As a church, we want to cultivate kinship with God, one another, and creation. This kinship is based on our understanding that the natural world is interrelated by Creator’s design, and that we humans, as creatures and cohabitors of this world, are part of this net of belonging. In the summer, we take our Sunday gatherings outside so we can experience this kinship with Creation, and so we can reconnect to God and one another within creation’s embrace.

This past Sunday, we gathered on the unceded, traditional, ancestral lands of the Coast Salish peoples. We gathered within the watershed of the Nicomekl River. We gathered on a farm settled by the Stewart family who farmed hay and helped build the local school, church, community hall, and river dykes of Elgin. We gathered near the newly constructed Totest Aleng, a beautiful art studio which supports Indigenous cultural practices and hosts open houses and workshops on specific dates throughout the year. On Sunday, we chatted, picnicked, and walked along the river, through the forest, and amongst the marshland of Elgin Heritage Farm. We are part of this land’s history, too.

This week feels like the apex of summer. The sun is out, the tomatoes are ripening, and the water in the bay is warming. I feel this sense of urgency to make the most out of this abundance of light and warmth. I’ve also been sick this week, and my body is making me slow down. I am having to remember my own invitation that I spoke on Sunday to those gathered:

“Try as best you can to be in your body. Take time to slow down and be present to what is around you. Linger. Pause. Enjoy the abundance through your senses. What colours can you see in water? What sounds can you hear? Take time to feel the textures. Taste the blackberries. Smell the plants.

Notice all the forms of abundance within the land. Nature doesn’t hoard—it offers. What does this teach us about the nature of abundance? As you walk, listen for what God might be wanting to share with you through the land. When it is time to return back, offer this place a gesture of gratitude—a smile, a respectful bow.”

In the slowness of my sick days, the abundance of light and warmth finds me. I’m grateful for this ease of access. I’m also aware of my own privilege – the access I have to this abundance is so far removed from the genocide in Gaza that it makes my head and heart spin. Last night this kept me up, as I held gratitude and grief together in my heart like two sleepless children.

I wonder what you are holding in your heart this week? Perhaps there will be a moment this week where you pause and notice the world inside your heart. Perhaps there will be a moment this week where you pause and notice the world outside your skin. In those moments, perhaps you will pause and let Love draw near to your heart, too.

Deep peace and blessing,
Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Southpoint Church

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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

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