These days, it’s easy to feel unsure about things we once knew or felt confident about. Uncertainty seems to shape our days, leaving us to question our relationships, our faith, and even our sense of self. We may feel adrift, searching for steady ground. In moments like these, it is good to become rooted again in truths that do not waver — to remember the steady presence that carries us when everything feels unsettled. In that remembering, we find our footing and our rest. We are held, and we are not alone. This season is not about having all the answers. It is about remembering who we are and whose we are and trusting the hope that holds us fast.
Book focus
All are invited to read along as we study An Unlikely Lent: Extraordinary People of the Easter Story by Rachel Billups. This new book invites us to consider the events of the Easter story through the “side characters” who witnessed them. Many Sunday School classes will use the book, but it is also appropriate for individual study. The book is available at Amazon and other sellers.
Playlist
Our eclectic Lenten playlist is available on the digital music service Spotify under the name “Rooted – Wilshire Lent 2026.” The basic version of Spotify is free. Listen to the playlist now >
Easter lilies
You are invited to provide Easter lilies for the Sanctuary in honor or memory of family members or friends. Dedications will be listed in the worship folder on Easter. Each plant costs $20 and can be taken home after Easter worship. Order in the office or at this link by Palm Sunday, March 29.
Ash Wednesday Services
Feb. 18 | Noon & 6 p.m. | Wilshire will offer two worship services on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18. Both are open to anyone and will include the imposition of ashes. The 6 p.m. service will be held in lieu of regular Wednesday faith formation offerings; children and youth are encouraged to attend the service. Childcare will be available for preschoolers. Koinonia Café will be offered at 5 p.m. as usual.
Road to Resurrection
Palm Sunday, March 29 | Join us in traveling the path of Jesus during his last week on earth in this interactive Lenten event. Older preschoolers through 5th graders will attend during Sunday School; open to all from 9 to 9:30 a.m. More information and sign-up >
Good Friday Service
April 3 | 7 p.m. | Sanctuary | At the heart of Holy Week lies Good Friday, a day we set apart to stop, remember and be present to what Christ bore for our sake. We invite you to observe it with us through the ancient service of Tenebrae, in which candles are extinguished gradually as we keep watch together through the gathering darkness and the silence of the tomb. Sanctuary Choir will present excerpts from Fauré’s Requiem woven throughout the service with anthems and hymns. Joining the choir as soloist will be Lwazi Dlamini, baritone with the Dallas Opera, whose voice has graced stages across South Africa and the United States. Come, keep watch and pray.
■ Preschool childcare will be offered; sign up >
Easter Sunday, April 5
■ Sunrise Service | 6:45 a.m. | T. & P. Hill at White Rock Lake [map] | Come as you are as we greet the Easter sunrise on the shores of White Rock Lake.
■ Worship | 8:30 & 11 a.m. | Sanctuary | The Sanctuary shutters, closed during Lent, will be opened as we celebrate the risen Christ through word and song. (Our 9 a.m. Chapel service will not meet on Easter Sunday.)
■ Service of Remembrance | 9:30 a.m. | Columbarium | This brief service is geared toward those with a loved one inurned or memorialized in Wilshire’s Columbarium. Attendees are invited to gather in the Parlor starting at 9:30 a.m., and the service will begin around 9:45.
■ Flowering Cross | Stop by Easter morning to place a flower into the mesh-wrapped wooden cross outside the Sanctuary. Bring your own fresh-cut flowers or take one from a limited supply provided by the church. A favorite photo opportunity!