Southpoint News April 21, 2017

Good Seed Sunday!
We are NOT meeting at Sunnyside this week. Rather, we will gather at A Rocha’s Brooksdale Conservation Centre (1620 192 Street, Surrey) for our ALL OUT Good Seed Sunday Celebration. This has become a treasured tradition for our community. Comejoin us at 10:00 am for a time of celebration of God’s good news for all creation and planting of onions. After planting, we will have a potluck baked-potato bar with our potatoes freshly baked in the outdoor pizza oven. Please bring toppings to share.

Jesus is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

When I grew up, I went to a little Baptist church that had only two liturgical days on the calendar – Christmas and Easter. Even as a child, it seemed abrupt.  Suddenly – voilà! – it would be Easter!  We’d dress up, hunt for our Easter baskets, sing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today!” The pastor would declare how Jesus died to save us from our sins so that we could have eternal life. The next week, everything was back to normal. As an adult, I find a deeper meaning by celebrating Easter within the unfolding story of the liturgical calendar. We prepare for Resurrection during Lent, we celebrate Resurrection on Easter, and we practice Resurrection during the season of Easter, which extends to Pentecost. During Holy Week, we witness and watch the movements of Jesus as he makes his final journey to the cross. His passion reveals the full measure of God’s love, and his resurrection reveals the full measure of God’s power. Love proves stronger than hate, mercy stronger than judgement, forgiveness stronger than vengeance. The very worst the Evil One throws at God becomes the agent of redemption. In this eucatastrophe, this sudden turning from sorrow to joy, there is room for the full breadth of my story. As my sorrow is drawn into Jesus’ sorrow, I find comfort and belonging. As Jesus draws my life into his resurrected life, I find healing and life. This is just a tiny glimmer of the mysterious power of Easter, which as a pastor, I seek to honour and articulate. Jesus walked among us, died, and rose again, so that we might have life, and have it abundantly. This Easter season, we will explore together how Jesus shows up, unexpectedly, in the middle of our diminished, desolate, fear-laden journeys. He appears to us behind doors locked tight in self-defense. He leads us out of hiding, back into the world, onto new paths that allow life to flourish, even in the midst of suffering, even in the midst of a bent and broken world.
– Pastor Anne Smith

Calendar
Upcoming Sundays

April 23 – ALL OUT – Good Seed Sunday at Brooksdale

April 30 – “Created with Delight, Redeemed with Love: An Exploration of Our Values as a Community” Who is God creating us to be as a church? Why is the Spirit drawing together? What do we value? What “even better yet” do we dream about? This Sunday, Kate Morgan will give us feedback on the values exploration we’ve been doing as a community. We won’t be listening to a scripture passage for the word of God, but we’ll be collectively listening for what the Spirit of God might be doing in us.

7 May – Up Close and Personal: Encounters with the Risen Christ

14 May – Up Close and Personal: Encounters with the Risen Christ

21 May – Up Close and Personal: Encounters with the Risen Christ

28 May – ALL OUT: Gathering Groups

Drinks and Delight: See invitation below from Sarah to all women – Friday Night! ?Southpoint women are coming together to share stories and deepen friendships on these Fridays, from 8:00 – 10:00 pm

28 April at Denise Unrau’s home at Kingfisher Farm to watch Enchanted April

5 May at Christie Goode’s home

12 May at Loree McDougall-Lade’s home, Kate Morgan is leading

26 May at Angela Neufeld’s home

2 June at Karen Jackson’s home for a hike

Youth Group (+13)

Each second and fourth Friday of the month Jen and Andrew Hubbard host the youth (aged +13) at their home. Meet from 6:00 – 8:00 pm for pizza, laughter and discussion. Next youth night is Friday, April 28.

Youth Baptism Class – starting this Monday, April 24, and continuing into June, Anne will lead this class 5:00-6:15 pm at Kingfisher Farm (512 172 Street, Surrey).

Community News
Friday Night: This week’s Drinks and Delight is hosted by Sarah Wildeman in the Coach House at Brooksdale (1610 192 Street) from 8:00-10:00 pm. The theme is Beauty: bring something (or wear something) that you find beautiful or that makes you feel beautiful or that reminds you of your beauty/strength. If you’re able, bring a favourite fruit to share. Cheryl will provide the drinks!

Calling all Gleaners! From Sunday, August 27 to Thursday, August 31, we’ve reserved space for 25 at the North Okanagan Valley Gleaner Society in Vernon, BC. The rhythms of our Gleaners day includes several hours of chopping veggies before noon in the relative cool of the day, followed by gloriously eternal afternoons playing in lakes and lounging (napping, for some) in the shade of the pines, and chats and games in the evening. We’ve found it works well to share meals – breakfast and lunch picnics and cooking supper in the small kitchen provided. There’s camping space for 25 people – let Anne know if you’re interested! This service of labour is gift to our global neighbours: the chopped veggies become dried soup mix sent for relief aid around the world.

Congratulations to Kate Morgan who has completed fourteen months of training and is launching as a Mindfulness Trainer! She has rented an office on 24 Avenue for the development of her own Mindfulness Practice (one-on-one, small groups, workshops) and is also sharing her passion for helping others through this “practice of present tense awareness” in the United Church’s Third Space Community Centre. Kate shares:  “Mindfulness is letting the mind and body be calm and receptive in the present moment. It is taught through a series of quiet exercises that focus on becoming deeply aware of your body, thoughts, and emotions in the present moment, and being able to hold that awareness in a gentle, non-judging way. The practice of mindfulness is foundational to so much of what can be done to help with things like ADHD and anxiety (in kids and adults), and has applications in nonviolent communication, mental health, physical health, parenting, relationships, and ‘social and emotional learning. ‘I’m so excited about this new chapter of my life and all the ways that it empowers me to help others. I welcome your prayers as I work through this transition and move out into uncharted territory.”

Prayers

We remember David, Shauna, Noah and Aidan particularly this week as they journey again through the loss of Thea, whose birthday is Sunday. Bright, brilliant blues were Thea’s favourite colour. We can quietly express our love for her family and our treasured memories of Thea in our choice of clothes this Sunday. As spring unfolds before us we also remember Rob’s deep trust in the Lord and his pleasure in the goodness of Creation.