The Loop / April 16, 2024
Catch Up with the Current series:
This Week’s Announcements:
BELIEVE // BAPTISM: APRIL 21
THIS SUNDAY, ON APRIL 21, WE WILL BE CELEBRATING A BAPTISM! After service, you're invited to head over to Heritage Baptist Church with us to cheer for Maggie Young, who will be taking the next step of baptism in her faith journey. Maggie was baptized into Christian fellowship as an infant, but she has decided to take this public step as a believing Christian adult... and we are eager to cheer for her! Due to restrictions in our lease agreement, we can't do this on Sunday morning at Mills-Parole Elementary... but our friends at Heritage have invited us to use their baptistry, so we will gather there at 12:15 pm for the event. We hope everyone can come!
At Revolution, we believe that the first step of a real, committed relationship with God is making the decision to be baptized. When we are baptized, we are acknowledging the reality of our sins and the pain they have led us to, and then trusting in Jesus to renew our life and offer us living hope. This is an opportunity that is open to everyone who wants to pursue Christian faith, and when someone in our community decides to be baptized, it is cause for celebration! If you have questions about baptism, or if you would like to talk to Kenny about a desire to be baptized, you can reach out to him any time at kenny@revolutionannapolis.com or by calling/texting 803.727.8500. Sending a message isn’t a commitment on your part to be baptized! But it is a commitment on our part to meet with you to answer your questions.
BELONG // FAMILY RETREAT REGISTRATION
Our next retreat will be our Family Retreat on May 17-19 at Camp Harmison in Berkeley Springs, WV. This retreat is open to everyone who considers Revolution their church home, and it involves a “camping lite” experience: a covered shelter, fireplace, full indoor kitchen, and bathrooms/showers are available… but if you would like to stay on-site, you will need a tent or RV for sleeping. If the tent life isn’t for you, some folks also elect to get hotel rooms in Berkeley Springs for the night and visit with the rest of the crew at Camp Harmison during the daytime hours… so that’s also an option!
This weekend is one of our very favorites each year: it’s a great chance to make new friends, play games, share stories around the fire, and find some much-needed space for relaxing. You can sign up today by clicking HERE!
BELONG // WOMEN’S GATHERING ON APRIL 28
Our Church Life Lay Leader, Maggie Young, is organizing a gathering for women in our church community as a follow-up to last November’s Women’s Retreat. The objective will be to talk through how often the women in our church would like to get together (monthly?), what we want to do together (study? Fellowship?), and how we can best communicate and connect (text? email? carrier pigeon?). The meet-up will be at 12:15ish at Emily Heller’s home (she lives in Severn Condos in Eastport; please get in touch with her or Maggie for address). The plan is “Bring Your Own Lunch,” and the vibes are relaxed and encouraging. We are so excited to be growing as a church family in this season, and we are looking forward to creating more ways for everyone to connect! If you have any questions, you can get in touch with Maggie (youngmaggie14@gmail) or Emily (best found hanging out after church!).
BELONG // ONLINE BIBLE STUDY GROUP
The Online Bible Study is a great place to get involved in community and expand your understanding of Scripture… all from the comfort of home! Starting April 15, this group will begin a 10-session study on Christian Community covering what it means to be a part of a local church. This will be followed in June by a study called Faith: Depending on God: this 9-session study will hopefully lead to discussion on how faith works, what happens when we face uncertainty in our dealings with God, and all sorts of other questions. After that (sometime in August), the group will break for a few weeks and then dive into Letters to the Church. You are always invited to jump in with these studies any time! The group meets on Monday nights over Zoom, and for more information about how to get involved, just get in touch with our Discipleship Lay Leader, Dante Griffin, at dangriff67@gmail.com!
BECOME // TURTLE BUS UPDATE!
Last week, our friends at Mills-Parole invited us to help them raise funds for a bus rental to help their Terrapin Club travel to Poplar Island to release their pet turtle into the wild. You guys made it happen… and then some! Not only did we raise the necessary $236 for the bus rental, we raised an additional $200 which we are donating so they can order t-shirts for all the kids. It is such a tremendous joy to be a part of this generous community! This gift is a huge encouragement to the school. Thank you all for loving your neighbors well!
BECOME // OUR FIRST “PANTRY PARTY”!
At Revolution, we are always looking for easy and impactful ways to serve our community. The Marshall Hope food pantry was started by a mother of four, and it services about 400+ Hispanic families twice a month. It is located at the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Annapolis (just down the road from the Millers), and besides groceries, meat, eggs and other staples, their pantry includes a baby pantry where clothing, baby equipment and toys are given out to those in need. So how can we help?? Well, we can join others once a month in the evening to organize and prep what is given out. We are calling this a “Pantry Party,” and everyone is invited! Our first party will be held on Tuesday, April 23rd from 7-9. For more information or to sign up for the fun, contact our Community Engagement Lay Leader, Cathy Miller, at cathygrowinghealthy@gmail.com or 717-602-69170.
BELIEVE // COFFEE, ANYONE?
Do you have questions? Doubts? Would you just like to talk through things with someone? Kenny is also always up for that, too! Just send him an email (kenny@revolutionannapolis.com) or text (803.727.8500).
BECOME // SUPPORTING REVOLUTION CHURCH
At Revolution, we believe that our church needs to be a witness to God’s bottomless love and an example of what it means to wrestle and grow with our faith together. Following Jesus isn’t easy! But even in our doubts, if we take the things we are struggling to believe and put them into practice together, we learn to ask better questions and live in ways that are more beneficial for others.
If you want to join us in this mission, you can be a part in a few different ways:
First, you can commit to presence: it is our sincere hope as a church that you find real purpose and meaning in being a part of our services and groups at Revolution. They exist for you! But have you ever thought about what you have to offer those gatherings in return? Your unique perspective, hopes, experiences, and struggles are part of the bigger story of our church. You have an important part to play here, and that part begins by making faithful presence a priority!
Second, you can commit to generosity: we want to imitate God’s generosity by looking for ways we can share what we have been given with others to bring hope, justice, and safety to our neighbors. One way you can practice that generosity is by supporting our ministry here at Revolution financially: we are a non-profit organization committed to maintaining a Christian ministry in Annapolis, forgiving the debts of our neighbors, and financially supporting both church plants and existing churches in our area. Your gifts help keep this commitment going! But we also want to make sure you know that giving is important no matter where you do it: find a non-profit, charity, or aid organization whose cause you support and make a plan to be faithful and generous towards them! God can do more with our resources than we can… and giving is one of the practical ways we put our trust in what He can do.
Third, you can commit to service: here at Revolution, we are in need of all sorts of volunteers to keep our ministry going. If you are available to help out on any of our Sunday morning teams, or with any of our groups or other outreach ministries during the week, we need you! This is a great way to contribute to the church… and to make new friends.
The city of Annapolis needs help, too! If you are able, make time in your week to participate in a routine act of service for our community. There are multiple food pantries we support, all of whom need help, as well as opportunities to work with kids in need of tutoring, care for unhoused residents in our city who need assistance, and serve as an advocate for a variety of justice-seeking non-profits working to make Annapolis a more equitable place to live. For help a place to serve, just talk with Kenny (kenny@revolutionannapolis.com) or our Community Engagement Lay Leader, Cathy Miller (cathygrowinghealthy@gmail.com).
BELIEVE // SO, A LOT OF YOU REALLY DO READ THE LOOP!
Final count on folks who read all the way to the end last week and then texted me about it? SEVEN! Way to go, Revolution fam!
BELONG // STAY IN THE LOOP ALL WEEK LONG!
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