Following Love’s Lead  

Luke 5: 1-11

I wonder what’s going through Peter’s mind, in the space between Jesus’s words of comfort and invitation, and them bringing in the boats deep-laden with fish and landing again on shore, where Peter leaves everything to follow this rabbi?

Is the security of Jesus’s love breaking through Peter’s defences, the walls of his insecurities? I wonder if, in this moment, Peter is letting go of the desire to feel ‘put together’ before this rabbi, trusting that Jesus truly is inviting Peter to take his part in what Jesus is doing, the way of love Jesus is unfolding. Even if Peter doesn’t know exactly what’s going to happen.

This moment, this shift, it reminded me of what I’ve been reading lately from a book by a former Guardian journalist, Oliver Burkeman, called Meditations for Mortals. Flipping self-help conventions on their head, he writes, “our ceaseless efforts to get into the driver’s seat of life seem to sap it of the very sense of aliveness that makes it worth living in the first place.” Living this way, Burkeman says, the days lose their “resonance”.

A little later on, Burkeman holds out an alternative: 

“A fulfilling and accomplished life isn’t a matter of exerting ever more control. It’s not about making things more predictable and secure, until you can finally relax. A football match is exciting because you don’t know who’ll win; a field of intellectual study is absorbing because you don’t yet have a handle on it all. The greatest achievements often involve remaining open to serendipity [or grace!], seizing unplanned opportunities, or riding unexpected bursts of motivation. To be delighted by another person, moved by a landscape or a work of art, requires not being in full control.

“At the same time, a good life clearly isn’t about giving up all hope of influencing reality. It’s about taking bold action, creating things, and making an impact — just without the background agenda of achieving full control. Resonance depends on reciprocity: you do things — you have to launch the business, organize the campaign, set off on the wilderness trek, send the message out about the social event — and then see how the world responds.”

I see Jesus as inviting Peter into a life of ‘resonance’ — where we’re open to grace, where we don’t have full control and yet we are secure enough in God’s love to be able to take bold action, trusting that something is unfolding as we follow love’s lead and see what happens. 

—Madison 

Madison Friesen, Community Life Coordinator

Many thanks to Madison for stepping in with this week’s meditation when Anne could not be present

A Message from Anne
Hello, dear church family, 
We moved my mother from the hospital back to her home on Friday. She has periods of deep sleep, periods of restlessness, and small periods of lucidity. Thank you for your prayers and your messages of support. We are ever so grateful for the week of unpaid leave offered to me by the Leadership Team. Thank you to all of you who are helping fill in, in my absence, and particularly to the Leadership Team who have reminded me that “together, we will find our way”.

—Anne

Sun Mar 30 Sunday Brunches — No Service at Sunnyside
Luke 15: 1-7

Anne Baxter Smith

Fri Apr 18 Good Friday
(Stay tuned for more info)

Sun Apr 20 Easter Sunday
Luke 24:1-12

Anne Baxter Smith

Sun Apr 27 All Out
More information to come

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 Feb 16 All OUT (Brunches)
No service in the Sunnyside building
Luke 6: 17-26

Sun Feb 23
Rev Janice Young
Luke 6: 27-38

Sun Mar 2
Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)

Sun Mar 9
Brent Unrau
Luke 4: 1-13

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.