Viewpoints at SSCC

For me, my sense of what church can be at both its best and its worst stems from what I learned as a child.   The church we belonged to was full of warm caring people who nurtured children. There was a youth group that encouraged us to grow in faith and challenged me to develop leadership skills. My mother, a founding member of the church, didn't talk about her faith a lot; she lived it. When my brother died of cancer at the age of 23 on December 23, my mother wanted to be at church on Christmas Eve. That is where she found solace.   It is trite to say this, but actions speak louder than words.

Perhaps this sounds ideal; it wasn't.   As children, we were baptized , but my father was Jewish. I remember as a child being taught that you had to accept Jesus as the Son of God to go to heaven. I remember being a quiet, skinny 5th grader and timidly raising my hand in Sunday School and asking about what happened to Jewish people.   I was told emphatically that only people who accepted Jesus could go to heaven. The seeds of doubt were sowed that morning, and I started drifting away from the church and formal religion.

Much later in life, one of my dearest friends married a progressive minister in the Dutch Reformed Church. It was through him that I discovered progressive theology and began to understand that there are different flavors of Christianity. It was at this point that I came to believe that judgment is God's business; it is not the job of us mortals. Our job on earth is to serve out of a sense of calling and love.

When we moved to Atlanta in 1998, I wanted a church home for my family. I wanted the warm caring environment I had experienced as a child. But I also wanted a church with a more progressive theology. After church shopping for a couple of years, a friend invited us to visit Sandy Springs Christian Church, and the rest is history.   I have experienced some of my proudest moments as a parent in my church home. When my daughter did a Mexico Mission trip reflection I knew that she had been challenged to think about how her life could impact others. However, it is only after she spent a year in Ghana that I realized how profoundly the Mexico Mission trip impacted her life direction. Similarly, I had tears in my eyes when our other daughter did the opening prayer in a service led by our college-age young adults and she asked God to care for both us and our enemies. I realized that she was not growing up with the religious baggage I had carried through my years as a young adult.

When my mother died in 2004, the Women's Bible Study group was my refuge; the place where I knew I would find comfort and support. Six weeks later, my father had a stroke and entered hospice care as my daughter was getting ready for the annual Mexico Mission trip. I let her go because I knew that she was in good hands and that our youth minister and youth sponsors would nurture and care for her, the same way my Bible study group enveloped, prayed, and cared for me.

Now, as an empty nester, I am at a different point in my life. I have the emotional energy to serve a church and to reach out and serve others through involvement in our outreach opportunities because SSCC has given me the opportunity to grow in faith in a caring and nurturing church home.

Carol Armstrong  

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The Service of Lessons and Carols with Children's Christmas Play - 9:00 & 11:15 AM - December 18 

THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO INVITE FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS!

THE SERVICE OF LESSONS AND CAROLS

The service of Lessons and Carols is a series of lessons interspersed with both congregational and choral carols. Our service uses both Old and New Testaments to proclaim God's desire for peace, compassion, and most especially, relationship with all people.  It begins with God's promise to bless Abraham's descendants, and through them to bless the whole world.   It ends with what the apostle John tells us that Jesus wished for us: to have abundant life, and through receiving the Holy Spirit,  to share God's love to all people. Lessons are traditionally read by representatives from the various ministries of the church as a way to honor them and their work during the year. In place of a sermon, our children present a play, this year's is titled "Christmas Around the World."

CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS PLAY

"Christmas Around the World"

(All Are Invited to Participate -- see how below)

The play presents how global Christmas traditions have shaped our own Christmas stories. If you have ornaments you have collected while visiting other countries or living abroad, we invite you to bring one or two to share during the service. Near the end of the Christmas play (this is your part), one of the children will invite you to come forward and place your ornament on our special World tree. You may retrieve your ornament at the end of the second service.

Thank you for helping our children connect their faith with the world at large, and Merry Christmas!

FOR THE PARENTS:  click here for the Christmas Play rehearsal schedule 

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On the Friday before Thanksgiving, over 350 Lake Forest students, their parents and staff were served a traditional Thanksgiving meal by Sandy Springs Christian Church volunteers. The planning started over the summer and culminated in a fun filled evening.  Jim Torbert planned, shopped and organized more than 30 SSCC volunteers over three days. The staff at the school supplied and cooked the 20 turkeys, beverages and paper goods, and Trader Joes donated the dressing mix. The carving and cooking was up to us. Thanks to those who worked in the SSCC kitchen during the week, those that worked at Lake Forest on Friday, and to all of you that donated the 57 pies that were served!!  We gave them much to be grateful for and had a great time doing it!  

Denny Sanford, Chris Dalton, Erika Ono, Ryan Kahrs, Chris Furqueron, Megan Kahrs, Aspen Ono, Alice Villa, Dawna Abel, Carol Armstrong

Aspen Ono, Megan Kahrs, Kaitlin Kahrs, Sage Ono, Ryan Kahrs

Scott Dalton, Kendra Plotkin, Laura (Carolyn Dishman's daughter), Valarie Boss, Mary Shehan, Denny Sanford, Dan Kahrs, Dawna Abel

Adult Education Notes

Bryant McDaniel, Chair, Adult Education Ministry 

 10:00 AM - Dunlap Hall

Community Sunday School - December 4, 11 and 18 

 

Dr. Stan Saunders.

Led by Dr. Stan Saunders, Assoc. Professor of New Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary

 

"THE SUSTAINABLE CHURCH"

Is a church that looks only to future, spiritual, and individual forms of salvation sustainable?  Is God really at work to redeem the whole world--both humankind and the creation--and, if so, how does the church bear witness to God's faithfulness?

 

December 4:  "The Destruction of Earth and Heaven"

The Epistle reading for this Sunday in the Lectionary is 2 Peter 3:8-15, the New Testament passage that seems most clearly to talk about the destruction of the earth-and heaven!--at the final judgment. This is one of many texts in both the Old and New Testaments that talk about heaven and earth passing away (e.g., Ps 102, Isa 51, 65, & 66, Matt 5:18, 24:35). We will explore the ways this image has been used in "rapture" speculation and its possible implications for Christian views of the earth.

 

December 11:  "No Heaven without the Earth"

For the first 1500 years of the Church, theologians held that one could not think theologically without including God, humans, and the creation as equal partners in the discussion. Then, about the time of the Reformation, the creation fell out of the equation. Why did this happen and why is it both a theological and ecological problem for us?  In this session we will explore the roots of popular Christian ideas about the relationship between God, humankind, and the Earth and what we might do to move toward a sustainable theology.

 

December 18:  "Sustainable Evangelism"

Is the Good News good for the earth?  In this session we will explore how we came to imagine  evangelism as a matter of words and propositions rather than actions and relationships. Then we will examine the practices that traditionally mark the life of the Church as an evangelistic, witness body--including their ecological implications.

 

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The Call to Giving made by Fran Michels during our Stewardship campaign resulted in requests to have it published here in The Wellspring.  So, by popular demand ... click here to read the complete text.

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Thanks and Farewell to Rev. Dr. Ray Miles

and

Welcome to the Frank-Plumlees!

It is with much gratitude that we bid farewell to Dr. Ray Miles as he retires from his position as Regional Minister at the end of the year.  Ray has been instrumental in his leadership of the Georgia Region and providing support for Sandy Springs Christian Church for the past six and a half years.  There has been no slowing down for Ray either.  Just this past month, Ray led the Regional Assembly in Lawrenceville, then joined us to celebrate Phil's ministry and to install Linda as our Transitional Pastor.  He has also been very engaged with our Search Team over the past several months helping to ensure a smooth and successful search process.  Please reach out to Ray when you have a moment to thank him for his leadership and support and to wish him the best in his well deserved retirement.  (Phone: 478 743-8649: email: ray@gadisciples.org; street address:  2370 Vineville Ave., Macon, GA, 31204)

It was announced at Regional Assembly that Bob and Karen Frank-Plumlee have been selected to serve as the Interim Regional Ministers for the Georgia Region beginning in January.  Both Bob and Karen have long and dedicated histories in the Christian Church (DOC).  Click the following to view a

video introduction of the Frank-Plumlees: htttp://www.gadisciples.org/news/Meet_Interim_Ministers.htm.   We extend a warm welcome to them and look forward to having them join us at Sandy Springs Christian Church for the installation of The Rev. Danny Gulden early next year.

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Ever since I was a youth, I have been accustomed to sharing part of my time and a portion of my resources to the service of others. It wasn't some mountain-top moment or revelation that happened in my life. It was the steady tutoring by my parents and Sunday School teachers. And, yes, one of those teachers was my Mom, a 30+ year veteran on the Sunday morning campus.

My home was not far from the foothills of Appalachia, so we did not have to go very far to see needs and opportunities to help. Some of those folks were my schoolmates and, on occasion, I had to be careful to not comment when I would see one of my outgrown shirts or coats walking towards me at school. It put a face on Mission that I have never forgotten.

Years later, the opportunities for Nan and me to share expanded, both in venue and volume as our careers allowed. As members at SSCC, it has been as simple as joining a Mexico Mission trip or reaching out to sponsor a thankful Family Village student or struggling mission hospital in India. The faces have changed but the emotions have not.

When we shifted into retirement, our ability to actively participate in the more costly and more distant mission projects became less realistic, and we have looked for other ways to remain involved in the church's mission activities. One way for us is to contribute to the Legacy Builders program to insure that mission programs can continue for future SSCC youth and other members. Our decision to do mission work through a Legacy donation may not be as exciting as a trip to Mexico or India, but when we see the faces of the people who take part in these life-changing adventures, it can still resurrect those emotions in us. We still enjoy being part of the team.

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This year's Stewardship campaign encouraged all of us to reflect on:

• Past Givers - who showed us how to be generous
• Present Givers - ourselves and specific areas where we are present givers--pledging to give generously and praying to support SSCC and its ministries
• Future Givers - identifying those for whom we want our lives to serve as an example and legacy of giving

Here is a sampling of some past givers identified by the people of Sandy Springs Christian Church.  

The SSCC Children and Youth groups worked hard helping with the Douglas/Cobb Mental Health Center Annual Thanksgiving Food distribution on Sunday, November 20. The children met right after worship and went hard to work decorating over 70 bags for the drive. During our monthly PAC meeting, we decorated bags, ate a lot of pizza, and had a wonderful time of fellowship together. Andy and the Youth group arrived about 3:00 pm to collect the decorated bags and food items that had been donated by church members. Then, off they went to Austell to pack groceries for the food distribution! They worked hard packing food, decorating additional bags, and of course, having a time of food and fellowship. What a wonderful outreach to our community!!  Many thanks to the SSCC children, youth, adult sponsors, children and youth leaders, and Mary Robeck (especially Mary) for a successful outreach event!

"Boy, did we decorate a lot of bags today!"

SSCC Youth preparing to load food into 150+ bags for Douglas/Cobb Mental Health Center Thanksgiving food distribution

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The Memorial Committee acknowledges with appreciation these gifts in memory of:

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SSCC/Global Ministries Child Sponsorship Program

You are encouraged to write to the children at the following address:

Ms. Vatsala Vijayakumar, Family Village Farm

Kasam -Ktpadi, Vellore 632 007

N.S. Dist. India

Please click here to read the most recent letters from Thamizharsi and Karthikeyan 

You will note both children are writing to "uncle."  Uncle is Bryant McDaniel, and they are writing in response to a letter from him. 

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Adult/Family Mission Trip with Disciples Volunteering

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

July 8 - July 14, 2012

Space limited to 25 people

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In the Life of SSCC

Go to www.SandySpringsCC.org to view our monthly calendar