Taste and see that the Lord is good

I am not someone who loves whisky, but I do know that the way to enjoy it is to slowly swirl it around in your mouth, letting the liquid land on every part of your tongue, lighting up all five taste receptors: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and a fifth one, recently identified, umami.

I wonder what it would be like to taste life in this way, to taste God in this way… to slow down and sink into the experience?

I don’t know what lies ahead this year for each of us. But I do know this—it will have a much more complex and robust flavour than a “happy” new year. lt will be sweet. And a bit salty. It will have some bitter. And some sour. And there will be some rich umami. And that’s okay.

We are told that a happy life is a good life. But the most flavourful meals simultaneously hold both sweet and sour, salty and bitter. (Think of the magic of salted caramels—the salty and the sweet, together in one mouthful!) 

In the same way, our lives gain flavour as we grow in our capacity to hold both the sweetness and the sorrow, the longing and the filling, the crying out and the answer, the accompanying and the delivering, the holding onto and the being held.

We hold it—all together—inside of us, and together inside of us, God holds all. We feast on life. We feast on God.

Here’s one last little morsel of poetry from A Sanctified Art, modified a bit:

God of manger straw and swaddle cloth,
God of silent nights and joyfully-chaotic mornings,
we long to taste your goodness.

Quiet our minds.
Help us to sink deeply into this moment.
Help us to pause here,
to linger here with you.

Holy God of candlelight and open doors,
God of tables and feasts,

Like pennies shaken loose from our pockets,
we turn over every corner of our hearts
to give you our joy, our sadness,
our excitement, our fear, our anger.

Collect them all and hold us close
As we enter this new year. 

Today,
especially today,
we long to feel you near.

Deep peace and blessing,

— Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Church at Southpoint

Normal service time this Sunday!

If you weren’t at church on Sunday and are wondering why this needs to be stated: 

The Peninsula United folks had a dramatic flood at their Crescent site right before Christmas and the Fire Service has deemed their building uninhabitable. Repairs are underway but are likely to take some time—at least three months. Anne and Art have been conversing with their leadership about how best to share Sundays at the Sunnyside building so that our two services and that of the Unitarians all run smoothly.

For the moment, we’ll continue to meet at 10:00 am, Peninsula United will meet in the early afternoon, and the Unitarians will move to 4:00 pm. 

What changes for us? 

We will simplify our service so it’s shorter, leaving some time for lingering as well getting out the door on time to accommodate the Peninsula United choir practice and tech set-up.

See you at 10:00 am!

Worship Calendar

Location & Zoom. We meet on Sundays at 15639 24 Avenue, Surrey. Zoom is offered if you cannot attend in person. Zoom link. Meeting ID: 831 1690 9977 password: 753319

Listen to Sermons
Follow “Meditations from the Church at Southpoint” on Spotify, Apple and Google

Blogs
Catch up on Anne’s recent blogs under “News” on our website, southpoint.ca

Sun Apr 7
(2) Opening to Love
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
John 21:1-19

Sun Apr 14
(3) Receiving Clarity
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
Acts 3:12-19
 
Sun Apr 21
Rev Scott Swanson
Acts 4:5-12

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.

Sun Jan 8, 10:00 am
Under the Sweet Stars: Expanding our image of God
Anne Baxter Smith

Sun Jan 15 
Under the Sweet Stars: Expanding our image of God
Anne Baxter Smith

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.