Love Draws Near: Widening the Table

“Trapeza, the Greek word for Table, is linked to hospitality and shared meals. Jesus spent time with people around tables so they would feel seen and loved by God. At Southpoint, we want people to feel seen and loved by God too. We want people to know they belong at God’s table… Regularly, we have meals together. We seek to share what we have with those in need. We are seeking to find ways to build a longer, more equitable table.”
—Southpoint Booklet
This past Sunday, we widened our table by making snack packs for people in our community who are living without a fixed home. Thank you so much for the incredible generosity of everyone who showed up. The tables were heavily laden with food, and everyone was busy filling up the bags and writing notes to go inside. There was so much food we ran out of bags! Madison and some of our youth then delivered the bags to the White Rock Warming Centre.
During communion, people named what they had been feeling downstairs while they packed the bags: “love”, “compassion”, “sadness”, “inadequate”, “grateful to be doing something”. We were aligning our lives to the movement of Divine Love, drawing near those who are most vulnerable and on the margins. I wonder if Jesus also felt such things at times.
I hope this is the beginning of an ongoing relationship with White Rock’s Daytime Warming Centre, which provides refuge for people experiencing homelessness during cold weather. The shelter offers light meals and snacks and bathroom facilities, as well as addresses basic medical needs, connects people to service providers, all of which improves the mental and physical well-being for centre guests.
Currently there is no daily overnight shelter operating on the peninsula, so this is the one place where people can come on cold days and feel warm. The City of Surrey does operate an emergency overnight shelter at the South Surrey Rec Centre on nights when an extreme weather event occurs.
The Centre (link to Daytime Warming Centre) is open daily, Dec 2nd – March 25th from 7:00 am-10:00 pm. Warming centre staff and security are on site at all times. Donations are needed and gratefully accepted. It is located at 14600 N Bluff Rd, in a modular building adjacent to the community gardens near Centennial Arena. Their number is 778-875-5447.
Here is a list of helpful donations:
disposable plates and cups for hot liquids, bags of sugar, large towels to to dry people off when wet, new socks, hand and feet warmers,
FIRST AID supplies (ointment, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, bandages);
FOOD items (fruit cups, pudding cups, pasta, pasta sauces, frozen veggies, quick flavoured rice, cereal, teriyaki and sweet sauces.
Deep peace and blessing,
Anne
Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Southpoint Church
Worship Calendar
Location & Zoom. We meet on Sundays at 10:00 am, 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 Southpoint Church” on Spotify and Apple.
Blogs
Catch up on Anne’s recent blogs under “News” on our website, southpoint.ca
Sun Feb 2
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
Luke 4: 21-30
Sun Feb 9
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
Luke 5: 1-11
Sun Feb 16
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
Luke 6: 17-26
Sun Feb 23 All OUT (Brunches)
No service in the Sunnyside building
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.

No comments