Faith in 3D streams on Youtube Feb. 5 & 6 at 7:30 p.m. In its seven-year history, Wilshire’s Faith in 3D has produced dramas, musicals, famous plays and lesser-known works. But never before has it done a socially-distanced, 100%-Zoom-recorded, YouTube-streaming play about a pandemic during a pandemic. Due to COVID-19, this year’s show, scenes from Anthony Clarvoe’s The Living, is being rehearsed and recorded entirely over Zoom with cast and crew working from their homes. If you’re reading this on Friday, Feb. 5, or Saturday, Feb. 6, you still have a chance to see our Faith in 3D production. The show streams at 7:30 both nights. Look for “Faith in 3D – The Living” on Wilshire’s YouTube channel . You must watch during the stream; the videos will not be available to watch later. Learn more about the show here.
WOW! Girls Night In on Zoom, Feb. 5 at 9 p.m. Following the streaming of the Faith in 3D performance, the women of Wilshire will gather over Zoom for icebreakers and virtual fellowship. The Zoom link will be emailed to all WOW! members prior to the event.
The Sweet Sounds of the Organ: From the baroque to the delicious. Thursday, Feb. 11, 7 p.m. • YouTube. For his latest virtual organ concert, Associate Minister of Music/Organist Jeff Brummel is teaming with Chef Elizabeth Ferguson to take us on a culinary and sonic adventure through Italy, France and the Netherlands. We invite you to participate in making three simple, family-friendly desserts: Flourless Chocolate Cake, Raspberry Coulis, and Kletskoppen Cookies. Click here for the recipes. As you enjoy your creations, organ music will delight your ears with the sounds of Vivaldi, Daquin and J.S. Bach. The link will be shared in the Feb. 10 midweek email and on social media. Or just look for the premiere at Wilshire’s YouTube channel.
Reserve your Souper Bowl box. We can’t gather in Community Hall for lunch on Super Bowl Sunday this year, but we can still make a difference for hunger relief and food security through our adapted Souper Bowl of Caring benefitting Mission Oak Cliff. Wilshire is offering a special Souper Bowl Box that will include a Wilshire-branded 13-oz. food thermos plus recipes for some of your favorite soups from the church kitchen. Use the recipes to make your own soup for the big game on Sunday, Feb. 7, and share your photos on social media using the hashtag #WilshireSouperBowl. Souper Bowl Boxes are available for a minimum donation of $40. Sign up here or visit wilshirebc.org/registration to reserve your box. Individual contribution receipts will be issued. If you have questions, contact Ministry Assistant Abbey Adcox at 214-452-3127 or aadcox@wilshirebc.org
Ash Wednesday service, Feb. 17. Wilshire will begin the season of Lent with an Ash Wednesday service on Feb. 17 on YouTube. Led by our pastoral residents, the service will be available on the Wilshire YouTube channel starting at noon to be watched at your convenience. A small bag of ashes to self-impose will be available to pick up from the church on the next two Wednesdays, Feb. 10 and 17, during Koinonia Café To Go pickup times — 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 4:30 to 6 p.m. No registration is needed to pick up ashes.
Mental Health Network to meet. All mental health providers are invited to the second quarterly meeting of the Wilshire Mental Health Network. We hope this initiative will help us as Wilshire members and mental health providers to better get to know one another as well as discuss how we can support our community. The meeting will be held via Zoom on Sunday, Feb. 28, at 12:30 p.m. For questions or to get the Zoom link, email Rachel Murphy, LCSW, LCDC, at rachel.j.rossiter@gmail.com.
COVID-19 vaccine news
• Wilshire’s Parish Nurse Linda Garner has a tip for those who have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine: Use your mobile phone to take a photo of your vaccine card. That way, if you forget to take the card when going for your second dose, you’ll have the documentation on your phone.
• UT Southwestern Medical Center and Baylor Scott & White Health are allowing people who are not already their patients to register for notification of available COVID vaccinations. For UTSW, click here. For BSWH, click here.
Koinonia Cafe To Go for Feb. 10. Takeout meals from Wilshire’s kitchen are offered for curbside pick-up each Wednesday, and the proceeds help defray the cost of paying our dedicated kitchen staff during the pandemic. Order and pay online by end of day Tuesday, then pick up your food at the church at lunch or dinnertime on Wednesday. Full instructions and ordering link are online.
Around the Table with Ashley & Leanna. Wednesdays, Feb. 3 & 10, 6 p.m. on Zoom. Led by Ashley Robinson and Leanna Coyle-Carr. Join two of our pastoral residents in the spiritual practice of eating together. Grab your laptop and your supper and meet us on Zoom to share holy conversation around the table. As we eat, we will ask God to nourish us through conversation, scripture contemplation, and reflection together. To participate, email Ashley (arobinson@wilshirebc.org) by noon each Wednesday to receive the Zoom link.
Blood Drive, Wed., Feb. 10. Reserve your time here to give blood at Wilshire’s next blood drive in the Wilshire parking lot from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Find more information here.
Sign up for Weekly Witness. Weekly Witness, an online presentation from Texas Impact, examines public policy issues through a faith lens and helps viewers discover ways to participate in the public policy process. Weekly Witness is broadcast live on Mondays at noon on Zoom and Facebook during the legislative session. Upcoming topics: Feb. 8: Texas State Budget; Feb. 15: Voting Rights; Feb. 22: Policing Reform. Register for the Zoom link at texasimpact.org. Each episode features a Texas faith leader, an “issue of the week” update by leading policy advocates and a Legislative Update segment and Action Alert. The Weekly Witness podcast features content from the live event and is usually available on Tuesdays. Texas Impact is a statewide grassroots network offering concrete strategies to help people of faith work for justice.
Texas Impact event Feb. 15. Josh Houston of Texas Impact will be the special guest for a Zoom conversation presented by Wilshire’s Christian Advocacy Committee on Monday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. All are invited for a discussion of the current Texas legislative session — what’s happened so far and what to watch for as the session continues. Texas Impact is a statewide grassroots network established to be a voice of religious social concern to the Texas Legislature. Email Abbey Adcox (aadcox@wilshirebc.org) for the Zoom link.
Gateway of Grace seeks volunteers. Wilshire mission partner Gateway of Grace is seeking volunteers to teach online one-on-one conversational English classes for one to two hours per week. If you’re interested, email Lauren Cuddihee, Gateway’s director of operations, at lauren@gatewayofgrace.org. In addition, Gateway needs volunteers with a counseling or psychology background to work with refugees dealing with trauma and depression caused by loneliness, struggles to integrate into a new country and separation from family. If you’re qualified and can help, email Executive Director Samira Page at samira@gatewayofgrace.org
Book clubs
• The WOW! Brown Bag Book Club meets on Zoom one Thursday a month at noon. On March 4, the group will discuss Fannie Flagg’s The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop. 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. On Feb. 9, the group will discuss Colson Whitehead’s Nickel Boys. Contact Debby Burton at dburton@wilshirebc.org to sign up.
• Wilshire’s Anti-Racism Book Club will discuss Valerie Kaur’s See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love on Thursday, March 25, at 7 p.m. Register to receive the Zoom link at wilshirebc.org/registration.
Michael Waters book available. Copies of Stakes Is High by Michael Waters are available for $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.