Together, We Care

Many have learned about the harmful displacement of Indigenous people when new people arrived. You are invited to extend this learning to the plants. New plants were brought over that are not in relationship with this place—they do not provide habitat or food for Indigenous people or animals. Some are invasive, spreading rapidly, taking over land where indigenous plants used to grow. Any actions we take to restore land with indigenous plants are acts of reconciliation.—Krista Boyes

Krista is a dear friend of mine. I had invited her to come to speak at our church this past Sunday, because she is wise and I find her words to be like a plumb line. They point me back towards the centre. They realign me back into right relationship with Gravity, with what is. She was unable to be with us due to an emergency surgery, but she shared with me some materials which we used to design an ALL IN around invasive species. She’ll speak to us on Thanksgiving Sunday, instead. Krista, who is a First Nations woman, has taught me that any action I take on behalf of the land is an act of reconciliation with her as an Indigenous person, because she and the land are one. 

We had a fun and meaningful ALL IN this past Sunday, cultivating kinship with each other and with the land. We played bingo, tossed bean bags, and learned the names of native and invasive plants. This learning will be more embodied this coming Sunday (Sep 29) as we gather at Kingfisher Farm to be with the land and pull invasive species as acts of kinship and reconciliation.

“Before we can truly care for this place, we must be in relationship with it. In the busyness of modern lives, fewer and fewer people are in relationship with the land where they live. They don’t recognize the life around them. They don’t know the names of plants, animals, or locations. They don’t know her stories. They don’t know how to care for the land, nor do they know how the land is already caring for them. Anytime we spend with the land getting to know her, is an act of reconciliation. Note the intentional wording of “with”. The goal is not to learn about the land, which is one-sided. The goal is to build reciprocal relationships where we get to know the land and the land gets to know us.” —Krista Boyes

I hope you can join us also the following day, Monday Sep 30, for the fourth annual Walk for Truth and Reconciliation, hosted by the Semiahmoo First Nation. The walk starts at Grand Chief Bernard Robert Charles Memorial Plaza at East Beach at 11:00 am and goes to Semiahmoo Park. The planned ending is 2:00 pm (link). This is a great opportunity for us to show our support. Let’s show up in numbers in our orange shirts!

Deep peace and blessing,

Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Southpoint Church

Sun Sep 29
Together, We Serve—ALL OUT
We are pulling invasive plants at Kingfisher Farm (512 172 Street)
Bring a snack to share, clothes that can get dirty and match the weather, and if you have them, hand clippers/small hand trowels, and work gloves.

Sun Oct 6—Feast Day of St Francis
Together, We Love
Krista Boyes, Gen 2: 1-9
To celebrate God’s love for all Creation, and the inclusive kinship we are invited to cultivate, you are welcome to bring your (better-behaved) pets today!

Sun Oct 13—Thanksgiving Sunday
Together, We Praise
Anne Baxter Smith, Ro 11: 33-36

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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