The Olympic Games have begun in London, and once again we hear stories of those who will win Gold as well as being inspired by those who overcame incredible odds to simply participate in the Games. I love watching the parade of nations and seeing the beautiful tapestry of people walking into the stadium. In many ways, watching people from so many places, standing together, united in spirit is a glimpse of the kingdom of God. 

On the other hand, we continue to grieve with those in Colorado over the tragic shooting in a movie theater. Questions arise about the nature of God. How can God be a part of something so beautiful and then bear witness to something so horrible as a shooting in a movie theater? I would answer that whatever breaks our hearts also breaks the heart of God. When we weep, we do so because God wept first. Do you remember the story of Lazarus, the one who appeared to be dead?  Jesus arrives, seemingly too late to help his friend. The first action Jesus takes is to weep. God hears humanity's deepest cries, hears our prayers that are simply too painful to speak. God knows, because God has wept too. 

You will also remember that Lazarus found new life. He got up out of his tomb in order to proclaim that love wins yet again. As we continue to pray for mercy and healing in Colorado, let us also pray for peace in all the corners of the world. Let us pray that the tombs that would hold us back be released, so that our lives and the world may be transformed by God's unfailing love. With God, love always wins. 

Grace and peace, 

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We were reminded to leave our expectations at the (Alabama) border. It is nearly impossible to arrive on a mission trip without some expectations. Tuscaloosa was no different. A fabulous group of 31 volunteers agreed to work in Tuscaloosa throughout the week of July 8, helping the un-served and under-served recover from devastating tornadoes of 2011. We arrived ready to rebuild and make a difference in the city.

Sunday evening, our Tuscaloosa Long Term Disciple Volunteer (whose job is to coordinate groups such as ours with selected local charities) told us we would be working with the Compassion Coalition. This non-profit has a success rate of helping over 200 families get back into their homes. Part of their success is due to the fact that they help families that had so little to start. Eager to make a positive impact, everyone was dressed with lunches packed by 8 am Monday. Coordinating a group our size with such diverse ages and talents resulted in some frustrations. For some, waiting for assignments and supplies was disappointing. Others took on challenges they never expected to face. What we learned over the course of the week is that while we went expecting to build structures perhaps our most meaningful building was of relationships-both with the Tuscaloosa residents we served and with each other.

There were two primary work sites for the week. In each case, the property owner guardedly greeted us on Monday. These people had waited almost one and a half years for someone to assist in their recovery. At both locations, neighbors or government threatened legal action over the condition of the properties. This made the property owners leery. As SSCC volunteers diligently began to work in the searing heat, homeowners watched from a distance. As the week progressed, the residents realized our only agenda was to bring hope and help, so they tentatively approached and engaged. Experiencing the evolution of trust, building bonds of connection, and the physical manifestation of our work made the week a triumphant success... for us and our new Tuscaloosa friends.

The participants from the Tuscaloosa mission trip send an extra special "THANK YOU"

to Jim Torbert and Linda Mitchell for all they did to feed us well and energize us for

our daily work.  They were really the unsung heroes of the trip:  planning, shopping

and preparing 3 meals each day--not to mention always handwashing our breakfast

dishes and cleaning the bathrooms.  We couldn't have done it without you!!!  

Click here to read our Tuscaloosa newsletter with special memories from our missionaries and photos of their hard work.  [Hint:  click each picture to zoom in and again to zoom out; read the newsletter full size by clicking the full size icon; and hit the pause button for more time to read a page.] 

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Our giving in the 3rd quarter will be applied towards the ongoing education of D. Thamizharasi (age 12, 7th grade) and G. Karthigeyan (age 9, 4th grade) at the Family Village Farm in Vellore, India.

As you may recall, we began our support for Thami and Karti in 2010. Our collections in the 3rd quarter of the last two years have allowed us to sponsor both children for three years at The Family Village Farm!  Over time, we are hoping to collect enough to provide for their education through their graduation.

We have been told that both children come from very low income families - where they would not be able to receive a formal education without our help. Your giving provides hope and opportunity for these children when they are most vulnerable.

100% of our donations to the Global Ministries Child Sponsorship will go directly towards their education.

Additional information can be found at: www.globalministries.org/get-involved/child-sponsorship/

You can write to the children c/o:   Ms. Vatsala Vijayakumar

                                                   Family Village Farm

                                                   Kasam - Katpadi, Vellore 632 007

                                                   N.A. Dist. India

click here to read the latest letters from Thami and Karti.

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Pericles said: "What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others."

We do that in so many ways here at SSCC!  We weave love and care in our outreach, in our children and youth programming, in our ThirdAgers and men and women's gathering, through our Covenant Groups, in pastoral care, at table and in worship. We weave the love of God whenever we reach beyond ourselves and proclaim in the giving of self that that is who we are and what we do when we follow Christ. It is what we do when we commit a measure of our resources to keep the life of this community going and growing, a monument woven of the love of all who have come before us and of those who will come after.

Some of us are choosing to leave behind a share of our resources to enable that love to continue to be part of what we weave now and what is woven of our love and beliefs beyond our lives. We call ourselves "LEGACY BUILDERS." Are you one of us?

Contact rjohnson@ccf.disciples.org for more information about how to be a legacy builder for Christ at Sandy Spirngs Christian Church. Brochures about this ministry of SSCC are available at the reception area of the church. 

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The Memorial Committee acknowledges with appreciation your gifts 

To conserve space in this newsletter, the list of memorial gifts is attached as a webpage link. Click here to read the list. 

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In keeping with Danny's July 15 and 22 sermon series, I wondered if you know exactly how green you can be. Now I'm not talking Kermit the Frog Green, but I bet you don't know simple ways you can become a recycling "fan"atic in such simple ways.

Single Stream recycling

newspaper recycling

Did you know? Our Church has a newspaper recycling bin in the parking lot? Women's Ministries has a recycling bin for paper.  We also have another Single Stream recycling bin for everything but paper and newspapers. You will find  other recycling bins in various locations throughout the church.  While you are already here visiting, you can simply collect items throughout the week, and drop them off while you are at Church. 

In addition, when you leave the sanctuary after worship service, there are wicker baskets for recycling located under the small red tables outside each sanctuary entrance for you to place your worship program. In addition, if your family uses only one "yellow card" for multiple programs, you can simply place the unused ones on  the red desks to be used for the next week (which also saves SSCC money in printing costs!)

How about passing up Starbucks on your way in on Sunday, and bringing your own coffee tumbler to Church? Fill your cup with FREE coffee or tea, and give the extra $5.00 to SSCC for our Community Assistance Center, garden fund, grounds maintenance, or designate it for your favorite mission.

Are your home gardens filling up with nowhere to put all those extra tomatoes, green beans and cucumbers? Your neighbors tired of you knocking on their doors and accepting all those vegetables? No worries!  Simply bring your "extras" to SSCC and let Nancy Trusty know; she'll gladly deliver them to CAC with all of her other lovely garden treasures she collects from Grace Garden.

Have you looked in your pantry lately? All of us have a spare can of veggies, fruit, tuna, or peanut butter in there. How many of you parents are tired of Mac n Cheese with dinner?!  Just sneak a few boxes out, and your kids will never notice! The families that depend on CAC in the summer would sure love and appreciate it if the SSCC family could "recycle" a few of these items.

How about recycling your gently worn clothes? SSCC is collecting jeans, work pants and work shoes (size 9 & up) to help out CAC's efforts to collect gentlemen's work clothes. What a better way to recycle those old jeans that don't fit anymore?  All you have to do is bring them to church, and our volunteers will do the rest and deliver them to CAC,

And just outside SSCC's reach, our local Sandy Springs Fire Department has a large receptacle for collecting aluminum cans. They are merely one minute from the church, and would be glad to have your support by donating your aluminum cans.

Hope you find this helpful and fun.  We can all help to stay green and no effort, even the smallest one, will go unappreciated. 

Thanks for reading; happy recycling SSCC!  

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