Friendship:”Found Family”

We often make friends with those who are similar to us. So often, cultural, historical, racial, and economic differences divide us, but sometimes, the richest gifts are found in friendships with those who are different from us.
 
On Sunday, Janice Young shared an unusual and personal story of unexpected friendships with the Nuxalk First Nation in Bella Coola.
 
Her story began 140 years ago when her Norwegian great-grandfather came to BC to collect cultural treasure for the Ethnological Museum in Berlin. The story she heard as a child about an adventurous and courageous explorer and collector began to shift when as an adult she realized that her ancestor had contributed to the harm and loss of culture experienced by First Nations people in Canada after European contact.  
 
Seeking to find a way to create a better relationship with the Nuxalk Nation, Janice, with the help of the Rev. Donna Dinsmore and the United Church congregations in Bella Coola, made a visit in 2017 to Bella Coola with ten members of the Peninsula United Church congregation to listen, learn and speak the truth about her ancestors. That visit opened a path to grace-filled opportunities, more friendships, and witnessing and celebrating the repatriation of a Totem Pole from the Royal BC Museum to the Nuxalk Nation. 
 
Janice is now working with her Norwegian cousin to find a way to help bring the Nuxalk cultural treasures home from Berlin to Bella Coola, hopefully in their lifetimes.

Janice has been on a journey to bridge the gap between these treasures and the people they were taken from as part of her own work of restoration. In the process, she has found lost family members and experienced new, unexpected friendships. Her story is a reminder of how God weaves us into healing friendships across lines of difference, bringing restoration.

Reflection
Have you had a friendship with someone who was very different from you? A friendship that came about in a surprising way? Was that friendship healing for you in some way?

Friendship Nudge
Look for moments this week to warmly engage with people who are different from you. It can be as simple as interacting with a store clerk or server. Notice the fruit of those interactions within you and between you. 

Deep peace and blessing,

Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Southpoint Church

Sun Aug 25 Wild Church at Kingfisher Farm
No Service in the Sunnyside building
10:00 am, 512 172 Street
Bring baked goods to share, and a hot drink of choice

Six-Week Season of Creation

Sun Sep 1
(1) Together, We Hope
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
Rom 8:20-21, part 1

Sun Sep 8
(2) Together, We Act 
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
Rom 8:20-21, part 2

Sun Sep 15
(3) Together, We Learn 
 Is 11:1-9 Jodi Spargur

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.

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