This page is usually updated Fridays.
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For guests and new members
• Wilshire Welcome is a one-hour session during Sunday School to help you learn about the church. No RSVP necessary. The next Wilshire Welcome will be held Dec. 14 at 9:45 a.m. in the Prayer Room near McIver Chapel.
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Try our weekly 9 a.m. contemplative service | Read more >
Advent and Christmas 2025 | Read more >
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Elevator ups and downs
Work to replace the north elevator will begin soon, and the project should take six to eight weeks. The work should not impede access to the Preschool Hall, Youth Center or any entrance on the north end of the building. Note: The south elevator will not be available Sunday, Dec. 7.
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Online Book Fair benefiting the Wilshire Library: Dec. 1–16
Get some of your Christmas shopping done and help the Wilshire Library at the same time by shopping the Library’s Online Book Fair from Dec. 1 to 16. The Library will receive 25% of all sales. More than 212,000 titles are available, from baby books to young adult. Shop the book fair here starting Dec. 1.
Sign up kids for Nativity duty
Elementary school kids are invited to help build the Sanctuary Nativity scene by carrying elements to the chancel at the start of worship. We’ll begin Nov. 30 and build the scene week by week until it is complete at the 4 p.m. Christmas Eve service. Sign up.
Celebration of the Green is Dec. 7
Wilshire’s choral and instrumental music groups will perform in the beauty of the decorated Sanctuary at this evening’s Celebration of the Green. Participating groups are Sanctuary Choir, Nova, Youth Choir, Children’s Choir, Wilshire Winds and Carillon Ringers. The 6:30 p.m. event will also feature congregational singing, Scripture readings and recitations of poetry by Jan Richardson, Gerard Manley Hopkins and others.
• A reception with cookies and cider will follow in James Gallery.
• Childcare for preschoolers will be provided.
• Celebration of the Green will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel.
Dec. 10: Christmas Pageant
6 p.m.| Sanctuary | Kindergarten, Pre-K and 3-Year-Old choirs will be in costume as they sing and act out the Nativity. Dec. 10 will be the final Wednesday Night Live before a holiday break.
Parents Night Out on Dec. 12
On Friday, Dec. 12, Wilshire will offer free childcare (infants–grade 5) from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. while parents attend adult Sunday School Christmas parties or simply get some shopping done. Space is limited. Register by Dec. 7.
Songwriter Vespers: Holiday Edition won’t be typical Christmas program
Associate Pastor Darren DeMent and other musicians will explore the full range of holiday emotions through songs by Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Lyle Lovett and others in a “Holiday Edition” of Songwriter Vespers on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 4:30 p.m. in Choral Hall. Unlike past Songwriter Vespers services, which focused on the work of a single songwriter, this one will be more thematic. Darren said, “We’ll focus on some aspects of the season that often get overlooked or avoided — loneliness, heartache, regret. The idea that Jesus came to live in the midst of human struggle and hardship can give us a fresh perspective on the incarnation.” Part worship service and part coffeehouse concert, this won’t be your typical church Christmas program.
One Starry Night awaits
Grab the kids, gather the grandchildren — the whole family if you can! — and come to Wilshire on Friday, Dec. 19, for One Starry Night, an interactive Bethlehem experience with something for everyone. Read more>
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Wednesday Night Live, Dec. 10
Final WNL before the break features Christmas pageant
Koinonia Café
5 p.m. | Community Hall | Buffet dinner with kid-friendly options. Cash/check/credit. Prices at wilshirebc.org/events/wnl. Dec. 10: Sausage and gnocchi, roasted vegetables, garlic bread, tomato basil soup, tiramisu, chocolate chip cookies, jello.
Dec. 10: Christmas Pageant
6 p.m.| Sanctuary | Kindergarten, Pre-K and 3-Year-Old choirs will be in costume as they sing and act out the Nativity. Dec. 10 will be the final Wednesday Night Live before a holiday break.
Watershed
6:30 p.m. | Grades 6–12 | Bible study and
music in the Youth Center.
Sanctuary Choir
7 p.m. | Choral Hall | Wilshire’s main adult choir rehearses weekly. New singers are always welcome, and there’s no audition.
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Next Lunch & Learn is Dec. 17
All are invited at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 19, for a buffet lunch ($10) followed by Bible study. No RSVP needed; pay at the door. Lunch & Learn is held the first and third Wednesdays every month.
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Author Meredith Miller here Jan. 11
Mark your calendars for Jan. 11, when Wilshire will host author, speaker and pastor Meredith Miller. Miller is the author of Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn’t Have to Heal From, and she has over 20 years of experience in children’s ministry and curriculum. On Jan. 11, Miller will lead a Sunday School session geared toward parents and participate in 11 a.m. worship. After worship all are welcome to hear more from Meredith, including a time of Q&A, over a free lunch in Community Hall.
Register for WOW retreat
Registration is open for Women of Wilshire’s 2026 retreat, set for Friday, Feb. 20, through Sunday, Feb. 22, at the Prothro Retreat Center at Lake Texoma. Get away and find community, encouragement and time with God through worship, art, learning and fun. Details and registration at wilshirebc.org/events/wow-retreat-2026.
Puerto Rico trip planned for 2026
Wilshire is forming an intergenerational mission team to serve in San Juan, Puerto Rico, during Spring Break. Families with youth ages 13 and up are encouraged to serve together alongside others who have served in Puerto Rico in past years. Proposed trip dates are March 14–20, 2026. The trip will cost an estimated $400 per person plus airfare. Scholarships are available. If you have questions or are interested, contact Abbey Adcox (aadcox@wilshirebc.org).
Monthly service opportunities
• A Wilshire group serves the fourth Friday morning each month at the Vickery Meadow Youth Development Foundation’s Mobile Food Pantry. Dates for the rest of 2025 are Nov. 21 and Dec. 19. If you can help, contact Charlie Estee at cesteedallas@gmail.com.
• Cindy Estee coordinates volunteers to serve as food pantry assistants at the Wilkinson Center the third Tuesday each month from noon to 3:45 p.m. Contact Cindy at
cesteedallas@aol.com.
• A team of Wilshire volunteers serves lunch at The Stewpot on the second Thursday every month. Contact David Cossum at dc@cossum.com to join the team or learn more.
Columbarium prices to rise Jan. 1
Since being dedicated in 2010, Wilshire’s Columbarium has become the resting place for many Wilshire members and their loved ones. We are proud to house this space as a place to memorialize and remember those who have left us. Over the years, we have kept prices steady, but with rising maintenance costs and the necessity to hire a new engraver, we are going to raise the price of single and double niches as well as the price of remembrance markers. Prices will change as follows: a single niche, now $1,500, will cost $1,750; a double niche, now $3,000, will cost $3,500; a remembrance marker, now $500, will cost $750. New prices will take effect in January. Act soon to purchase a niche or marker at the current price. Contact: Chelsea Hopkins
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Save the date for 75th anniversary
Wilshire will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2026, culminating with special events on Saturday, June 13, and Sunday, June 14. Planning is underway, and more information is coming soon about how you can get involved. For now, mark your calendars for next June 13 and 14, and plan your summer vacation so you don’t miss the festivities.
Women of Wilshire Book Clubs
• Tuesday Evening Book Club | Dec. 9 | 6:30 p.m. | Parlor | The Dec. 9 meeting will include a cookie exchange and a special guest reviewing favorite Christmas books. Contact Debby Burton.
• Brown Bag Book Club | Thursday, Jan. 8 | Noon | 1205-L | We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes. Contact Carolyn Murray.
Men’s Book Club
Jan. 20 | 7 p.m. | Parlor | Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez. Contact: Scott Spreier or Mike Meripolski
Adam’s Baskets
Wilshire’s Adam’s Baskets ministry, created in memory of Adam Malcik upon his passing in 1987 by his parents Vy and Michael Malcik, provides members the opportunity to keep our food pantry stocked. Our small pantry meets immediate needs when a neighbor stops by for assistance. Wicker baskets are located around the church, and you can place nonperishable items into a basket at any time. Proteins, peanut butter and pop-top canned goods are most needed. Items are collected from the baskets on the second Sunday each month.