne Baxter Smith
Net
John 21: 1-14

Sun Nov 19 Anne Baxter Smith
Seed
Mark 4: 26-29, Ps 26:5,6

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.