Preparing For Worship - Ralph Manuel. One of the most beloved musical works of all time is George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. This oratorio, which lasts over two hours in its entirety, relates the story of the prophecy and realization of God’s plan to redeem the world...

Preparing for Worship - LeAnn Hampton. While decorating our home for the season, we opened the boxes containing Christmas books. Seeing them feels like letters from dear friends, and I must read a page or two in each before placing them around the house.  Barbara...

Preparing For Worship - Jenna Sullivan, pastoral resident. Today we light the candle of peace. In my more honest moments, I wonder how a small flickering candle could really change a thing. The world is aching still. And the rush toward strings of twinkling lights and...

Preparing For Worship - Leah Lucas, Wilshire intern.  If you’re anything like I am, trying to make sense of how we’re already entering Advent, “rest” usually feels like fantasy more than reality. This Sunday's processional hymn might even almost come off like a taunt:...

Preparing For Worship - Abbey Adcox, ministry assistant.  A small group of Wilshire staff recently read Brené Brown’s book, The Gifts of Imperfection.  We call ourselves WOWS (Women of Wilshire Staff) in a nod to our WOW! Women’s Ministry. We are all in “midlife,” and...

Preparing for worship - Lindsay Bruehl.   I love when we sing our Affirmation of Faith with the words written by LeAnn Hampton. All the words in the doxology speak to my soul on a deep level, especially the line, “and healing triumphs over pain.” Wilshire has...

Preparing For Worship - John Kelly, pastoral resident A couple of months ago, the Washington Post published a feature highlighting the often bottom-of-mind women and men who’ve designed and maintained the hundreds of thousands of miles of hiking trails many Americans...

Preparing for Worship - Jeff Hampton.   Today on this Reformation Sunday we sing “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” Solid and sturdy, the hymn was penned by Martin Luther, the Catholic monk and theologian who in 1517 launched the Protestant Reformation with his “95...

Preparing for Worship - R.G. Huff, Wilshire member.  I was truly excited to see that we are singing one of my very favorite hymn tunes as the opening hymn in this Sunday’s service (Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven). It is a lofty, soaring melody by English-born...

Preparing for Worship - George Mason. He is the patron saint of Earth Day. You see his statue in gardens everywhere. When we sing “All Creatures of Our God and King” this morning, St. Francis of Assisi’s view of God and the world pulses through it all. St. Francis...