Practising Kinship: “We Are Southpoint”

In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.Romans 12:5

“This is Southpoint”—this is the name of the perpetual birthday calendar hanging in our sanctuary. The building we meet in is not our church. Sunday morning service isn’t our church. We don’t GO to church. We ARE church. As a church, our purpose is to EMBODY Jesus. ENFLESH Jesus. Church is being in kinship with one another, in Jesus. It is about extending this kinship outward into the world.

In the same way there are practical things we do to take care of our physical body to keep us healthy, there are practical things we can do to take care of our church body. If we neglect our body, we grow weak, get sick, feel lethargic, experience a build up of toxicity. 
 
Paul, in Romans 12, lists ways we can keep our church body healthy. Some of you have asked for this list which I shared on Sunday. Here you go: Anne’s paraphrase, based on the Message and the NIV and my own simplification/ contextualization of Romans 12:5-21.

•  Be true to who you are: Live out your gifts. Live them out  in ways that benefit and serve each other.
• Don’t fake that you care. Don’t play “nice.” Love from the centre of who you are. 
• Run from what harms. Hold on to what heals.
• Be devoted to loving each other. Use actions and words.
• Practise playing second fiddle. You are good enough, just as you are. You don’t need to be the best, the first, the centre of attention. 
• Protect your zeal and enthusiasm by stewarding your energy, so that you may keep serving God.? Be expectant that God is up to good things. This hope will bring you joy.
• In hard times, be patient. You won’t always feel this way. Goodness will find you. 
• In good times and in painful times, keep praying.
• Share. If you have extra, and someone doesn’t have enough, give what you can to help that person in need
• Welcome each other. Practise creative hospitality.
• When you are angry, and someone feels like an enemy and you want to curse at them, whisper a word of blessing over them instead. Hold love and anger together in your heart.
• Laugh with those who laugh. Weep with those who weep. Get close enough to know what each other are feeling. 
• Don’t be proud or judgemental.Try and understand the other person’s perspective, and seek to get along with each other.
• Make friends with the “nobodies”; don’t just hang with the popular people.
• Don’t hit back.
• Discover beauty in everyone.
• As much as it is up to you, do what you can to be at peace with others.
• Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it..”
• If you see your “enemy” hungry, go buy that person lunch. Catch people off guard with goodness. 
• Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

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
Follow “Meditations from the Church at Southpoint” on Spotify, Apple and Google

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

Sun Apr 7
(2) Opening to Love
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
John 21:1-19

Sun Apr 14
(3) Receiving Clarity
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
Acts 3:12-19
 
Sun Apr 21
Rev Scott Swanson
Acts 4:5-12

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. May 29  
Church at the Long Table at Redwood Park at 10:00 am
17900 20 Avenue, Surrey
On fifth Sundays of a month we don’t meet in the church building. Come, let’s have some fun this month at Redwood Park, Surrey!

Bring:
Games to play (board games, lawn games like croquet or frisbee).
Whatever you need to enjoy being out doors: picnic blankets, lawn chairs, water bottles, sun hats.
Your curiosity about each other.
Bring food to share! and your own plates & cutlery, with serving utensil.
Bring a travel mug full of what you need to hydrate.

This event goes ahead whatever the weather. (That said, if it’s going to be severe, there will be an email to call it off : ) 

June

In-Person at Sunnyside! 
15639 24 Avenue
 
Sun. Jun 5 
Speaker: Anne Baxter Smith
Kinship in the Spirt

Sun. Jun 12
Speaker: Anne Baxter Smith

Sun. Jun 19
Speaker: Nadia VanderKuip

Sun. Jun 26
All Out Service

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.