The Loop / April 11, 2023
Catch Up with the Last Series:
Weekly Announcements:
BELONG // EASTER THANK YOU!
Our Easter service was a lovely event and we want to send out a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped make it happen! We had extra volunteers handing out sandwiches, helping people find seats, running slides and sound, putting on a party for the kids, and subbing in on the band… just before service started! Revolution is a community, and it is always exciting to see the people here find new parts to play. If you can, send someone on any one of our teams–Welcome + Info, Coffee, Production, RevKids, and more!–a text or email this week thanking them for all they do to make Revolution a safe and welcoming place for people to learn more about Jesus.
We ALSO want to thank all of you who invited friends and family to join us on Sunday, too! We hope that your guests had a fun and encouraging visit, and if anyone has any questions (or would like to learn more about our church), please feel free to talk with Kenny anytime at kenny@revolutionannapolis.com or 803.727.8500.
We’re excited for the season to come at our church!
BELONG // NEWCOMERS’ BRUNCH THIS SUNDAY
Are you new(ish) to Revolution? Would you like a chance to meet other new folks, as well as some of the members of our Lay Leadership Team? Our Community Engagement Lay Leader, Liz Wheeler, is hosting a late brunch and hang out at her family’s home just around the corner from the Classic Theatre THIS SUNDAY just for you! It’s a drop-in, drop-out affair, so bring questions, enjoy some bagels, and stay as long as you like! The Wheelers’ address is 120 Sumner Road. No need to RSVP: just swing by after church that Sunday. We are excited to learn more about you!
BELIEVE // BAPTISM SERVICE APRIL 23
We have some amazing news to share! Our dear friend Dawn has asked to be baptized at Revolution as a way of publicly sharing her recent decision to rededicate her life to Christian faith. A brief baptismal service (15 mins) will be held for her at 12:15 at Heritage Baptist Church and everyone is welcome! We also want to invite you, if you are considering baptism as the next step in your own discipleship journey, to reach out to Kenny: he would be eager to talk with you about where you’re at and help with any questions you might have. You can reach him at kenny@revolutionannapolis.com or 803.727.8500!
BELONG // CHURCH FAMILY RETREAT MAY 5-7
Every spring at Revolution, we pick one weekend to take a real break by reserving a group campsite at Camp Harmison in Berkeley Springs, WV and taking the Sunday off from our normal weekly service. Everyone is invited, and the situation is what we like to call “camping lite”: there is a central building–with kitchen, fridges, bathrooms, and showers–and folks set up tents or pull up campers around it. The cost is $7/night/person, and if you want to come, you can sign up HERE! You’re also welcome to just come up for the day on Saturday or Sunday if you want… and if you need camping gear, there are plenty of folks who would be willing to help!
Of course, we recognize that camping isn’t for all of us! But even if you decide to stay local that weekend, we still want to encourage you to find a real way to practice stillness and rest. To that end, if you can’t attend, Kenny will prep a written meditation resource which we will share here, and on the Revolution website, before that Sunday.
This routine is important to us because we want to be intentional about how we pursue the Way of Jesus outside of Sunday services. Being a Christian involves taking community seriously–and that includes both our fellowship with one another at Revolution and our participation in the world around us. This weekend is intended to help us re-focus on these things… and we are excited to invite you to participate!
BELONG // MEN’S GATHERING: SATURDAY FIREPIT!
Our friends Tarmo Luik and Steve Phillips are hosting a fire pit night at Tarmo’s house on the Eastern Shore on May 13. The goal is simply to give the men in our church community a chance to hang out, make new friends, and develop deeper relationships. We’re hoping, as we build community for guys here at Revolution, we can work towards a men’s retreat this fall! Go ahead and save the date for now, and we’ll have more updates and information in the weeks ahead!
BECOME // PARTNERING WITH REVIVE
Here are the upcoming events with Revive:
FOOD PANTRY @ WAYSON WOODS (319 7 Oaks Ln, Lothian, MD): TBD
FOOD PANTRY @ MARYLAND MANOR (1500 Berkley Ct, Harwood, MD): Apr 22 @ 12pm-2pm
PUB THEOLOGY IN-PERSON (@49 West): TBD
Working with Revive is exactly how we envision service at Revolution: organic partnerships with active and passionate non-profit organizations already at work in our community. We hope to see you at a few (or even all) of these events!
BECOME // FOOD PANTRY OPPORTUNITIES
A lot of you know about our ongoing partnership with Heritage Baptist Church on their weekly food pantry: that pantry operates each and every Tuesday from 9-11, with prep work happening on Monday evenings. They could still use our help! So, if you are interested in serving during either time slot, please let us know at info@revolutionannapolis.com and we can get you connected ASAP. But there’s another opportunity to help our neighbors who are experiencing food insecurity, too! We are eager to build a new partnership with our friends at Eastport United Methodist Church, who operate an enormous food pantry/clothing drive/market event every 3rd Saturday morning! Go check things out–and sign up to help–this month on February 18. You can learn more by reaching out to their lead pastor, Chris Broadwell, at chris@eastportumc.org. He would love to hear from you!
BECOME // YOUTH GROUP
Revolution’s Youth Group meets on Sunday mornings! If you have a middle- or high school-aged teen (or if you are one yourself!), you’re invited to meet up with our youth leaders, Maggie Young and Robbert Olson in the lobby before service. Youth typically head across the street to Starbucks for a breakfast treat on us, to go along with a lesson and conversation. The goal is for teens at Revolution to make new friends, build honest relationships, and learn more about how to build a deep faith of their own. You can learn more with Maggie and Robbert on Sunday, or by emailing our Children’s Pastor, Shawn Livingston, anytime at shawn@revolutionannapolis.com.
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. This is particularly true as we continue to “emerge” from the pandemic! 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. But 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, Liz Wheeler (liziwheeler@gmail.com).
BELONG // STAY IN THE LOOP ALL WEEK LONG!
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