Hi Friends,

It’s going to be beautiful on Saturday and you have the opportunity to spend some of the day helping at the Godman Guild! This is one of Continuum’s longest-running and most fun outreach projects. Godman Guild is an agency that has been working tirelessly for decades to provide opportunities for the neighbors in Weinland Park. We support their efforts by coming alongside them to do all those projects they can’t get to: painting, cleaning, weeding, planting, trimming bushes … Whether you are most comfortable with a power tool, a garden trowel, a paintbrush or a broom we can use your help!

The Details:

Where: Godman Guild is located at 303 E 6th Ave. There is plenty of free parking at the building and on the surrounding streets.

When: We have two shifts for the day 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. You can come for either shift, or stay for the whole day!

Who: Everyone is welcome at this community event! Invite a friend who doesn’t already attend Continuum Church and let them see what our congregation values. Also, KIDS ARE WELCOME, but parents should plan to keep an eye on young children. We will make every effort to find projects families can do together.

Clothes: Please dress in clothes you can get dirty (including paint!), and wear closed-toe shoes for safety. You might also consider wearing a couple of layers to keep you comfortable throughout your shift. You can also bring gardening gloves or work gloves.

Food and Drink: We’ll have some light snacks and coffee in the morning, and lunch will be provided for all volunteers in both shifts (I hear there will be a vegetarian choice). I encourage you to eat a good breakfast and to bring a refillable water bottle with you.

Don’t forget to join us on Sunday as we continue our discussions on the book of Revelation. This week: God’s message to the church in Smyrna, and to us. Coming to you live on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at the Gateway Film Center. Afterwards, lunch together at Pizza Rustica!

So are you ready to go?! If you haven’t already signed up for Saturday’s event, just send me an email at bethkstaten@gmail.com and let me know if you’ll come for the morning shift or the afternoon shift.

Looking forward to seeing you all this weekend!

Greetings, Friends, from the deep south … of Ohio. Like, Cincinnati. Adam and I are both here for a conference on faith and justice, called “Ohio Prophetic Voices.” We spent this afternoon and evening in conversation with pastors from around the state, discussing how all our churches can work together on a wide range of issues.

The concept of being a prophetic voice can be heavy. A prophet boldly points out wrongs that desperately need righting. And since power structures don’t like to be disturbed, a prophet’s life is often difficult – a voice crying out in the wilderness.

BUT, imagine a whole tribe of prophets! Not one lone voice-of-doom prophet, but a hopeful joyful party of prophets.

The revelation of God’s Kingdom is good news. Prophets can consistently remind the world around us that all are created in God’s image, that grace abounds, and that in the end love wins. Love speaks louder. In fact, love speaks the loudest. Hate will eventually scream itself hoarse. Cynicism will sarcastically mutter into sullen silence. And the wails of despair dissolve into whimpers. But prophets who speak in love will never be silenced.

As we continue to connect spirituality and social justice, we will do it through the power and strength of God’s unending lovingkindness. We will reveal the Kingdom by following the way of Jesus. And we will do it together.

Join us this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at the Gateway Film Center as we continue to discuss the prophetic book of Revelation. This controversial book is often assumed to prophesy the end of the world. But we are discovering together that much of its prophesy critiques the power structures at the time of its writing.

See you Sunday!

Beth

The entertainment industry is fascinated with end-of-the-world scenarios. Nothing sells overpriced popcorn and soda like superheroes and regular Joes facing down the apocalypse on the big screen. Advances in CGI technology now make it possible to depict scenes of epic destruction that were out of reach to earlier filmmakers.

Much of our fascination with the end of the world has been fueled—directly or indirectly—by imagery from the Bible’s closing text, the Book of Revelation. Scholars consider this writing to be the last added to the New Testament. It’s history has been so fraught with conflict and debate and that it was almost left out of the Bible altogether.

Written during a period of intense persecution against Jews and Christians by the Roman empire, the writer of the Book of Revelation adopted a fascinating strategy of resistance. Rather than risking direct reprisal by openly critiquing the Roman empire, the author opted for symbolism and imagery. This book teams with angels and demons, dragons and beasts, judgments and catastrophes.

Of course, this canvas of metaphor and imagery invites us to project our own concerns onto the book, leading to endless debates over conflicting interpretations. And perhaps, this is the real value of the book. While we are interpreting it’s strange passages, we are simultaneously interpreting our own outlook on faith. As we argue for particular interpretations, we are at the same time arguing for our way of seeing the world.

At Continuum Church, we have decided to wade into the debate. Not to produce an ironclad defense of our favored outlook. But to engage in the time honored process of interpretation. To work with each other to discover what is lurking in the recesses of our faith. To unearth our fears in the face of oppression and injustice.

And in the process, we might just discover that an entirely new world is possible. It might even be closer than we think.

Join us this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. in the Gateway Film Center as we launch our discussion series titled “The Beginning Is Near: A Short Primer on the Book of Revelation.” Following our gathering, everyone is invited to Pizza Rustica for lunch and conversation. Later in the week, we’ll be holding our monthly prayer meeting on Wednesday, April 18 from 7-8 p.m. And we’ll cap off the festivities at Blendon Woods with the Continuum Cookout on Saturday, April 21 at 11 a.m. If you’ve ever wanted to get involved and meet new friends, now’s the time!

Adam Long
Lead Pastor
Continuum Church

Isn’t it fun when everything works out just as you planned? All the hard work pays off. All of the sleepless nights give way to peaceful slumber. All of the struggle becomes meaningful. The world is as it should be.

Except when it’s not.

Except when the money isn’t there to pay the bills. Except when cancer takes the life of your loved one. Except when the depression doesn’t respond to any amount of positive self-talk.

What then?

Try harder? Believe better? Pray more?

This week we are invited to celebrate the holiday known as Good Friday. On this day we remember the crucifixion of Jesus. Just to be clear… we actually have a holiday commemorating the 2000-year-old state execution of a Jewish peasant. Imagine what it would have been like to pin all of your hopes on an upstart teacher who ends up being brutally tortured and publicly killed.

Good Friday begs the question… what is “good” about failure? What is “good” about things not working out? What is “good” about being overcome by your enemies?

It is true that we will be celebrating resurrection on Sunday. And we invite you to join us at 10:30 a.m. at the Gateway Film Center as we join Jesus’s earliest followers in discovering resurrection through conversation.

But it’s all too common for us to skip over Good Friday and move quickly to Easter. Perhaps a better approach would be to slow down this week and contemplate what it means to call this Friday “good.”

Part of what makes suffering so unbearable is the lurking suspicion that no one understand. That no one really gets it. That no one really knows how difficult things are for you in this moment.

But what if Good Friday reminds us that when we suffer, God himself is suffering with us? What if we can discover solidarity with God not just in the celebration of success, but in the very depths of despair?

If we try to numb ourselves with unhealthy substances, behaviors, and beliefs, we might just miss a chance to find God right in the midst of our pain. If Jesus himself cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” then maybe God himself knows what it is like to experience God-forsakenness.

Yes, Sunday is on it’s way. But in your moments of despair, may you know that you are not alone. No easy answers. No glib formulas. Simply the knowledge that right in the midst of your pain, you are in good company.

Adam Long
Lead Pastor
Continuum Church

If you’ve ever been on more than one date with the same person, chances are that you’ve thought about “the next step.” Is this going anywhere? Are these feelings mutual? What happens when they find out that I still collect Beanie Babies? (Ok. So maybe that last one doesn’t apply to everyone. But you get the picture.)

Turning two separate people into a couple requires “defining the relationship.” For some, this is a tortuous process of one step forward, two steps back. For others, this conversation is short and sweet. Two people who are on the same page simply own up to it and move forward.

When it comes to church life, “defining the relationship” includes a process called membership. A church must have members to be a legal nonprofit organization. The good news is that we get to define membership in our own way. For us, membership is about identifying as an investor in our congregation. Members are people who want to invest their time, talents, and tokens to grow our community.

Last weekend at our Second Sunday lunch, we discussed the process of membership and invited people to apply for it. Because some who were interested were not able to make it to that meeting, we will be offering a short recap following our Sunday gathering this weekend.

During our Sunday gathering at 10:30 a.m. in the Gateway Film Center, we will continue the journey through our belief statement by discussing how Christians have thought about the “end times.” Then we’ll have a short membership meeting for those who were not able to attend last weekend. If you are interested in “defining the relationship” by making Continuum Church your spiritual home, please make plans to take part!

Peace,

Adam Long
Lead Pastor
Continuum Church