Refresh: The Gift of Embodiment

Summer invites us to unfurl from our winter cocoons. We get to stretch our limbs in the sun, go barefoot in the grass, follow footpaths through forests, swim in clear lakes, bask in the cool shade on a bench. It’s easier to be embodied in the summer. Being in our bodies, even when there are limits to what our bodies can do, brings us back to life. We touch what is real.

Perhaps this is why I have loved this quote ever since I read it. I’m sure I’ve shared it with you before, but repetition is the stuff of learning, so I share it again. Listen to the way Frederick Buechner honours our embodied, human existence:

I DISCOVERED THAT IF you really keep your eye peeled to it and your ears open, if you really pay attention to it, even such a limited and limiting life as the one I was living on Rupert Mountain opened up onto extraordinary vistas. Taking your children to school and kissing your wife goodbye. Eating lunch with a friend. Trying to do a decent day’s work. Hearing the rain patter against the window. There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, always leaving you room to recognize him or not to recognize him, but all the more fascinatingly because of that, all the more compellingly and hauntingly. …

If I were called upon to state in a few words the essence of everything I was trying to say both as a novelist and as a preacher, it would be something like this: “Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”—From Now and Then and Listening to Your Life

Touch, taste, smell your way to the holy… I like that.

As a doorway into a more embodied life, we invite you to a gentle mix of yoga and meditation tonight at 7:00 pm at Kingfisher Farm (512 172 St).Led by a certified yoga instructor who offers a low-barrier experience for all ages and abilities to facilitate increased embodiment, this is a safe space for us to gather and connect with our bodies, wherever we’re at.

Come with a water bottle, a yoga mat (there will be extra mats available if you don’t have one to bring) and dressed comfortably for the weather and for movement.

Hope to see you there!
Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, 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
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.