New to Wilshire?
■ The monthly Wilshire Welcome Class, which helps guests and new members learn what Wilshire is all about, will meet Sunday, May 15, at 10 a.m. in the Prayer Room (1100B) near McIver Chapel.
■ The next Coffee and Conversation will be hosted by Associate Pastor Darren DeMent on Sunday, June 12, at 10 a.m. in the senior pastor’s study (Room 2203). This informal event gives guests and new members a chance to ask questions about Wilshire.
■ Questions about these events? Contact Carolyn Murray at cmurray@wilshirebc.org.
Wilshire in the Park
Churchwide Picnic
Sunday, May 15, 5–7 p.m.
Flag Pole Hill (8015 Doran Circle)
All are invited to this family-friendly event with live music, face painting and a unique inclusive playground. The pavilion and picnic tables are ours to use, and you can bring lawn chairs to sit by the playground.
The church will provide fried chicken, vegetarian baked beans, rolls and drinks. The rest of the meal is potluck
with these assignments by last name:
A–F, bring fruit; G–M, vegetables
N–T, salads; U–Z, dessert. Please bring enough to serve at least eight people. Containers and serving utensils should be disposable. Label any non-disposable items with your name and include a card with allergen information (gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts, soy) if appropriate.
There is construction happening at Flag Pole Hill. See signs and volunteers for help with parking. Speaking of volunteers, we need some! Look for a SignUpGenius at wilshirebc.org/registration.
Adventurers Lunch & Learn, May 4
Associate Pastor Darren DeMent will be featured at the next Adventurers Lunch & Learn on May 4. This midday gathering with a meal, program and fellowship is held the first Wednesday each month from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in Community Hall. Lunch will be buffet-style at a cost of $10 per person. RSVP is now required for this event; sign up at wilshirebc.org/registration or contact Barbara Clayton at 214-452-3125 or bclayton@wilshirebc.org.
Adventurers to Holocaust Museum
The Wilshire Adventurers will visit the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum on Monday, May 23, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The $14 per-person cost includes museum entry and a bus ride to and from Wilshire. Lunch is on your own at Trinity Groves. Register (required) at wilshirebc.org/registration or contact Barbara Clayton at 214-452-3125 or bclayton@wilshirebc.org.
WOW! Let’s Take a Hike, May 7
Women of Wilshire will explore the Cedar Hill State Park Trail on Saturday, May 7, starting at 9 a.m. Monica Mullins is organizing these occasional nature hikes; contact her to learn more at mudpuppyphotos@gmail.com.
Save the date for Gagliardi concert
Longtime Wilshire member George Gagliardi will present a concert in Community Hall on Sunday, May 29, at 6:30 p.m. A songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist, George will be performing some of the 40-plus songs he wrote during the COVID shutdown. The concert will also serve as a celebration of George’s 75th birthday, which occurs a few days later.
Wednesday Night Live, May 4
Family Dinner
5 p.m. • James Gallery. Join the Wilshire family for on-site dining each Wednesday evening. Bring your own food or, better yet, order Koinonia Café To Go. Drinks and dessert will be provided by the church.
First Wednesday: Called to Care
6 p.m. • Community Hall. The first Wednesday each month, all ages work together on a mission or service project. On May 4 we’ll assemble diaper bundles and write Mother’s Day notes for clients of Owenwood Farm’s Diapers, Etc. program. We will have things for little hands to help with! DONATIONS NEEDED: Diapers in sizes 4, 5 and 6 may be donated; drop them off at Wilshire by 6 p.m. on May 1 or order from an Amazon wish list (link at wilshirebc.org/registration).
Coming May 11
■ Music, Missions & More for preschoolers and children resumes at 6 p.m.
■ Resident-Led Vespers will be offered at 6 p.m. in McIver Chapel.
Childcare is offered, 6–7 p.m., for infants to 2-year-olds whose parents are involved in church activities.
George’s final sermon as senior pastor:
One service at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 1
Wilshire will hold one worship service, at 11 a.m., on Sunday, May 1, as George Mason preaches for the final time as senior pastor before retiring from the role. The service will include a special time of recognition for George. George and Kim’s adult children, grandchildren and other family members will be on hand, and many will have a role in the service.
While May 1 will be focused on worship, a reception for George and family will be held on Sunday, Aug. 28. George will remain senior pastor until Aug. 31.
Things to know for May 1
- The service will be about 70 minutes in length.
- Overflow seating and the service live-stream will be available in Community Hall.
- Since we expect a large crowd, the social distancing section of the Sanctuary will be reduced to the back part of the piano-side section only. We respectfully ask that only worshipers wishing to practice social distancing sit in that section. Distancing continues to be a desire for some, and we want to do our best to accommodate all.
One service + Fellowship Lunch this Summer
Wilshire members are invited to “Come Together” this summer for one worship service followed by lunch in Community Hall. Starting May 29, the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend, we will begin offering one service only, at 11 a.m. We will return to our regular schedule of two services, 9 and 11 a.m., on Promotion Sunday, Aug. 21. Sunday School will remain at 10 a.m. throughout.
On Sunday, June 12, we will begin offering a Fellowship Lunch in Community Hall after worship. Pricing and logistics will be announced soon.
Senior Pastor George Mason explained the temporary move to one service in the recent Generosity letter: “We have entered a season of pastoral transition that will include the summer months, notoriously a light time of attendance and giving. We all understand the pent-up desire for travel after two years of COVID. But I challenge you to attend every Sunday possible to hear a roster of excellent guest preachers we have lined up.”
Associate Pastor Doug Haney adds, “This is an opportunity for people to meet each other who typically attend the other service, whether in worship or the Fellowship Lunch afterwards.”
Pastor Search Committee accepting recommendations through May 15
The Pastor Search Committee is accepting recommendations of individuals you think should be considered for the role of senior pastor at Wilshire. An online recommendation form is available at wilshirebc.org/pastor-rec, and paper copies can be found in the church office. Submissions can be made through Sunday, May 15. Please fill out multiple forms if you have more than one name to suggest. Completed forms will only be visible to the committee. The committee asks that, if possible, you encourage those you recommend to apply for the position.
The application process will open for candidates on Monday, April 25, at wilshirebc.org/pastor-search. The search committee can be emailed at pastorsearch@wilshirebc.org.
Guest preachers begin May 8
Beginning Sunday, May 8, the Wilshire pulpit will be filled by a diverse lineup of guest preachers along with our pastoral residents. Residents will keep to their normal rhythm of preaching about once a month, including May 29. Here’s a look at our guests for the first few weeks:
May 8: Molly Marshall, a pioneer among Baptist women in ministry, is president of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her nearly 40-year career in theological education began at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where she was the school’s first female theology professor and associate dean. She later served Central Baptist Theological Seminary for 25 years, the last 16 as president. Marshall has been a youth minister, campus minister and pastor.
May 15: Milton Brasher-Cunningham is known to Wilshire as a beloved youth camp pastor and mentor to Associate Pastor Darren DeMent. Brasher-Cunningham has been a pastor, youth minister, chaplain, English teacher, chef, blogger and editor. He is ordained in the United Church of Christ.
May 22: Priscilla Pope-Levison is research professor of practical theology at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology. She and her husband, Jack, have attended Wilshire since 2018. An ordained United Methodist minister, Pope-Levison’s research interests include the history of American Christianity, contextual theology, evangelism and ecumenicism.
June 5: Jonathan Walton became dean of Wake Forest University’s School of Divinity in 2019 and was previously a professor of Christian morals at Harvard. He is a social ethicist whose scholarship focuses on evangelical Christianity and its relationship to media and political culture. Walton’s latest book is The Lens of Love: Reading the Bible in Its World for Our World.
Koinonia Café To Go
Takeout meals from Wilshire’s kitchen are available for curbside pickup on Wednesdays, and on-site dining is offered at 5 p.m. in Community Hall. To eat your evening meal at the church, pick it up on the first floor. A microwave is available to heat your entrée.
- Ordering for May 4 is open now on the church website. Order and pay by end of day Tuesday, April 3, then pick up your food Wednesday.
- Pickup times: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. & 4:30 – 6 p.m.
- Email eferguson@wilshirebc.org for information about meatless and allergen-friendly options.
- Full instructions at ordering link.
Vacation Bible School is June 13–17
Passport to Peace is the theme for Wilshire’s Vacation Bible School for preschoolers and children, which will be held Monday – Friday, June 13 –17, from 9 a.m. to noon. Children’s VBS is for children who have completed kindergarten through sixth grade, while Preschool VBS is open to kids 3 and older who have not completed kindergarten. VBS is free, class sizes are limited, and registration ends June 8. Sign up at wilshirebc.org/registration.
Volunteers needed
We’re excited to be back to our regular in-person VBS, but we need some good volunteers to make it a meaningful and memorable experience. It’s fun, it’s easy, it’s fulfilling, you’ll have support, and you are needed! Some of the ways we need help:
- Prep work and decorations
- Registration
- Preschool teachers and helpers
- K–Grade 5 group leaders and helpers
- K–Grade 5 rotation leaders and helpers in recreation, music, Bible story, crafts, missions and worship
- Grade 6 field trip chaperones
For general help or to work with K–6th graders, contact Julie Girards at jgirards@wilshirebc.org. Contact Joan Hammons at jhammons@wilshirebc.org to work with preschoolers.
Women of Wilshire book clubs
- The WOW! Tuesday Evening Book Club meets in the Parlor monthly at 6:30 p.m. On May 10, the group will discuss Susan, Linda, Nina and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Members of NPR by Lisa Napoli. Zoom option by request. Contact: Debby Burton (dburton@wilshirebc.org).
- The WOW! Brown Bag Book Club meets one Thursday a month at noon in Room 1205-L. On May 5, the group will discuss Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth. Contact: Abbey Adcox (aadcox@wilshirebc.org).
Marriage Connections, May 13
Friday, May 13, is the date for the next Marriage Connections, and the deadline to register for childcare is Sunday, May 8. In this monthly event, free childcare (infants – grade 6) is provided at Wilshire while couples attend a program and then dine out on their own. This month, couples will drop off kids at the church and then head to the Lathams’ house for “Paul and Patty’s Post-Pandemic Party.”
- The same childcare is available for Single Parents’ Night Out and Adoption/Foster Care Ministry Night Out. Register at wilshirebc.org/registration.
Remembering Black Dallas tour
You are invited to participate with fellow Wilshire members on a bus tour highlighting local Black history on Saturday, May 14. This chartered bus tour, operated by the nonprofit Remembering Black Dallas, will explore the sites of several Freedman’s towns in the Dallas area, highlighting the importance of these settlements that were created by force during reconstruction. Participants will be led through a journey of how the landscape and racial divide came to be in Dallas County. Learn more and sign up at wilshirebc.org/registration.
Graduate recognition, May 15
Wilshire’s education office is gathering information on all Wilshire high school seniors and Wilshire members who have received or will receive a bachelor’s degree from June 2021 through May 2022. Wilshire will recognize high school seniors on Sunday, May 15, during the 11 a.m. service. The deadline for inclusion in graduate recognition is Sunday, May 8. Contact Carol Cabaniss at ccabaniss@wilshirebc.org.
Blood drive, May 4; need is critical
The Carter BloodCare bus will be at Wilshire for a blood drive on Wednesday, May 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Carter is still feeling the effects of decreased blood donations during the pandemic, and they have a less than one-day supply of many blood types. Visit wilshirebc.org/registration or scan the QR code to make an appointment. Photo ID required. Contact Parish Nurse Linda Garner with questions at lgarner@wilshirebc.org.
CBF General Assembly in Dallas
Registration is open for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s 2022 General Assembly, which will be held in Dallas June 28–30. CBF is Wilshire’s primary global partner for missions and ministry, and General Assembly is CBF’s annual gathering for learning, worship, inspiration and fellowship. Learn more and register at cbf.net/general-assembly.