Drive-in and online options for Christmas Eve. Wilshire will offer two in-person outdoor services plus an online-only worship option on Christmas Eve, Thursday, Dec. 24. Two identical drive-in Christmas Eve services will be held in the north parking lot at 4:45 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. The services will feel similar to the recent Church in the Lot events, but different in one key aspect: all worshipers will remain in their vehicles. The service will be broadcast over a special FM frequency. Advance sign-up is required for the drive-in Christmas Eve services. Sign up here. In addition to the in-person option, an online Christmas Eve service will premiere on Wilshire’s YouTube channel at 7 p.m. and can be viewed anytime thereafter. This service will be more formal and liturgical in the tradition of Wilshire’s usual 11 p.m. Christmas Eve worship. Ministers will be robed and Communion will be served. Worshipers are encouraged to participate in Communion from home with whatever elements are at hand. Read More about Christmas Eve.
Advent Devotional Videos. Video reflections from Wilshire members on the Hopes & Fears theme will be released on Tuesdays and Thursdays on social media channels or email during Advent through Dec. 24. View any Devotional Videos you may have missed on this YouTube playlist.
Strong finish needed for 2020 giving. As of Dec. 21, Wilshire has a $269,922 gap between expenses and income for the year. During worship on Dec. 20, Senior Pastor George Mason noted that giving has slowed and asked members to take a look at their giving as year-end nears. “Consider giving a gift that is equal to the largest gift you’re giving someone this Christmas. Give it to your church. Give it to the work of God in the world.” Watch for an email from George to members in the coming days with an update on the numbers.
Church Office open for year-end giving. Year-end financial gifts may be brought to the church anytime before 5 p.m. on Dec. 31. The week of Dec. 28, Accounting Manager Lori Gooden will be in the office in the mornings, and Director of Business Administration David Nabors will be on-site in the afternoons. Call Lori at 972-632-7539 or David at 214-797-8799 with questions or to arrange a curbside pickup of your offering. Checks can be placed in the secure black mailbox outside the doors near the church office at anytime; please place your check in an envelope. Mailed checks must be postmarked by Dec. 31 to be credited as a 2020 gift. You may also submit gifts online, or through the Wilshire app, or by text. Find out more here.
Benevolence gift cards. If you visited the Giving Tree and took a tag for a Wilshire benevolence gift card, don’t forget to purchase the gift card and return it to the church. Gift cards can be returned at any time to the secure black mailbox outside the main church office door in the south parking lot.
MOPS spring registration open. Our theme this year is Decide to Rise. As mothers of preschoolers, we have had to make some tough decisions for ourselves and our families during this pandemic. So how do we Decide to Rise? MOPS has identified three steps: Be strong. Do your work. Chase joy. We are committed to doing this by providing a meaningful and engaging experience for our group — no matter the times. Find out more here.
Light up the Mat: Epiphany Yoga with Jenna . Sundays, Jan. 10 – Feb. 14, 3–4 p.m. on Zoom. Want to start 2021 off on the right foot, literally and figuratively? Join Pastoral Resident Jenna Sullivan, a certified yoga instructor, for an introductory virtual yoga class during the liturgical season of Epiphany. The six-week class is geared specifically to beginners. You will learn about the basics of yoga postures, practice stress-busting breathing techniques and see how this practice can deepen your life with God. Together, we will make room on our mats and in our lives for the Light of the world. The class is free and open to up to 25 people. Register at wilshirebc.org/registration to get the Zoom links. You will need a yoga mat and some comfortable clothes — sweatpants or pants with some stretch. An inexpensive yoga block is suggested but not required (available at Target or Amazon). Spaces filling quickly; sign up today.
Koinonia Café resumes Jan. 13. Wilshire’s Wednesday takeout meal service, Koinonia Café To Go, will be on holiday break for the next few weeks and will resume service on Jan. 13, 2021.
New Song held drive-through event.. Wilshire-based New Song Community Choir held a Christmas drive-through event Dec. 16. Members drove through the porte cochère to pick up a goodie bag and drop off gifts for mission partner Gateway of Grace. Dwight Roan played Santa, and music was provided by the Madhatter Ukulele Orchestra, directed by George Gagliardi.
Coming up in early 2021. Mark your calendar and watch for more details on these upcoming regular and special events below:
- Epiphany Vespers, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 6 p.m. Facebook Live.
- Midweek Update & Reflection video, resumes Wednesday, Jan. 6.
- Sunday Night Live! Kindergarten through 6th grade. Second and fourth Sundays each month, resuming Jan. 10. 3:30 – 5 p.m., Prayer Garden.
- Koinonia Café To Go – resumes Wednesday, Jan. 13.
- Zoom with George, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 6 p.m.
- MLK Day service projects, Monday, Jan. 18. Signups coming soon.
- Resident-led Wednesday study, starts Wednesday, Jan. 20, 6 p.m., Zoom.
- Annual Church Conference, Sunday, Jan. 24, 1 p.m., via Zoom.
- Faith in 3D– Scenes from The Living, livestream performances on Feb. 4, 5, 6.
- Alternative Souper Bowl of Caring, Sunday, Feb. 7.
Book clubs
• The WOW! Brown Bag Book Club meets on Zoom one Thursday a month at noon. On Jan. 7, the group will discuss Sejal Badani’s The Storyteller’s Secret. Contact Abbey Adcox at aadcox@wilshirebc.org or Carolyn Murray at cmurray@wilshirebc.org to sign up.
• The WOW! Tuesday Evening Book Club meets on Zoom monthly at 7 p.m. For its next meeting, Jan. 12, the club will be joined by local author Harry Hall for a discussion of his book, The Pedestriennes: America’s Forgotten Superstars. Contact Debby Burton at dburton@wilshirebc.org to sign up.
• Wilshire’s Anti-Racism Book Club will discuss White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity by Robert P. Jones on Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Register at wilshirebc.org/registration.
Michael Waters book available. Copies of Stakes Is High by Michael Waters are still available for the discount price of $10. In the book, Waters, a local pastor and community leader, “blends hip-hop lyricism and social justice leadership, creating an urgent voice demanding that America listen to the suffering if it hopes to redeem its soul.” The book can be purchased at wilshirebc.org/registration.