ALL OUT THIS SUNDAY

Sometimes its important to step back and say, “Why do we do what we do?”

When I arrived 8 years ago to pastor Southpoint,  this unique rhythm of ALL-IN’s and ALL-OUT’s was already a part of Southpoint’s worship.  ALL IN worship was created to help embody Southpoint’s vision of being an intergenerational church that values the role, presence, and gifts of children in our community.  Therefore, for our ALL IN’s, Angela and I craft services that keep the unique needs of children in mind. Engaging their minds and hearts stretches us all as we shift our worship towards the embodied, sensory, tangible, and participatory.  We gather at the WELL of Jesus, which is what we do every Sunday in our worship. But the gathering is a bit noisier and messier. It’s more like a bunch of camels and their drivers  rather than silent gazelles sipping from a watering hole.  We are family.

ALL OUT worship was created to be an embodiment of our outward focus. We wanted to go OUT to be menders of the NET, building relationships and networks, serving and loving our neighbors. In my early years at Southpoint, I wanted to find ways of serving together on our ALL OUT Sundays.  For a while we went to God’s Little Acre and helped. Or we would make apple cider at Brooksdale for Small Ritual. But it became harder and harder to find places who wanted a growing body of volunteers to manage on a Sunday.  At the same time, there was a sense that we needed to restore some of the relationships within our church. The threads of connection binding us had become stretched thin. Having our gathering groups host our ALL OUTs was our response to this challenge.  We still go outside of the safety and isolation of a church building, and we still get to plant our seeds together on Good Seed Sunday. However, mostly we are gathering together intergenerationally in homes or outdoors, building stronger relational connections together.

Each group generates its own plan for their ALL OUT. The options are many and what each group does in the course of a year may vary: a walk in the woods, pot luck breakfast, soup making for someone in need, beach clean up, pumpkin carving and sharing, or a picnic at the beach. There is a diversity of expression in what this intergenerational time together looks like.

This Sunday will have our next Gathering Group ALL OUT.  We place everyone who is a regular in a gathering group so that you have a place to go, if you want to participate. If you are a visitor and would like to try a gathering group out, or if you are a newcomer who hasn’t been assigned a group, please let me know and I’ll be happy to place you in a group for this Sunday: aksmith64@gmail.com

Happy Sabbath everyone!
– Anne

Fall Sunday Calendar

10/27 – ALL OUT –

11/3 –  Actions
         1 John 3:16-24 

11/10 –  Responsibility and Accountability
         Gal 6:1-6

11/17 – Inspiration
         Romans 12:9-21 

11/24 – ALL IN: Christ the King Sunday –  Joy
         John 15:1-17

Pledge Drive:

Our pledge drive for the 2020 budget year is underway.   We will be collecting the pledges for the month of October so we can begin to build our new budget in the beginning of November. Please email your pledges by the first Sunday of Nov. or bring your pledge card to church.

Thank you!

Budget Update:

Our donations to date are $76,400 for the year.  To meet our projected giving which we based on last year’s pledges, our donations need to be at 75%. We are currently at 70%, leaving a shortfall from our projected giving of  $5000. Life is unexpected and circumstances change. If you find yourself in this situation with either an increase or decrease in your income, we understand. You can confidentially adjust your pledge with Sarah for the rest of 2019. Keeping her informed will give us an idea of what adjustments need to happen this year to stay within our budget.  We trust in the abundance of God at the heart of all things.

Week at a Glance:

NEXT Roots:

9th grade to young adults
Tuesday @ 7:30 at the farmhouse living room of Kingfisher Farm.  Facilitator of the week: David Anderson

NEXT Southpoint Central:

Nov 20th at the Hardy house.
Address: 14386 32nd Ave, Surrey
Time: 6-7:30

Bring a pot-luck dish to share!

Up and Coming:

Winter Retreat at Camp Tulahead:

Save the date!!! February 14-17, 2020 (3 nights).  PLEASE TURN IN YOUR REGISTRATION TO COLIN.

Have an Announcement? Prayer Request?

If you have an announcement for the newsletter, please send it fully prepared and edited to: office@southpoint.ca by Tuesday.  If you have a prayer request to share with our prayer chain, please contact  johnandwendyhardy@gmail.com