|
The Christian Church in Georgia
(Disciples of Christ)
and Sandy Springs Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)
invite you to attend
the Ordination Service for
Daniel B. Gulden
on Sunday, May 25, 2008
at 2:30 pm in the sanctuary of
Sandy Springs Christian Church
Lunch will be served at 12:30 PM
in Dunlap Hall
RSVP for Lunch to Barb by Wednesday, May 21
at barb@sandyspringscc.org
or 404.256.2582
Mexico 2008 - One Spirit
By Danny Gulden, Mexico Mission Trip Director and
Chief Bano Cleaner
 When
most young people say that they are going to Mexico for Spring Break,
they are most likely NOT going to build houses for the poor. However,
youth missionaries and young-at-heart sponsors from Sandy Springs
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) will spend April 5- April 12 in
Tijuana, Mexico doing just that.
Working with AMOR Ministries (AMOR is Spanish for
“love” and an acronym for Aiding Mexican Orphans and Refugees) our
Mexico 2008 Mission Team will build 2 houses start to finish. The homes
are11’ x 22’, divided into two rooms – with a cement foundation, and
stucco finished exterior. These houses will provide a much more livable
space than those in which the families currently live. The houses are
designed by locals to blend in with the community, not to set up walls
of social division between the recipients and their neighbors in the
community.
While the purpose of the trip is to build houses, it
is also about building lives. We will spend a week immersed in a culture
very different from our own, sharing the experiences and learning much
from those served. This mission experience creates a cross-cultural
understanding through direct exposure to the Mexican way of life.
Through immersion in the conditions of poverty, we will better
understand it.
We will discover that poverty comes in many shapes and
sizes. When you take students out of their comfort zones – where they
compare themselves only to one another and not to those different from
themselves – they begin to discover just how fortunate they are. They
are well fed, educated, safe, and supplied with most everything their
hearts’ desire. What we will discoverer in the midst of an experience
such as this is that their hearts desire something else, something more:
meaning, purpose, gratitude, even love. In those areas, many of us in
our culture are poor.
This will be SSCC’s 13th trip to Mexico. Sandy Springs
Christian Church is fully invested in the Mexico Mission Trip and has
supported the youth missionaries in numerous ways throughout the years.
This support has been critical to the effectiveness of this mission.
Thus far we have built twenty-one houses, and changed countless lives on
both sides of the border. For more information or to support the Mexico
Mission Trip through your gifts, please contact Danny Gulden at
404-256-2582.
Sandy Springs calls Rev. Phil Price
 At
a congregational meeting on Sunday, February 24, the Sandy Springs
Christian Church faith community voted unanimously to call the Reverend
Philip Price as Senior Minister. Phil’s first day in the office is
April 14, and his first Sunday in the Pulpit will be April 27.
Phil was born in Nova Scotia, completed a program in
radio broadcasting, earned a bachelor’s degree in music composition and
a master of divinity degree from the University of Toronto. He was
ordained in the United Church of Canada and began his ministerial career
there. He served Woodland Hills Community Church in Woodland Hills,
California for 12 years. His wife, Vicki, an employee with Nordstrom’s
Department store, accepted a position in the Orlando area, and Phil took
a temporary position with Babson Park Community Church in that area.
While there, the community was hard hit by three hurricanes which
devastated the community. Vicki was tapped to open the Nordstrom’s store
in Buckhead and they moved to Alpharetta. Since being in Georgia, Phil
has been an interim for a Disciples church in Watkinsville, Georgia and
is presently serving Central Congregational Church in Atlanta.
The Search Team at Sandy Springs sees Phil’s
experiences and philosophy aligned with the goals of their future story.
Program-centered church:
He guided Woodland Hills Community Church through the transformation
from a pastor-centered church to a program-centered church while
doubling its membership.
Intimacy and connection:
Phil has successfully launched a small groups ministry and a lay care
team ministry.
A unified vision of outreach to our neighbors in
Sandy Springs: After the hurricane devastation
in Florida, Phil organized community meetings with other churches,
identified and worked with appropriate helping agencies, organized
volunteers, and started a homeless mission project.
Clarity in our core values:
Phil lives what the opening page to the United Church of Christ website
states, “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you
are welcome here.” He has a reputation for embracing diversity and
encouraging people to live out their faith in their daily lives.
A desire for excellence:
Phil was instrumental in launching a successful, non-traditional worship
service at Woodland Hills. He has written and produced youth dramas and
musicals. He considers preaching a sacred honor and
responsibility. This is from Dr. Woody Kent, Regional Minister Emeritus,
Disciples of Christ in Virginia, “His exegetical preaching from the
lectionary texts is exceptionally excellent. His ability to lift up
biblio-theological themes as he relates them with wisdom to contemporary
issues from the pulpit is emotionally, spiritually and intellectually
uplifting, week after week. I have never heard (a bad sermon) in over a
year of preaching for us at CCUCC. He is the best preacher I have heard
in recent years.”
Empowerment of leaders:
Phil stated in his profile, “The strength of any congregation is the
strength of the lay leadership. I believe that one of the most important
tasks of ministry is to identify and nurture leaders.”
Mexico 2007- “Let Your Light Shine”
By Danny Gulden, Director of Youth Ministries (and
chief Bano cleaner)
 When
most young people say that they are going to Mexico for Spring Break,
they are most likely NOT going to build houses for the poor. However, 39
youth and young-at-heart missionaries spent March 31- April 7 in
Tijuana, Mexico doing just that. Our theme for this year’s trip was “Let
Your Light Shine” and each participant did just that, spreading God’s
love.
Working with AMOR Ministries (AMOR is Spanish for
“love” and an acronym for Aiding Mexican Orphans and Refugees) our
Mexico 2007 Mission Team built 2 houses start to finish. The homes
are located in the Cerro Colorado neighborhood, one of the poorest
sections of Tijuana. The homes are11’ x 22’, divided into two rooms –
with a cement foundation, and stucco finished exterior. These houses
will provide a much more livable space than those in which the families
currently live. The houses were designed by locals to blend in with the
community, not to set up walls of social division between the recipients
and their neighbors in the community.
While the purpose of the trip is to build houses, it
is also about building lives. We spent a week immersed in a culture very
different from our own, sharing the experiences and learning much from
those served. This mission experience created a cross-cultural
understanding through direct exposure to the Mexican way of life.
Through immersion in the conditions of poverty, we now better understand
it.
We will also discover that poverty comes in many
shapes and sizes. When you take students out of their comfort zones –
where they compare themselves only to one another and not to those
different from themselves – they begin to discover just how fortunate
they are. They are well fed, educated, safe, and supplied with most
everything their hearts’ desire. What we discovered in the midst of an
experience such as this is that their hearts desire something else,
something more: meaning, purpose, gratitude, even love. In those areas,
many of us in our culture are poor.
This was be SSCC’s 12th trip to Mexico. Thus far we
have built twenty-one houses, and changed countless lives on both sides
of the border.
The Mexico Mission Team invites all to join us for
Mexico Celebration Sunday at SSCC on Sunday, April 22nd for one
special worship service at 10 AM. The sanctuary fills up fast, so get
here early. We look forward to sharing our stories and experiences with
everyone through worship on this day.
SSCC celebrates
another successful Youth Mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico in 2004
(Click on Photos to see a larger
image)
 When
most young people say that they are going to Mexico for Spring Break,
they are most likely NOT going to build houses for the poor. Working
with AMOR Ministries (AMOR is Spanish for “love” and an acronym for
Aiding Mexican Orphans and Refugees) our Mexico Mission Team usually
builds 2 houses start to finish. The homes we build are not mansions -
11’ x 22’, divided into two rooms - but have a cement foundation and
stucco finished exterior. These houses, designed by locals to blend in
with the community so as not to set up
 walls
of social division between the recipients and their neighbors, provide a
much more livable space than those in which the families previously
live.
While the purpose of the trip is to build
houses, it is also about building lives. We immerse ourselves in a
culture very different from our own, sharing the experiences and
learning from those whom we serve. This mission experience creates a
cross-cultural understanding through direct exposure to the Mexican way
of life. Through immersion in the conditions of poverty, we can better
understand it.
 We
also discover that poverty comes in many shapes and sizes. When you take
rich kids out of their comfort zones - where they compare themselves
only to one another and not to those different from themselves - they
begin to discover just how fortunate they are. They are well fed,
educated,
 safe,
and supplied with most everything their hearts’ desire. What they
discover in the midst of an experience such as this is that their hearts
desire something else, something more: meaning, purpose, gratitude, even
love. In those areas, many of us in our culture are poor.
SSCC has made nine consecutive trips to
Mexico. This year we took a total group of 39 youth and adults, and we
built 2 houses located about 3 blocks apart, to accommodate 2 families.
Thus far, we have built fifteen houses and changed countless lives. |
