Wilshire closures:
Due to COVID-19 virus order in Dallas County, all public gatherings and meetings at Wilshire are suspended until further notice. All committee meetings will be held via the Internet, as will some rehearsals. The church offices are currently closed but our staff members are working from home. If you call a staff member, please leave a voicemail. Emails will be answered as usual. Financial gifts may be mailed to the church or given online.
Invitation to Give:
We’re not able to pass a physical offering plate on Sunday mornings right now, but the need for your financial generosity continues. The church has made a commitment to continue to pay its staff, including hourly workers, during the pandemic closures. Our staff members are working harder than ever, shifting to online formats and coordinating the needs of the church in new ways. We’re also continuing to fund our global and local missions partners who are deeply engaged in essential work. Thank you for helping Wilshire be a beacon of light in this time. If you’ve not yet set up online giving, it’s easy to do. Visit our online giving page at www.wilshirebc.org/give to choose from several options.
Online worship:
Wilshire’s staff will continue to lead worship services each Sunday from the empty Sanctuary. Each week’s 45-minute service will include familiar Wilshire elements, such as hymns, prayers, special music, the sermon and a children’s moment or interview. Please join us from 11 to 11:45 each Sunday via wilshirebc.org/media/live-stream or via our YouTube channel. Each service will start at about 10:45 with pre-service music.
Online Sunday School:
Mark Wingfield will continue to teach a weekly online lesson through Discovery Class, but for this week (as with last week), it will be broadcast via Facebook Live. Check Wilshire’s Facebook page to see last week’s lesson or to find this week’s lesson, which will be broadcast this Sunday at 10:15 a.m. This will be a 30-minute lesson, allowing you a short break before worship begins at 11 a.m.
Online mid-week Bible study:
Beginning this week, March 25, our pastoral residents will offer our normal Wednesday Bible study in video format posted online. This will be published on the Wednesday at Wilshire page on our church website, through our Facebook page and on our YouTube channel. It will be posted by noon every Wednesday. The 30-minute video will include some special music and the Bible lesson.
Online book discussion this Wednesday:
Join Leigh Curl for three Wednesdays (March 25, April 1and 8) from 6 to 7 p.m. for a discussion over Zoom (internet video) on Barbara Brown Taylor’s An Altar in the World. Taylor reveals meaningful ways to discover the sacred in the small things we do and see, from simple practices such as walking, working and prayer. These are practices most of us are doing even as we are at home social distancing or isolating. As we go about these completely ordinary practices, we begin to discover altars everywhere. We can find places and moments of worship where we encounter the divine even in the midst of being mostly confined to our homes. You do not have to read the book to participate in the class, but it is encouraged. If you would like to participate in the discussion, email Leigh at lcurl@wilshirebc.org by noon each Wednesday beginning March 25. By 2 p.m. each Wednesday, she will send out the link to join the video chat. Simply click on the link close to the meeting time, and you will be able to join the video call on your computer, laptop, tablet or phone.
Pastoral care notes:
Because of the limitations now in place with hospitals and rehab facilities, most of our health-related pastoral care visits must be done by phone. However, your ministerial staff still wants to keep up with you. As always, the first line of contact is Michele Stinecipher, assistant to the associate pastor, who may be reached at (214) 452-3130 or mstinecipher@wilshirebc.org. She maintains the daily Care Notes list and funnels information to the rest of the pastoral staff. You also may contact Mark Wingfield at mwingfield@wilshirebc.org or (214) 452-3128. You can also find general Prayer Notes on the News Blogs page of our website.
Tele-counseling available:
Our ministry partner The Center is now offering tele-counseling with its trained, professional staff of licensed counselors. If you need professional counseling to get through this time, call The Center’s client services team at (214) 526-4525 to schedule a tele-counseling appointment.
Share Wilshire with a friend:
It might seem that our inability to gather for in-person worship and Bible study would create a hindrance to bringing new people into the Wilshire community. Turns out the opposite might be true: Because of the accessibility of the church’s robust online presence now, it is easier than ever to share Wilshire with a friend. Consider sharing our content on your social media feed or sharing links directly with your friends and family members who need a church in these difficult times.
Lenten Spotify playlist:
Wilshire member Kevin Summers has curated a playlist on the streaming music service Spotify just for Wilshire’s Lenten theme, “God Be in Us.” Find the playlist “God Be in Us — Lent 2020 at Wilshire” on Spotify.