The Loop / December 17, 2024
Catch Up with the Current series:
This Week’s Announcements:
BECOME // ADVENT IS HERE!
Kenny here. On Sunday, December 1, we started our Advent series for 2024. If you’re new to Revolution, Advent is a special time for us: our services are more stripped-back, we use a more traditional liturgy… and we sing lots of Christmas songs! This is a special season for all Christians, and it is a great time for us to draw comfort from the traditions of our faith as we also intentionally practice waiting together. As we remember the patience of our ancestors in the faith, who awaited the arrival of a surprising Messiah 2000 years ago, we can also meditate on what we are still waiting for: the emergence of God’s Kingdom on this earth, and the return of our Savior, Jesus, who will lead us into the life and world we are designed for. We are excited to share this season with all of you. It’s my favorite time of year, and it will be wonderful to spend it with this community!
This season, we also want to share some Advent devotional resources with you, if you would like to spend more focused time in reflection and prayer this year. There are two resources in particular we are highlighting: a downloadable daily devotional guide from The Bible for Normal People, and a book called Honest Advent by Scott Erickson. Both are sincere, plain-spoken, and encouraging tools for you to use, if you would like.
BECOME // GIVING TREE “WRAPPED”
Each Christmas season, we partner with our friends at Lighthouse Shelter here in Annapolis to provide Christmas gifts to children in our community. On Sunday, December 15, we dropped off 30 gifts and 18 gifts cards to the shelter as a way of blessing our neighbors this season. Once again, your generosity was wonderful to see… and will be tremendously appreciated. Thank you for being a part of a community that strives to love our neighbors!
BELONG // UPCOMING ADVENT SERVICES
Just as a reminder, we will be meeting together for our 4th week of Advent service this coming Sunday, December 22, at Mills-Parole Elementary School at 10am… but this will be our LAST Sunday service of the year! For Christmas Eve, we are once again invited to participate in a multi-church candlelight service at Heritage Baptist on December 24 at 6pm. This is a great event each year, and it is always fun to worship alongside our friends from other church congregations. This is a family-friendly service, and we hope you can make it!
Please note that we will NOT be meeting on Sunday, December 29: enjoy a quiet weekend this holiday season!
And then we will resume Sunday morning services at MPES on January 5 at 10am!
BELONG // CHURCH MEETING ON JANUARY 12
You are invited to join us for our annual “Family Meeting” on Sunday, January 12 after service! Lunch will be provided, and these meetings each year are a great time for us to hear more from our Leadership Team and Kenny about the health of the church in 2024 and set a course for us in 2025. We hope you can make it!
BELONG // INTEREST SURVEY: WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE A LOCAL GROUP ON KENT ISLAND?
David Pinkham is exploring interest in a new group for folks who live on the “other side” of the Bay Bridge. If that community includes you, please take a moment to fill out THIS SURVEY to let him know what kind of group would most interest you (or folks you know). We are grateful for David’s efforts to humbly expand our community in this direction… and your feedback makes all the difference!
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).
BELONG // STAY IN THE LOOP ALL WEEK LONG!
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