Cornerstone University Baptist Church 50 West Lane Avenue Columbus, OH (614)

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1 Cornerstone University Baptist Church 50 West Lane Avenue Columbus, OH (614) Inside this issue: The Implausible is the Inevitable Bob Turner Holy Week Schedule 2 April Sermons and Scriptures Theology on Tap 2 April Birthdays and 2 Newsletter Submissions 2 Love God, Love the Earth Kerry Cheesman Children s Easter Movie 4 Rainy Day Commitment Julius Mayo MMXVII No. 4 April 2017 Easter Lilies 4 Calendar 5 Many submissions to the newsletter are voluntary contributions from individuals. The ideas expressed do not necessarily reflect the mission or views of University Baptist Church as a whole. Cover The Implausible is the Inevitable Bob Turner As I write this reflection, I am looking out my office window toward Lane Avenue. The sun is shining, a light breeze is shaking the bushes and the ivy on the hill, and the temperature is in the upper fifties and climbing. It s a beautiful spring day. It s the kind of day that inspires hope in even the bleakest of hearts. The kind of day that makes the implausible seem not just plausible but likely. Resurrection is one of the most implausible ideas in the entire realm of ideas. It goes against everything we think we know about life and the world. The dead don t come back to life. They just don t. Executed convicts do not turn out to be the savior of the world. Even if somebody dies on the operating table and they bring her back, she is not therefore immortal; she will eventually die again. Even Lazarus, after being raised by Jesus, was still mortal. Even the beauty of spring, when plants that have died or gone dormant awaken and bloom again, is only temporary. The cycle of the seasons will turn again, the blossoms will fade, and with the coming of autumn and winter senescence and dormancy will happen again. But when we talk about the resurrection of Jesus we affirm that a dead man was given new life, and that that life is utterly indestructible. Jesus is alive, never to die again. And if we re honest, that s a tough one to swallow, even on a day like today. Resurrection simply doesn t happen. Not in the real, nonfairy tale world, anyway. Instead of, Resurrection simply doesn t happen, I suppose it would be more accurate to say, Resurrection doesn t simply happen. And that slight change in wording is the key to grasping the meaning of Easter. Resurrection is not a feature of the natural world in which we live. However we conceive of what happened on that first Easter morning, it was not something that just happened as a matter of course. The resurrected Jesus was not a chance mutation that will advance the evolution of our species. His raising was a deliberate act of God. I no longer believe, as I was taught to believe from infancy, that God sent Jesus to die for our sins that his death on the cross was part of God s master plan from before the moment of creation, and was the sole or even the primary purpose of his life. Instead, I have come to understand Jesus s death as the predictable consequence of a life lived in the unapologetic pursuit of justice. Anytime someone takes the side of poor and marginalized people, and begins organizing them and giving them hope, that person inevitably runs afoul of those powers that have a vested interest in keeping people poor and marginalized. And because these powers understand nothing so well as violence and repression, Jesus set himself on a collision course with Golgotha the moment he first spoke out on those people s behalf.

2 Page 2 Cornerstone The resurrection of Jesus was the deliberate act of God. It was God s unmistakeable YES to Jesus and the way he lived his life, and God s simultaneous NO to the powers who killed him. Apart from this act of God, Jesus would have stayed dead. Apart from God s initiative in overcoming our hostility and self-destructive tendencies, we would stay dead. But God has acted in and through Jesus, and continues to act in and through the Holy Spirit, to raise us from the dead and grant us the same indestructible life God granted Jesus. The flowers that bloom within us will never die. The implausible, when God enters the picture, is not just plausible, not just likely, but inevitable. Praise be to God! Grace and peace, bob April Readings and Sermon Titles: April 9 Palm Sunday Psalm 118:1 2, Matthew 21:1 11 April 16 Easter Sunday Acts 10:34 43 Psalm 118:1 2, Acts 10:34 43 Matthew 28:1 10 April 23 Second Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14a, Psalm 16 1 Peter 1:3 9 John 20:19 31 April 30 Third Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14a, Psalm 116:1 4, Peter 1:17 23 Luke 24:13 35 Newsletter Submissions Newsletter items are due the third Friday of the month. Also, it is UBC policy that all references to God be inclusive. We will edit to reflect this. Please contact the office if you have any questions. Friday, April 7, 2017, 7:00pm, at the Chop Shop. Come enjoy the libation of your choice as we have an informal conversation about important points in theology and ethics. Bring a friend! Birthdays & Anniversaries Birthdays 7 Megan Riley 11 Grace Hughes 19 Kay Monjot 29 Oliva Riley Mary Hester Anniversaries 4 Orin & Hanci Newberry

3 MMXVII No. 2 Page 3 Love God, Love the Earth Kerry Cheesman This month we celebrate both Easter and International Earth Day. Both of these deal with the concept of resurrection. We celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, and we hope and pray for the resurrection of our earth, for if we look closely we realize that our earth is in grave danger. Maryann and I grew up in southern California, hiking and camping in the mountains, playing in the ocean, learning to enjoy God s creation through Scouting and teaching at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. We lived daily on some of the most beautiful lands in this country. I was privileged to work with my native Chumash brothers and sisters who taught me what a gift God had given all of us, and how protecting the earth was a tribute to the Creator and a basic human responsibility. It was simply unthinkable to destroy either the land or its inhabitants. In spite of alternate facts being sent from the current White House, the argument about climate change is over, and destruction of our earth is a problem. The earth is warming at an alarming rate, and all but a small handful of scientists around the world are convinced that the polluting of our planet will only get worse as new economies such as those in India and China strive to achieve the standard of living we have become accustomed to in the U.S. We are already seeing ominous consequences melting ice caps, glaciers shrinking at an alarming rate, intensifying storms and droughts, rising coastal waters, and abnormal weather patterns of all types. It is time to step up and protect our planet, not remove the protections that have been put in place over the years. The apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Roman church: "We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now for the creation awaits with eager longing for the revealing of the daughters and sons of God... because creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Romans 8: 22,19,21) All creation the rivers, trees, plants, oceans, air, animals are waiting, groaning together, longing for the new creation. Ultimately, it is God and not humans who will save creation, but God has made us crucial agents; we are called to be midwives of creation s rebirth in our little corner of it. We are called to help provide for the resurrection of God s precious creation, not work for its death. We cannot have healthy people on a sick and dying earth, and God calls us to create healthy people for His kingdom. Over the years, as I became more aware of the damage we were doing to God's creation, the text from Romans has leapt alive. From its earliest days, the human race has sought to tame and control the natural world, and rather than seeing it as a gift from God, it has often been seen as an enemy. In the last 100 years it has become an object, a commodity to be used as a means of profit. Human greed has become the destroyer of nature, and every year thousands of species of God's precious creatures have become extinct at the hands of the human race. That is what we are about on Earth Day. We are here to honor God in his Son Jesus, the Christ the incarnation of the Word through whom all things came into being. And we are here to heed the groaning of God's creation including his human creation which as the children of God we are called to love and to heal. We must work to restore and resurrect that which has been destroyed by our own actions. So work to help our earth not because you are an environmentalist, but because you are responding to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His call to serve and love the world which was created through the Spirit that dwelt in him the world he came to heal and to save. That way our grandchildren and generations beyond will be able to enjoy hiking in the beautiful mountains and playing in the sparkling ocean just as Maryann and I were able to so many years ago!

4 Page 4 Cornerstone Rainy Day Commitment Juilus Mayo Up the street from my home is a favorite recreational park often used by cityleague sports teams. A few weeks ago, when it was unseasonably warm and sunny for winter in Columbus, I noted that it was strange that none of these groups had taken the opportunity to use the green space on such a beautiful day. The very next day, however, when a cold rain had replaced the sunny skies and warm temperatures, one soccer team spent hours practicing in the less-than-ideal conditions. I thought about how this phenomenon can sometimes be like a Christian journey in that we are often more than eager to do the Creator s will during the unexpectedly sunny days. Things get a little less exciting during the "rainy days" of having to deal with tight schedules, high stress, and no time to just relax. Christ needs disciples who are willing to make a rainy day commitment to their faith. It isn t easy, but it is truly doing God s work. All praises be to the Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit!

5 2 April 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 9 PALM SUNDAY 10:15 Blessing of the palms on the church lawn 16 EASTER Easter Potluck following worship 23/30 Pastor Alliance of Baptists :30-8:00 pm Lenten Dialogue 6 6:00 pm Bible Study 7:30 pm Choir Practice 13 MAUNDY THURSDAY 7:00 pm UBC 20 7:30 pm Choir Practice 27 6:00 pm Bible Study 7:30 pm Choir Practice 7 7:00 pm Theology and Ethics on the Chop Shop 6:30-10:30 pm CCF 14 GOOD FRIDAY 7:00 pm Glen Echo Presbyterian 6:30-10:30 pm CCF 21 6:30-10:30 pm CCF Newsletter Deadline

6 University Baptist Church Progressive Welcoming Inclusive See inside for Holy Week Schedule. Memorial Easter lilies. Forms for memorial Easter lilies are in this bulletin. All requests must be submitted by April 9. Refreshment sign-ups for The sheet is up in the Narthex. As you plan for 2017, please consider providing snacks for fellowship after worship. Theology and Ethics on Tap. Friday, March 10, 7 pm. Meet at the Chop Shop. University Baptist Church 50 West Lane Avenue Columbus, Ohio Phone: ubccolumbus@gmail.com Website: Return Service Requested 3/31/17 Pastor Rev. Bob Turner Moderator Frank Benline Choir Director David Tomasacci Pianist Mollie Rausch Office Manager Kerry Taylor Nursery Care Liliya Yang Worship 10:30 a.m. Children s Sunday School 2nd and 4th Sundays 10:30 a.m. Office Hours Tues.-Fri. 9:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m.