 Jesus Seminar on the Road Lectures a Big Success | We often hear the phrase, "We take the Bible too seriously to take it literally" at Sandy Springs Christian Church. The Jesus Seminar on the Road lectures that we recently hosted in Dunlap Hall provided a great example of this adage.
On April 16-17, over 80 people attended lectures by the renowned authors/scholars Dr. Bernard Brandon Scott and Dr. Arthur J. Dewey on the topic of "Jesus: Teller of Parables." Their lectures shed light on the art of story telling and the nature of several parables that have been routinely misread and largely underestimated. Drs. Scott and Dewey offered an indepth understanding of the society and its culture during the life of Jesus to reveal the irony, edginess and effrontery of the parables.
In addition to several members from SSCC, the audience included a best selling author/lecturer, students from colleges and seminaries throughout Georgia, and many visitors from out of state.
Here are a couple of examples of the feedback on the lectures from our members: "I liked the seminar very much. I liked the humor and fresh approach to the gospels. I certainly learned a lot and will be more aware the next time I read a parable." (Janet Lochery) -- "The presentations were amazing...lots of good information on the Roman world of the first century. I hope we will be getting more visits from other scholars." (Paul Kapphahn)
A big thanks to our own Chuck Jones for suggesting the idea for the seminar and for making it happen! We are currently planning for another Jesus Seminar lecture series in 2011.
The audience enjoys Dr. Scott's lecture on Friday night | 
Chuck Jones, Dr. Arthur Dewey
and Dr.Brandon Scott from "The Jesus on the Road Seminar" |
| Name Your Candidate |
Yes, it's that time of year again. Your Nominating Committee is ready to accept your suggestions for Deacons, Elder, Trustee-at-large, Vice President, Secretary of the congregation who also serves as Secretary of the Trustees, and Chair of the Ministry Council, to serve 2011 and 2012. Click here to read about the role of these candidates.
The Nominating Committee consists of two Deacons (Delane Bickelhaupt and Billie McGinley), three Elders (Carol Armstrong, Connie Cannon and Elaine Donnelly), one at-large (Taylor Boone), and chair (Martha Dalton).
Please use the form that will be an insert in the Sunday worship bulletin on May 2, 9 and 16. The form is also available at the Welcome Desk. Make your suggestions and put the form in the offering plate, talk with anyone on the committee or email Martha Dalton, froglady@bellsouth.net, and put "nominating" in the subject line.
We need your suggestions by May 16, 2010. Please don't procrastinate. Thank you!
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| You Look Like You Need a Stay-Cation
Rev. Landa Harris Simmons | Everyone who has been a part of SSCC during any of the past 50 years can bear witness to the transformation that occurs through our outreach and education ministries. The best of both these ministries will come together during our first ever Stay-Cation event June 3, 4, 5 (5-8 pm).
As you already know, just in the past six months Sandy Springs has sent pilgrims to India, youth to Mexico and multiple volunteers to the local Community Action Center (CAC). During our Stay-Cation, we will build upon an unstated philosophy of "mission for education" and "education for mission." Through wood-working, we will train a new generation of Mexico Mission home-builders. Through quilting, we will continue to serve the clients of CAC, and through a Journey to India, our children will learn about our church's global ministries.
At the same time, study groups for youth through the most youthful adults will enable us to feed our souls and strengthen ourselves for greater service. As my Candler professor of Christian Education reminded us again and again, "The purpose of Christian education is not information, but transformation." Join us for Stay-Cation - Take a Journey Without Leaving Home.
Adult and Young Adult Offerings Include:
ˇ "Challenges of Parenthood" - Dr. Paul Kapphahn and Pat Kapphahn, LTC
ˇ "Teach Us to Pray" - Rev. Kathy McDowell
ˇ "Christianity in an Age of Terrorism" - Rev. Dale Andrews
ˇ "Stump the Chump" - Dr. Stan Saunders
ˇ "Flannel" (a group for College-Aged Young Adults)
ˇ "Dream, Think, Be, Do!" (a group for Young Adults)
Saturday evening---join us for the world premier of the documentary "Come and See." Registration for all events begins May 16.
Click here for the complete Stay-Cation agenda.
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| A 50th Anniversary Party for Our "Long Timers" | Remember when the church moved to our present location? When we took clogging classes and almost stomped the building down? When we had an all male wedding or a hula hoop contest? What about the tennis tournament featuring the lions and the Christians? Or when the Elders met every Sunday morning for breakfast? Remember when the Widerner's condo burned or when Lynn White first told a bible story from memory? Were you around when Glen Miles first arrived? If "yes" for any of these, you qualify as a "long term" Sandy Springs member!!
Those who have loved and been part of SSCC for 15 years or more are invited to a special 50th anniversary party for the church. Your Senior Pastor, Phil Price, and Senior Honorary Elders, Gordon Dalrymple and Linda Whitmire, and their spouses are our hosts. The date is May 15, 4:30-6:30 pm for fellowship, remembering and looking forward. Randy Johnson of the Church Foundation will be our special guest and help introduce one of the ways we can continue to share in the life of our church for its next 50 years.
We will gather at the Whitmire's home, 6545 Old Riverside Drive in Sandy Springs, May 15 at 4:30 pm for remembering and looking forward over a bit of wine and cheese and more. RSVP to Barb at the church, 404 256.2582.
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| Women's Ministries Spring Luncheon May 15 | 
Women's Ministries at Sandy Springs Christian Church will be honoring volunteers serving the
Campbell-Stone Corner Shop, installing officers for the coming year, and sharing a delicious lunch. All women of the church are invited. Bring your family and friends and a covered dish.
Guest Speaker: Rev. Linda Whitmire Entertainment: Mary Shehan
We are honored to have Linda and Mary participate in our program. Come have a great time! |
| Our Kitchen Is Perfect! Jim Torbert | | The next time you are in your favorite restaurant, look around for their county inspection score card. Every restaurant must have one, and it must be posted where it can be seen and read. The inspection is unannounced and can be at any time. The inspection is made by the County Department of Health and Wellness. The kitchen at SSCC was inspected and received a perfect score of 100. A couple of minor observations were recorded which will be corrected to guarantee that we maintain a safe and healthy food service ministry.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the perfect score.
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| How You Can Participate in Our 50th Anniversary Celebration
Larri Bass, Team Chair |
Fifty years...In 1960 when Sandy Springs Christian Church was just forming, John F. Kennedy was a candidate for President. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech wasn't even thought of yet, segregation was still rampant in the South. As a society, we have come a long way in a relatively short time. Computers took up complete buildings then; now we carry them around in our pockets as cell phones and iPods. Walking on the moon was thought impossible then; now we regularly send men and women into space and have almost completed an international space station. The Cold War was a reality, annihilation by nuclear bomb a real scare, and communism was the enemy. Now the USSR is no longer, nuclear weapons are still a threat in the wrong hands, but our enemies have turned to terrorism and global financial crises. Yet, Sandy Springs Christian Church has survived and thrived throughout these 50 years. We have welcomed many through these church doors. We have supported, comforted, celebrated, taught, learned, cried, and laughed with humanity. We have journeyed to be more like Jesus Christ through prayer, service, teaching, and community. And, we continue...  What does/has SSCC meant to you? We all have our own memories and stories. We have made great friends and seen many move on to other phases of their lives. Our children have been born, reared, nurtured, taught, graduated, married, and brought their children here. We are a circle, unbroken!!! To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Sandy Springs Christian Church, we ask you to share of yourself. Click here for information on the many opportunities we have for your participation. Thank you, for without you Sandy Springs Christian Church would not, could not be the fabulous congregation that it is today!!! top |
| Mission: Possible Haiti Refugee Resettlement |
Sandy Springs Christian Church has a history of generosity, and we are being asked to exercise that generous faith again. Victims of the Haitian earthquake who have been treated at local Atlanta hospitals are being released now, but still need medical attention. Many have been granted temporary visas for 1-2 years, and we have been asked to set up an apartment for a patient and one or more accompanying family members. These refugees will live in the apartment as they continue to get necessary medical treatments. Go to Haiti Refugee Resettlement on the SSCC website to see a complete needs list and how to donate. SSCC has committed to furnish an apartment by May 15. Please help where you can.
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| Calling All Guys! Micki González, Director of Music Ministry |
 We are forming a men's chorus to sing for a Sunday during July. This is for anyone who likes to sing, has sung, sings hymns in church, or who currently sings in one of the choirs at SSCC. Walt Michels will direct the chorus. Walt was once the choir director here at SSCC. If you would like to participate in this endeavor, we'd love to have you. Just email Micki Gonzalez, Micki@SandySpringsCC.org. I will put you on the list. Rehearsal times and the schedule for singing will be up to the group to decide once we have our list of participants. I can't wait to hear you! 
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| Ministry Musings: By Our Love Rev. Philip Price, Senior Minister |  " . . .and they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love . . ."
What does it mean to love?
We sing that Jesus loves us. It's one of the first songs we learn. As children we sleep peacefully knowing that Jesus loves us. We also learned that Jesus died for us. Somehow love was expressed through sacrifice.
We are also called to love each other. It is an ever expanding circle that starts with loving God, then it is extended to neighbor, then to stranger and finally even to enemies. John - the letter writer - asks, how can we say that we love God who we haven't seen, if we don't love our brother/sister who we have seen?
If Jesus is to be our model for love, then we have to be willing to accept the possibility that love will require us to sacrifice. This is easy to know. Hard to do.
Today I got some mail - email and snail mail that I wished I hadn't opened. I'm here happily preparing my messages for the next month or so and I interrupt this divine activity to open mail. Dumb thing to do.
The snail mail from a respected church organization asks me to pray for Joshua from Jamaica. He is requesting political refugee status. He says that he will be killed if he is sent back. I'm thinking come on, I've been to Jamaica--nice beaches, smiling people, Bob Marley singing "One Love" on the radio. I guess elections aren't so free in Jamaica, and there is regular use of posses to ensure election results. Joshua is guilty of having political opinions that differ from those in power. He has been tortured, had family members killed and has twice been granted political asylum by an American immigration judge, but he still has not been released.
What to do? I can easily pray for him. But what would it mean to love him?
Email. Another well respected para church organization telling me about the pending Arizona immigration deal. I'm thinking, well, we wouldn't have an illegal immigration problem if folks stopped coming here illegally. I'm thinking that if folks want to come here they should follow the rules, get in line and come into the country legally.
Senate Bill 1070 will require local law enforcement to investigate someone's immigration status based on "reasonable suspicion." (My guess that will have something to do with having brown skin and looking Latino.) If you are "legal" and just happen to be with an undocumented person you are also in violation and subject to arrest. Apart from the fact that local law enforcement doesn't have the authority to deport anyone - that is a Federal responsibility - and in spite of the fact that the Arizona State Association of Police Chiefs is solidly against it, the public seems willing to accept it. Let's see, the last time a population was willing to go along with something like this it involved yellow stars and pink triangles. Hmmmm.
Questions I am asking myself. Does Jesus stop loving people if they cross an invisible line or break a law? If God looks at the earth does He/She see Mexicans, Americans, Australians and Swedes or just sons and daughters. Does God care about borders? Who are the "strangers in the midst?" Would illegals qualify as one of the "least of these" talked about in Matt. 25? If so, illegals are Jesus.
What does it mean to sing, "Yes, Jesus loves me" and at the same time be saying "Jesus, you are not welcome here, go home."
. . . "and they'll know we are Christians by our love."
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| Answers to Your Covenant Group Questions
Rev. Betty Halford, Minister of Pastoral Care |  What are Covenant Groups? What is the current status? What are people saying about them? Who leads the groups? These are some of the questions being asked at SSCC.
Approximately 45 members and friends have met monthly for the past nine months and the groups are progressing very well. Facilitators include Carol Armstrong (Sunday evening), Nancy Davis (Joy Seekers - daytime), Elaine Donnelly (evening), Leslie Lady (Chrysalis - evening) and Bob Trusty (evening).
What are people saying? One facilitator commented, "I'm having more fun with this than anything I do with the church!" Another said, "If people would just try it, I believe they would really enjoy it!" According to one participant, "I would have never known people in my group at this level had it not been for becoming part of this forum." "I was able to connect in a new mission to help others because of a contact in my group."
For those of you who aren't in a group-
Purpose:
Connection - Connect with others at a more meaningful level, yet with a higher agenda than social.
Increase Spirituality - Curriculum provides a framework of personal empowerment toward serving.
Curriculum:
Seven Spiritual Commitments-Prayer, Small Groups, Worship, Study, Giving, Mission and Evangelism
Logistics:
Meet once a month for two hours (church building or someone's home)
When will the next group form?
Plans are underway to start a new group-watch for announcements in the Chalice Chat and Wellspring.
Call or e-mail me to sign up early for the next group (404-771-7655 or betty@sandyspringscc.org)!
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| Be Love: Youth Mexico Mission Trip, April 3-10
Craig McDonald, Student Youth Minister |
Well, we made it! (As if you expected anything different from the great youth we have in our church!) Twenty participants went to Tecate, Mexico and saw God moving in unexpected places. Everyday we woke up to the 'Good Morning Song' and we wearily crawl out of our sleeping bags at 6 am! Thanks so much to the advance team, Chris, and Scott for always having a wonderful breakfast to get us going for a day of hard work and awesome experiences. We did our best to be on the work site by 8 am at the latest to pray with our family (Teodoro, Romara, and Jose Luis) and begin our work mixing concrete, building walls, tarring a roof, or putting on stucco. After a grueling but amazing day of working with each other, we'd come back to the camp site around 6 pm and take showers...at least some of us did, and it was pretty easy to tell who didn't! After dinner we'd have family groups and campfire where we would reflect on how God had been active in the day. Where did we see God? How are we connected to our sisters and brothers who live in Mexico? You better believe that I was taking notes on what our youth were saying for some of my papers! If you see a youth who participated in this trip, ask them what the experience was like. They may convince you to take a trip with us! Thank you so much for all of your support and love! 
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| A Farewell to Craig Rev. Erin Reed Cooper, Associate Minister |  The end of a school year. It's a magical time. Ripping out the last few pages of a workbook, cleaning out a desk, walking around imagining yourself to be a grade older. One day, it's becoming a First Grader; the next, realizing that this will be your last summer vacation before college, or bigger: The Real World.
I hope your dreams for your summer are beginning to take shape. Please be sure to include Stay-Cation, summer camp at Camp Christian, and VBS on your summer schedules. These events are life-changing ways to bring depth and meaning into a fun summer.
Primarily, however, my heart is drawn to the end of a "school year" for my friend and colleague, Craig McDonald. I can't believe his time at Columbia Theological Seminary has come to a close. Since the day we first sat at an Elders' meeting and affirmed his intention to enter ministry, I've looked forward to the ways God would use his gifts of compassion, longing for justice, patience of presence, of affirming the Christ in everyone he meets. Little did I know then that I would get to have such a front-row seat as he grew these gifts. God is good.
We're going to miss you so much, Craig. I thank God that our youth have had the privilege to be loved and cared for by you. You have shaped their lives, our lives, and I know that your ministry will continue to cultivate love the world over. Thank you for sharing this growing time in your life with us, the whole congregation of Sandy Springs Christian Church. We are blessed. May God bless the next ministry you are called to as deeply as you have blessed us. |
| Vacation Bible School 2010 |  Joseph's Journey from Prison to Palace
July 12-16, 9:30 am - Noon
Please save the date on your calendar and consider how you would like to be involved. See you in EGYPT!
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| Fond Farewell to Bill Christian | Bill has been our Sunday morning sound and set up guy for several years now. He had some medical problems several months ago and went on a medical leave. Lazo has been filling in for him. Just last week Bill informed us that due to his back problems, he will be unable to return to work for us. We thank him for his time with us and wish him well.
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| Connect Opportunities | Ongoing
Sundays - "Beginnings" Class, 10:10-10:45 am (213)
Youth Groups, 5-7 pm (DH)
Fridays - Men's Fellowship, 7 am (CR)
Saturdays - SSCC Garden Group, 8:30 am -12:00 pm
5/1 Outreach to staff CAC, 9:45-1:15 am
5/2 Armstrong Covenant Group, 5-7 pm (CR)
5/3 Learners' Bridge, 12:45-4 pm (P)
5/4 Gamma Circle, 7 pm (P)
5/6 E. Donnelly Covenant Group, 7-9 pm (P)
5/12 Sigma/Delta Circle. 10:30 am (P)
5/12 Sigma/Delta Lunch, 12 pm (CR)
5/12 Prayer Group, 12:30 pm (P)
5/15 Women's Ministries Spring Luncheon,
10:00 am, Campbell-Stone
5/16 Rev. Randy Johnson, guest in the pulpit
5/16 Sandwich Making, 12 pm
5/18 B. Trusty Covenant Group, 7 pm (P)
5/23 PAC Meeting, 3:30-5:30 pm (l20)
5/24 Experienced Bridge Group, 12:30-4:15 pm (P)
5/25 Chrysalis Covenant Group, 6 pm (P)
5/30 Pancake Breakfast, 8:30-11:15a (DH)
5/31 SSCC Office Closed (Memorial Day)
Save the Date
6/3, 4, 5 SSCC Stay-Cation
Go to the SSCC Calendar of Events webpage for current information.
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| The Wellspring Contribution Guidelines |
Wellspring contributions are due on Thursday before the last Monday in the month. An exception is June. Please submit contributions by May 20. Thank you for timely submissions!
Please limit your article to not more than 350 words. Submit your articles on ministry news and upcoming events; report on past events; send pictures! Keep the congregation and others informed about our busy, vital church.
Email your contributions to Nan Woods: woodynan@bellsouth.net
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