This page is usually updated Fridays.
Summer 2026 camps for children and preschoolers. | Read more >
Timothy Peoples sabbatical, April 21–May 24. | Read more >
Pathways Director Charlie Fuller to retire. | Read more >
Next class of pastoral residents named. | Read more >
Speaker named for 75th anniversary service. | Read more >
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Wilshire Welcome
Wilshire Welcome, a casual one-hour session to help guests and new members learn about the church, will meet Sunday, April 12, at 9:45 a.m. in the Prayer Room near the chapel. No RSVP needed. Contact: Carolyn Murray
Good Friday Tenebrae 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 at wilshirebc.org/events/good-friday-service.
Easter Sunday | April 5
• Easter Sunrise Service
6:45 a.m. | T. & P. Hill, White Rock Lake | Offered in partnership with Northway Christian Church. Come as you are.
• Service of Remembrance
9:45 a.m. | Columbarium | This brief service is geared toward those with loved ones memorialized in the Columbarium, which will be open for visits from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Easter Sunday worship
8:30 and 11 a.m. | The Sanctuary shutters, closed during Lent, will be opened as we celebrate Easter. We’ll hear music from Sanctuary Choir and orchestra plus Jeff Brummel’s traditional organ postlude, the Widor Toccata. (Our 9 a.m. service will not meet on Easter.)
• Flowering Cross
Stop by to place a flower into the mesh-wrapped wooden cross outside the Sanctuary. Bring your own flowers or take one from a limited supply provided by the church.
Not too late to support Youth Choir
There’s still time to bid on remaining items and sign-and-go events from the recent Spaghetti Lunch and Silent Auction. Visit our SignUpGenius. Proceeds benefit the Youth Choir’s summer trip to Kansas City.
• Art auction: You can also support Youth Choir tour by bidding on artwork donated by Wilshire member Larry Harrington, currently on display in the South Lobby. Bidding on the art will end April 5.
Preschool Playdate on April 18
Preschoolers and their families are invited to a playdate with Ms. Kelly at the Dallas Arboretum on Saturday, April 18, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Contact: Minister to Preschoolers Kelly Akins (kakins@wilshirebc.org)
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Get in on the 75th anniversary fun
Wilshire will mark its 75th anniversary this year, culminating in a festive June weekend, and we need your help! From planning to hosting, there are lots of ways you can be involved in our milestone celebration. Visit our SignUpGenius and see where you can plug in.
75th anniversary shirts, caps
New Wilshire T-shirts commemorating our 75th anniversary have arrived and are available for purchase. Adult and youth sizes cost $15; toddler sizes cost $10. Baseball caps are also available for $20. Items will be for sale in James Gallery from 9 to 10 a.m. Sundays, in Community Hall on Wednesday nights and at the April 10 Trivia & Tacos event. Contact Carolyn Murray.
75th anniversary weekend
• Saturday, June 13 — Homecoming Celebration
4:45–7:30 p.m. | Catch up with friends, explore the building and browse history displays at featured stops, with reflections and remembrances in the Sanctuary at 6.
7–10 p.m. | Extended fellowship at Times Ten Cellars. 6324 Prospect Ave.
• Sunday, June 14 — Worship Celebration
11 a.m. | Our 75-minute service in the Sanctuary will include a message by Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas.
Trivia & Tacos: A 75th Anniversary Event
Friday, April 10 | 6:30–8 p.m. | Get ready for our 75th anniversary with this fun evening of Wilshire trivia in Community Hall (formerly called the Fellowship Hall, don’tcha know). Associate Pastor Darren DeMent will be our emcee, and all skill levels are welcome. Childcare will be available. Sign up at wilshirbc.org/events/trivia-and-tacos.
75 Minutes of Service
Saturday, April 25 | 8:30–10:30 a.m. | Save the date and join us for an hour or two of beautifying our campus as we look forward to our 75th anniversary weekend. There will be coffee and donuts, of course! Project coordinators are needed. Visit wilshirebc.org/75 to find the SignUpGenius link.
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David Stern and George Mason lunch dialogue on April 26
Rabbi David Stern, senior rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, will be featured in conversation with George Mason, Wilshire’s senior pastor emeritus, over a free lunch in Community Hall on Sunday, April 26. Rabbi Stern will preach in Wilshire’s 11 a.m. service that day, the first Sunday Senior Pastor Timothy Peoples will be away on sabbatical. Register for lunch and preschool childcare at wilshirebc.org/events/stern-mason-lunch. Other preachers during Timothy’s sabbatical will be:
• May 3: Pam Durso, president, Central Seminary, Overland Park, Kansas
• May 10: Meredith Stone, executive director, Baptist Women in Ministry
• May 17: Greg Garrett, professor of literature and culture, Baylor University
• May 24: George Mason, senior pastor emeritus at Wilshire
Music event set for April 26
Sing and Ring Our Song of Praise: A Choral and Handbell Vespers will be held Sunday, April 26 at 4:30 pm in the Sanctuary. Join us for an evening of music and community as the handbell and sanctuary choirs of Northridge Presbyterian, Lake Highlands United Methodist and Wilshire come together as combined choirs to offer praise in song and sound. The congregation will also be invited to raise their voices in a community hymn sing. All are welcome.
Adventurers Arboretum outing
The Wilshire Adventurers will visit the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden on Monday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to see Bunnies, Birds & Butterflies, large-scale installations by artist Hunt Slonem. Tickets are free; optional picnic lunch available ($5 ea.). Carpool from Wilshire at 9:30 a.m. Please register at wilshirebc.org/events/arboretum by April 22.
Adventurers Boston trip has room
Sign-ups are underway for the Adventurers’ Sept. 20–25 trip to Boston, and we still have room for a few more travelers. Visit wilshirebc.org/events/boston-trip to learn more and email Barbara Clayton to learn how to register through our travel partner, Road Scholar. Adventurers is a fellowship group for anyone 60 and above.
Marriage Connections is April 10
Marriage Connections will be held Friday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m. Free childcare (infant–grade 5) will be provided while parents enjoy a short program and then have the rest of the night to themselves. Registration is required for childcare and closes April 5. Register.
• The same childcare is available to single, adoptive and foster parents. Register by April 5.
Firearm disposal event April 18
Wilshire is co-hosting a Guns to Gardens firearm disposal event on Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Royal Lane Baptist Church. This is a chance for anyone with unwanted firearms to anonymously and safely dispose of them. The guns will be disabled and later forged into garden tools, art and jewelry. Gift cards are available on a first-come, first-served basis and will be distributed based on the type of firearm brought. Guns to Gardens is a national movement working to reduce gun violence, and Wilshire helped start a local chapter last year. Find details at wilshirebc.org/events/guns-to-gardens.
• Volunteers are needed to staff the event. Sign up. Contact: Pastoral Resident Jordann McMahan (jmcmahan@wilshirebc.org)
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Wednesday Night Live: April 8
Koinonia Café
5 p.m. | Community Hall | Buffet dinner with kid-friendly options. Cash/check/credit. April 8: King Ranch casserole, Mexican corn, chips and salsa, tortilla soup, chocoflan, cookies, jello.
Bible Study: Sacredly Secular
April 8, 15, 22 | 6 p.m. | Community Hall | Associate Pastor Darren DeMent will lead adults in Sacredly Secular: Reimagining the Sacred-Secular Divide, a three-week series that will invite us to reconsider the categories that have shaped how we understand meaning, purpose and presence in our everyday lives.
Preschool Music & Missions
6 p.m. | Age 3–Pre-K | Preschool choir plus fun activities and lessons focused on God’s love and caring for others.
KidConnect
6 p.m. | K–Grade 5 | A rotation of activities to help kids learn how to love God and others.
Watershed
6:30 p.m. | Grades 6–12 | Bible study and
music in the Youth Center.
Sanctuary Choir — No rehearsal April 8
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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Lunch & Learn meets April 15
Generally held the first and third Wednesdays every month in Community Hall, Lunch & Learn features a buffet lunch ($10) followed by Bible study. Everyone is invited.
Monthly service opportunities
• A Wilshire group serves the fourth Friday morning each month at the Vickery Meadow Youth Development Foundation’s Mobile Food Pantry. 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.
Women of Wilshire Book Clubs
• Tuesday Evening Book Club | April 14 | 6:30 p.m. | Parlor | The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. Contact Debby Burton.
• Brown Bag Book Club | Thursday, April 2 | Noon | 1205-L | Welcome to Murder Week by Karen Dukes. Contact Carolyn Murray.
Men’s Book Club welcomes author
Darwin Payne, author of Behind the Scenes: Covering the JFK Assassination, will be in attendance to discuss the book at the next Men’s Book Club meeting on Tuesday, April 21, at 7 p.m. in the Parlor. Contact: Scott Spreier (swspreier@gmail.com) or Mike Meripolski (meripolski@att.net)
Baptism Team seeks larger pool of volunteers
Looking for an easy way to serve? The Baptism Ministry Team is seeking volunteers. Team members are contacted as baptisms are scheduled and may serve as a baptism host — meeting with the individual being baptized, showing them to the baptistry and lighting the candle — or by helping with robe and towel laundry afterward. These roles require minimal time but offer meaningful support to those being baptized. For more information or to sign up, contact Chelsea Hopkins.
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.