A Native Christology: Kinship

—Steven Charleston’s thoughts, summarized by Anne Baxter Smith from The Four Vision Quests of Jesus [Steven Charleston bio and book]

Easter is not about a few of us getting to escape this sorrowful situation because we grabbed the coattails of Christianity and made it out before the big collapse.

It is not about something Jesus did for me, it is about who he became for us. 

Jesus did not die as a blood sacrifice of atonement, nor was his death divine retribution. It was an act of divine self-sacrifice, a love so profound that it brought enough Good Medicine in the world to heal the broken hoop of the nation for every person on earth.

The tombs broke open, people were raised. Individuals isolated by burial and exiled from the family of the people, were restored to communal life.

Jesus, the Christ, came out of the grave and rejoined the tribe of human beings. Isolation is rolled back. 

On the Cross, Jesus restored the most essential aspect of creation: KINSHIP. 

It is the prodigal son story on a cosmic level.

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Indinawemaaganidog

‘All of my relatives’ 

You are invited to listen to this wonderful 9-minute video (on Facebook) in which James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw shares the relational, cultural and spiritual implications of this important phrase to the Anishinaabe peoples: “All of my relatives.’ A descendent of Turtle Mountain, James is an author and the creator of Ojibwe Word of the Day. He is recognized as a leading voice on the interconnectedness of language and culture; his insights were developed through speaking with and recording elders and native language speakers  (many of whom have since passed on) in Canada, Michigan and Minnesota as part of the Ojibwe Language Dictionary Project.

Sun. Apr 24, All OUT Good Seed Sunday!
1620 192 Street, Surrey
10:00 am
Gather at A Rocha’s Brooksdale Environmental Centre rain or shine to plant this year’s onions. Bring a picnic for afterwards… 

Sun. May 1  Kinship I
Speaker: Jen Hubbard
Samuel 16:1-13 

Sun. May 8 Kinship II
Speaker: Anne Baxter Smith

Sun. May 15 
Speaker: Nadia VanderKuip
Kinship III

Sun. May 22 All In
Speaker: Anne Baxter Smith
Kinship IV

Sun. May 29 
Fifth Sunday Fun—Stay tuned!

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.