Southpoint News – Week of April 14, 2019

Seeing Prophetically: The Sight for Sore Eyes

 

I grew up in a little house on a nondescript street in Ohio, sandwiched between two sisters with long blond hair. There was a small courtyard in our backyard, and in the middle of the courtyard was a tree whose yellow waxy blossom smelled like lemons.  In the corner of the courtyard, a little girl with her duck stood under an umbrella while water perpetually cascaded down around them. Pink impatiens surrounded the  fountain in the summer. I loved to sit among the flowers searching for their ripening seed pods. When I found one fat and ready to burst, I would gently press its widest spot with my fingertips until it popped,  black seeds spraying  every which way as the casement peeled back in a whorl.

In the winter, my mom would have sunshine parties on the floor of the living room by the big front window. When the spring storms came, she would gather us by the window to see how clouds build and winds blow.  One day we watched the big maple tree outside our house bend lower and lower under the wind until with a mighty crack it lay itself down, right between our house and our neighbors. To this day, I love a good storm.

I had a brown mouse named Friendly who fit perfectly in the palm of my hand.  My sisters and I each had a guinea pig. We would feed them mounds of clover and give them rides down our jungle gym slide. Lilacs bloomed in the spring by our trash bins. A row of daffodils  stretched across the chain link fence.  In late summer, cedar waxwings fed off the mountian ash while we lay on the roof, ripening in the sun.

My grandpa lived nearby.  Widowed in his 50’s yet living til 95, he built furniture in his basement, germinated flowers for his neighbors, and carved birds for his grandkids.  He was a silent man, but the works of his hands smelled like love. When we visited on weekends,  he let us go into his workshop and build boats. I remember the sight of curled wood shavings on the floor  and the smell of sawdust . When the rains came and our backyard flooded in the low spot, I would put my glass animals on my boats and take them for a ride.

One day, while I was still quite small, maybe 4 or 5, it rained in my back garden.  When I went outside I noticed water was pouring down the drain pipe and over the little pebbles in the cement trough. The tiny pebbles, bathed in water, glowed with color, lit up as they were by the sun.  Watching them,  my heart burst like a seedpod. As I bent over them,  I heard  these words echo inside my joy: “As you delight in these stones, oh small one, I delight in you.” Clear as day, the words filled every inch of my being. And in that moment, I knew that I was beloved.

When the color drains from the world and a void consumes my heart,as it sometimes does,  and I find myself once again in the wilderness, bereft of comfort and consolation, I continue doing what I always had done. I look for Presence. For the trickle of water over the stones. For the sudden burst of sunlight. For the unexpected hush of falling snow. Presence is always with us, making a way for us through the wilderness. “Can you see it?” the prophet says. “Can you not perceive it? Even now, it is springing up…”

It is not always easy to see water running in the wilderness. In fact, sometimes the world outside me is as flat and barren as the world within. However, when I put on my child’s eyes, and really look at the world, as if for the first time, I find what I’m looking for in due time. One small glowing stone, reminding me that Presence is with us. We are not alone.

ROOTS

Roots is a space for youth and young adults to go deeper. Deeper into God. Deeper into Friendship. Deeper into one’s self. Every Monday night @ 8:30, Anne and Craig’s home. Popcorn and tea always on tap. Gifts of munchies always welcome.

Next ALL OUT – Good Seed Sunday

On April 28 we will meet at ARocha for our annual onion planting extravaganza!

9:30-11:30

Bring snacks to share!

Summer Camping Trip

Southpoint is Camping Out at Mt. Seymour Provincial Park
June 28-July 1.

Registration info and $ is due now.  Talk to Angela if you need a form. (etransfers, cash and cheque)

Parent conversation:

We would love to continue to be intentional about our youth, faith formation, relational building, etc.  We are inviting parents of kids 10 and up on Wednesday May 1, 7:30pm to Kingfisher Farm.  Please rsvp to Angela

April Calendar

Lent 2019 – “VISION”

/?viZH?n/
noun

*the faculty or state of being able to see.
*the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.

“Behold, I am doing a new thing, now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”
Is. 43: 9

Week 6: Palm Sunday, April 14th  – “Appearances  Can Be Deceiving” – Anne preaching

“Prompted by holy curiosity, we’re sure to discover there’s always more to the story.” – Ryan Taylor

Luke 19:28-40

April 15th – April 20: HOLY WEEK

If our vision had cleared a bit in lent, it is about to be scattered, distorted, and lost in Holy Week.  But this takes us way back to the beginning of what we learned in the wilderness:  “Things aren’t always what they seem”.   

April 19, Good Friday: “Darkness re-presents us with the reality that we cannot see everything. Let alone control most events, people, and situations…Learning to trust in the dark, we trust that God is moving in all the places that we cannot see or manage.” 

You are invited to drop by and walk through the Stations of the Cross @ Kingfisher Farm on Good Friday between 10-2. The stations are scattered through the woods and property of Kingfisher Farm. It is a meaningful and accessible way, particularly for children, to experience with our bodies and hearts the story of Jesus’ death. Walking this journey with Jesus opens us up to a greater awareness his love for us, and opens us up to a greater compassion for our God who suffers with us, and for the suffering of our world.  Walking the stations of the cross is a chance to practice faith-filled seeing.

April 21, Easter Sunday:   “Beyond Our Wildest Imagination” – Anne preaching

“May the resurrection be experienced here today, as enemies are moved toward reconciliation, exclusion becomes embrace, and as voices of criticism and hate are transformed into encouragement.” – from the Liturgy of Sacred Sight

Bring a handful of flowers with you and a celebratory treat to share. We’ll decorate the cross with our flowers and feast on food and sunlight. He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

April 28, Good Seed Sunday Celebration:

We will be gathering at Brooksdale to plant onions together. Bring snacks to share!

Have an Announcement?

If you have an addition you would like included in this newsletter, please send a prepared announcement as you would like it to appear to: office@southpoint.ca by Tuesday and we will get back to you.

Prayer

If you have a need for prayer that you would like to pass on to the prayer chain, please contact John Hardy.