I am pleased to announce the completion of our clergy staffing realignment so that we fully live into our future together. On January 1, Bryant and Katie Gibson assumed the role of Directors of Children and Youth Ministries. Beginning March 1, the Rev. Linda S. Whitmire will begin serving SSCC as the Associate Minister. Linda has served faithfully as our Minister of Pastoral Care since March 2012, and we are excited about this step in her ministry with SSCC. Linda will assume primary responsibility for working with the Discipling and Care and Connection Ministry Forums. She will continue her work with pastoral care, worship leadership, preaching, and teaching. I feel confident that we have the right people leading us in the right ways so that we may realize God's dreams for SSCC.    

Rev. Linda S. Whitmire      Associate Minister                  March 1

Bryant & Katie Gibson Directors of Children and Youth Ministries

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A packed house enjoyed great food and fellowship in Dunlap Hall at the Annual Congregational Meeting on February 2nd.  

 

Danny led the agenda with an inspirational vision for the church in 2014 where he challenged the congregation to live out our the theme for the year: YES! (Year of Engagement and Service).  He also mentioned some exciting personnel changes:  Linda Whitmire will become Associate Minister, Katie and Bryant Gibson will become co-directors of Children and Youth Ministries, and Sharon Hanna will be moving to a full-time schedule, effective March 1st.

 

Cindy Brown then provided an overview of the proposed balanced budget for 2014 that was subsequently approved by the congregation.

 

Chris Dalton presented the slate of nominees and asked for everyone to submit their votes. Her count after the meeting showed that the congregation had approved the entire ballot.

 

The congregation also voted to approv new wording for the Legacy Fund and Policy to bring it in line with the new Constitution and Bylaws.

 

Scott Dalton and Jim Armstrong then provided an exciting overview of the Grace Alive! projects. They reported that two thirds of the pledged support for the three year endeavor has been given in just the first year - and that gifts in memory of Whit Whitmire will enable us to make the pavilion a reality.

 

Bryant McDaniel wrapped up the meeting by acknowledging the contributions of many elected leaders and teams of volunteers that make SSCC such a great place to be!

 

Click here for a link to the presentations. 

 

  

Bryant & Katie Gibson Directors of Children and Youth Ministries

Children Ministries

Dear Parents,

We have had a blast getting to know your children better over the last month.  It is a joy to see young minds discovering God's love and grace!  Thank you to everyone who attended our Parent's meeting and shared ideas and thoughts for the children's program.  As we approach our first JAM meeting and as Katie and I have had more time to talk about our vision, here are the Top 5 things that you need to know about the Children's Program at SSCC:

1. Children's Worship - Children's worship will be offered at each service for ages preschool through 5th grade.  An invitation will be offered at each service inviting children to Children's Worship; the children will return for communion at each service.

2. Sunday School -  Sunday School has a great program in place with excellent leaders!  We will be expanding and adding classrooms so that we will have 2 separate classes for pre-k and K-2.  Sunday school runs from 10-11.

3. JAM meetings - We invite all children, Pre-K to 5th grade, to join us after church for service projects, games and other fun activities the first Sunday of every month. Check out the Connect board for more information on JAM.

4. Summer Activities -  The children have two big activities in the summer, VBS and Camp.  The Camp dates are posted on the Connect board, and more information will be sent out when we get the registration packet.  The VBS dates are set for July 21-25, 2014.

5.  Special Events -  We will have Wheel Day on May 4th. Children and parents are invited to a picnic after church. Children are invited to bring a bike, scooter, tricycle or any other wheeled device to ride.  We will block off an area for the kids to ride after lunch. We are also planning a Field Day for August to kick off the year: kids vs. parents. 

Youth Ministries

The youth have had a busy, yet fun filled January.  We kicked off the year with a Scavenger Hunt focusing on our theme, "#WWJD" where we will explore Christianity and Social Media. The middle school group went bowling at Stars and Strikes.  We split teams up for a friendly competition of girls vs. boys. It wasn't much of a competition though, with the girls winning by more than 100 pins! Click here for bowling pictures.   We finished the month off with a fantastic evening at Candlelight Café.  Our youth worked hard to provide an elegant evening for our congregation to raise money for Mexico Mission Trip.  (See above Candlelight Café article for more info.)

We are also excited by all the upcoming events in February!  We have a lock-in scheduled for the first Sunday.  The girls will have a fabulous "girl's night" hosted by Sara Torbert, while the boys will play Laser Tag and stay with Bryant.  We will also be heading to St. Simons Island for a weekend retreat: Regional Youth Assembly, February 7-9.  Our theme this year is "Shine On."  Our youth will also go to Ray of Hope on February 23rd to experience worship with disciples around the region.  

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Have you noticed the new signage in the Centrum and down the education hallway?  We are trying to make our church as welcoming and easy to navigate as possible.  There are new signs to direct people to the elevator and the restrooms.  There are signs for each office, upstairs classrooms and meeting rooms.  The classrooms now have names, not room numbers.  There is a large directory sign for the nursery, children and youth classrooms and Dunlap Hall. 

Have you seen the small black signs mounted next to each piece of original artwork?  We felt that it was important to remember and document each artist that created artwork to beautify our church.

All of the signs are easy to read and coordinate with the décor of our newly redecorated areas.  The office signs can be changed and reprinted in house if we have staff changes. The interior renovation team has been hard at work and the project is almost finished.  

Thank you for your patience and your support!

Nancy Trusty

Chris Dalton

Elaine Donnelly

Grace Alive Interior Renovations Team

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The Memorials Committee acknowledges with appreciation the following gifts:

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