Together, We Learn

“As people of faith, we don’t just state our beliefs—we live them out… Reducing the causes of climate change is essential to the life of faith.”

—Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

As we explore how to “Hope and Act with Creation”, the invitation of this year’s Season of Creation, let’s remember that positioning ourselves as learners is a powerful action to take. I have been inspired by Peter Jones, a member of Peninsula Church and climate activist. With a background in forestry, he spent most of his career helping to resolve conflicts over the use of forest land and natural resources. In retirement, he has been an active volunteer overseas with CESO and with the UCC here in BC. He hosts a monthly online small group called Climate Conversations which helps people deepen their understanding of climate solutions. 

I’d like to share with you a few gems he gathered in his last email:

Nuclear power produces ~ 15% of Canada’s electricity and will likely continue as part of the clean energy transition. Here are videos on an innovative plant backed by Bill Gates being built in Wyoming.

The Zero Emission Building Exchange is a platform for accelerating retrofits and reducing emissions from new buildings. Here are podcasts and webinars offered by ZEBx.

Although plastics products seem ubiquitous, alternatives to petroleum-based plastics are coming. Read about new bioplastics.  

MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative has developed an online simulator (En-ROADS) to provide policymakers, educators, businesses, the media, and the public with the ability to test and explore cross-sector climate solutions. An introduction to this exciting tool will be offered by Citizens’ Climate International during a ‘get to know us’ webinar on Sept 18.

What have you been learning that cultivates your own kinship with creation? Send in your links, and we’ll find a way to share them.

Deep peace and blessing,

Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Southpoint Church

Sun Sep 22
Together, We Care— ALL IN & Potluck
An intergenerational service 

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: Land as Home
Krista Boyes, Gen 2: 1-9
To celebrate God’s love for all creation, and the inclusive kinship we are invited to cultivate, we invite you to bring your animals to church this Sunday!!! (I trust your judgment about whether they can handle us, and we can handle them! My dog, Finn, will be staying at home:)

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.