Tapestry News – August 23
Promotion Sunday and more: what you need to know:
Promotion Sunday
Preschool – grade 12: kids move up to the next age-graded Sunday School class on Aug. 23. Adults: try out a new class or try Sunday School for the first time. For more info: Email Carol Cabaniss, ministry assistant for preschool through youth. Email Carolyn Murray for help finding an adult class.
Worship Start Time Change
Online worship moves to an 8:30 a.m. debut starting Aug. 23. Where: Wilshire’s YouTube channel, as before; When: Watch during the 8:30 premiere or anytime thereafter. How to find it: Direct link will be emailed to members on Saturday and shared on Facebook Sunday morning. It is also available on the livestream page of this website (wilshirebc.org/media/live-stream). Or simply visit our YouTube channel.
Drive-by blessing of the backpacks
Parents: bring your school-age kids for an in-person blessing to start the new school year. Wear your mask and drive through the porte cochère on the south end of the building on Ravendale Ln. from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 23. Teachers are also welcome.
Kitchen staff offers Koinonia Café To-Go
Soon you’ll have a new yet familiar option for take-out meals when Koinonia Café To-Go debuts on Wednesday, Sept. 9. This new offering from chef Elizabeth Ferguson and the Wilshire kitchen staff will operate each Wednesday with the hope of expanding to other weekdays. The to-go meal service was conceived as a way to help defray the cost of paying the church kitchen staff during the coronavirus shutdown. Elizabeth says, “We’ve all missed working. Our ministry is cooking, and we’re eager to get back to doing that for Wilshire.” Customers will be able to choose from a small menu, with ordering and payment handled on the church website. Orders must be made the day before at the latest and will be available to pick up during a set window of time on Wednesday. A staffer will deliver your food to your vehicle. Wilshire’s kitchen operates with three full-time and four part-time employees, many of whom have long tenures at the church. “These are very loyal employees, dedicated to Wilshire,” Elizabeth says. “It’s not just a job. We care.” Full details and ordering instructions will be available closer to the launch.
Residents offer Wednesday series
Navigating the Wilderness is the theme of a four-week Wednesday evening study to be led by pastoral residents Jenna Sullivan and Ashley Robinson. The series will run each Wednesday from Sept. 2 to Sept. 23 and sessions will start at 6 p.m. on Facebook Live. The videos will remain on Wilshire’s Facebook page after the live event. (facebook.com/wilshirebc) Sullivan and Robinson describe the series this way: “Chaos. Disorienting. Lost. Uncertainty. These are words that have swirled through our minds as we have all tried to navigate a year of global pandemic. This sounds a bit like the wilderness experience described in the Old Testament. We are undoubtedly in a new place. Many of us are missing home and wondering what is next. In a weekly reflective gathering on Facebook Live, we will explore an Old Testament wilderness passage and discover a spiritual practice that might help us find our way in this strange land.” More information is coming soon about other Wednesday programming and fall offerings at Wilshire.
Resident interview videos
New pastoral resident Jenna Sullivan will be interviewed by second-year resident Leanna Coyle-Carr in a video released Wednesday, Aug. 26. If you missed Leigh Curl’s interview with Ashley Robinson, you can view it on YouTube.
Facebook Live Bible Study
A rotation of teachers leads the Facebook Live Bible study Sundays at 10:15 a.m. All are invited to participate via Wilshire’s Facebook page.
Scheduled teachers for the rest of August are:
*Aug. 23 Molly Shepard
*Aug. 30 Shawn Ashmore
Faith in Democracy, Aug. 23
Wilshire is one of several churches co-hosting Faith in Democracy: Lifting Dallas Faith Voices for Justice on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 23. This online event presented by Texas Impact will feature faith and community leaders discussing the 2020 election and the 2021 Texas legislative session. Panelists familiar to Wilshire include: Rev. Danielle Ayers of Friendship West; Rabbi Nancy Kasten; Imam Omar Suleiman; and former Wilshire member Josh Houston, a Texas Impact staffer. Texas Impact is a statewide grassroots network offering concrete strategies to help people of faith work for justice. The event is free but registration is required. To register, visit texasimpact.org and look under Events.
Aaron Coyle-Carr to lead world religion study
Former Wilshire resident Aaron Coyle-Carr is inviting Wilshire members to join in a community Bible study. The McKinney-based group, which Wilshire helped start last year, is meeting via Zoom on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. and is starting a new survey of world religions on Sept. 15. The topic will be explored through reading and discussion of Stephen Prothero’s book, God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World. Aaron will draw on Wilshire’s deep interfaith connections to enable the group to hear the lived stories of faith leaders from around Dallas. Contact Aaron at acoylecarr@wilshirebc.org for more information or to sign up.
Save the date: Flu shots Sept. 19
Flu shots will be offered at Wilshire on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 9 a.m. to noon. Advance registration will be required and strict safety protocols will be followed. Shots will be administered outdoors in the north parking lot. More information will be available as the date gets closer.
Wilshire Mental Health Network
Mental health providers are invited to the initial meeting of the Wilshire Mental Health Network. This group will help participants get to know one another while discussing how to better support our community. The meeting will take place via Zoom on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 12:30 p.m. Contact Rachel Murphy (rachel.j.rossiter@gmail.com) to get the link.
Women of Wilshire Book Clubs
*The WOW! Tuesday Evening Book Club meets on Zoom monthly at 7 p.m. Upcoming dates and titles: Sept. 8, Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah; Oct. 13, The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss; Nov. 10, The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd; Dec. 8, A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg. To participate, contact Debby Burton at dburton@wilshirebc.org.
*The WOW! Brown Bag Book Club meets on Zoom monthly on a weekday at noon. Upcoming dates and titles: Sept. 10, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson; Oct. 1, Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. To particiapte, contact Abbey Adcox (aadcox@wilshirebc.org) or Carolyn Murray (cmurray@wilshirebc.org).
Solar panels are up and running
On Monday, Aug. 10, Wilshire’s new solar panels were tied into the building’s electrical system and began providing power. The panels, numbering about 200, have been installed on the flat part of the church roof during recent months. This cost-saving and planet-saving project was funded entirely by an anonymous donation.
Library offers curbside pickup
Wilshire librarian Barbara Peterson is making it possible to check out books from the church library even while the building is closed. First, search the library’s online catalog by visiting wilshirebc.booksys.net/opac/wbc/#menuHome. This link is available in the library section of the Wilshire app and website. Then send an email to bpeterson@wilshirebc.org with “Book Requests” in the subject line and tell her what titles you wish to check out (limit 5). Barbara will work out a safe plan to get the books to you via curbside pickup at the church building or delivery to your home.
Gateway of Grace’s Project Mask
If you or your family needs face masks as the pandemic drags on, consider getting them through Gateway of Grace, one of Wilshire’s local missions partners. In Gateway’s Project Mask, refugee clients of the agency are making masks that are available to the public for a donation. One hundred percent of the proceeds go to the refugees, and for many refugee women, this is the first time in their lives they’ve been paid for their work. Instructions for ordering masks can be found here: https://form.keela.co/gateway-of-grace/project-mask-dfw
Evolving Faith Live Conference
Several Wilshire members will be virtually attending this year’s Evolving Faith Live Conference, which will be held online Oct. 2 and 3. WOW! will host a virtual follow-up discussion Tuesday, Oct. 6, and all who participate in Evolving Faith are encouraged to join the conversation. The conference will feature favorite speakers like Sarah Bessey, Jen Hatmaker, Nadia Bolz-Weber and Barbara Brown Taylor. Registration is $99 and includes access to all sessions until April 1, 2021. Register and learn more at evolvingfaith.com and watch for more info on discussion groups.