Joy

Mary & Elizabeth, by Lauren Wright Pittman, A Sanctified Art, 2018

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb…”

In this moment of connection between Mary and Elizabeth, this deeply embodied, energetic exchange passed between them. Something moved between them, woman to woman, child to child. That thing was so palpable that John, the baby, leapt within Elizabeth. Standing together on that threshold of Elizabeth’s house, feeling that energetic flow of Spirit connection, they felt joy.

What if joy is that energetic flow within connections, like the electrical current that connects two filaments in a lightbulb? What if joy is an energy that can flow within even those tiny, seemingly insignificant, fleeting connections that happen everyday? What if these little eddies of energetic joy that moves through us, all intertwined and entangled into life, is the gift of the Spirit to us?

And what if this current of joy, which can contain elements of sorrow too, is flickering whether we are actively aware of it or not, keeping us warm, like the way a low flame on a burner warms a pot of soup. 

Later, over meals with friends and family, Elizabeth and Mary would recount this fleeting moment—how Elizabeth felt the baby kick, and knew this baby was holy. Somewhere along the way, Luke heard this story, and decided to include it in his gospel. He takes it out of the discard pile of women’s embodied stories and gives it a place of honour, right there at the beginning of his narrative about Jesus. And that brings me joy, too:)

Deep peace and blessing,

— Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, The Church at Southpoint 

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

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.

Progress Pride Flag by Daniel Quasar (link)

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