Holy Week at Wilshire
Maundy Thursday worship will be provided online to access at your convenience any time after noon on April 9. This 30-minute service will include a string quartet and Scripture readings that tell the story of Jesus gathering his disciples in an upper room for the Last Supper all the way to his betrayal. You are invited to access this service via the Wilshire website, YouTube channel or Facebook page.
Good Friday worship will be provided online to access at your convenience any time after noon on April 10. This will be a 30-minute sequence of meditation that incorporates instrumental arrangements of well-known hymns, visual art and Scripture readings that tell the story of Jesus’ Seven Last Words from the Cross. You are invited to access this service via the Wilshire website, YouTube channel or Facebook page and to share it with others.
Holy Saturday is a day for silence. You are invited to turn off your electronic devices, step away from your cell phone and reflect on the passion of Christ.
Easter sunrise worship normally is held at White Rock Lake but cannot be there this year. Instead, Wilshire’s pastoral residents will conduct a brief sunrise service from the Wilshire Columbarium via Facebook Live. Join that service on Wilshire’s Facebook page beginning at 6:45 a.m. on April 12.
Easter Sunday worship will be provided online for you to access anytime on Sunday, April 12. This complete worship service, although prerecorded, will include the organ, the hymns, the shutters, Sanctuary Choir and a message of hope from George Mason. You are invited to access this service via the Wilshire website, YouTube channel or Facebook page.
The flowering cross that has become a beloved tradition at Wilshire will be offered this year, despite our absence from gathered worship. All are invited to stop by the church anytime Easter Sunday and place flowers in the wire-framed cross facing Abrams Road. A limited supply of fresh-cut flowers will be available onsite for anyone’s use. However, due to Dallas County restrictions on public gatherings, please do not congregate around the cross or linger on the sidewalk. The required physical distancing must be maintained for safety.
Unified Budget update
March gifts: $280,737
March budget needs: $307,500
YTD budget gifts: $846,320
YTD budget needs: $820,000
YTD budget vs. giving: +$26,320
Join the Friday 5
All Wilshire congregants are invited to join in an easy pastoral care project during our time of physical distancing. The idea for “Friday Five” is this: Every Friday during the coronavirus isolation, commit to contact at least five Wilshire friends in your circle of influence to see how they’re doing. Think first of those who are not your family or closest friends but who would love to hear from you. Let’s multiply our care for each other.
Find inspirational resources
Visit a new page on Wilshire’s website for a collection of inspirational videos and writings related to the present crisis. This is an ideal page to share with friends and family who are not part of the Wilshire community. 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. Find the page here: www.wilshirebc.org/care/inspiration-during-isolation.
Wilshire closures
Due to COVID-19 virus precautions, all public gatherings and meetings at Wilshire are suspended until further notice. Many committee meetings will be held via the Internet, as will some rehearsals. The church offices are now closed as well, in compliance with the Dallas County directive. Staff members are working from home and are available by phone and email. Website staff listings for ministerial staff and administrative staff.
Online Sunday School
Mark Wingfield continues to teach a weekly online Sunday School lesson via Facebook Live. Check the church’s Facebook page to see last week’s lesson or to find this week’s lesson, which will be broadcast beginning this Sunday at 10:15 a.m. This will be a 30-minute lesson, allowing you a short break before worship begins at 11. If you don’t have Facebook, we are converting these to YouTube videos following the live broadcast. Find all past episodes here.
Online mid-week Bible study
Our pastoral residents are offering our normal Wednesday Bible study in video format posted online. This study, along with a prayer time and music, will be published on the church website, through our Facebook page and on our YouTube channel every Wednesday before noon.
Online book discussion this Wednesday
Join Leigh Curl for one more Wednesday, April 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. 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. 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.
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.
Wilshire Roots CD
Wilshire’s latest music CD is produced and ready to distribute, but due to the coronavirus containment efforts, we cannot currently hand them out. Never fear, though: There is a way to access this music at home.
Venture over to www.wilshirebc.org/wilshire-roots or to the Sounds of Wilshire page and you’ll find audio files of the new “Wilshire Roots” CD. Eventually, these tracks will be available on other commercial digital music platforms as well as on the physical CDs. But for now, due to limitations on other distribution methods, you may access them on our website.
“Roots” music isn’t standard fare on Sunday mornings at Wilshire, but it slips in between the classical hymns and anthems more often than you would guess. In the Baptist tradition, our roots come from at least two streams — one more formal and one more informal. So it seems natural that those traditions would merge in our worship even today. When that happens, you’ll often find Darren DeMent on the mandolin at the center of things. For this album, Darren gathered up some of his frequent collaborators and captured a few of our congregation’s favorite pieces they have sung and played in recent years. We often say Wilshire is “a different kind of Baptist church.” Here’s evidence yet again.
“Can You Spare A Can?” food drive
Wilshire’s Globetrekkers were organizing a food drive collection to benefit the Wilkinson Center. Now that everyone is sheltering in place, there’s a new plan to continue the food drive, but through our neighborhoods instead. Would you consider organizing and hosting a neighborhood food drive for the Wilkinson Center? The Wilkinson Center continues to operate and meet the direct needs of neighbors impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Steps to organizing a food drive:
1. Let Heather Mustain know that you’re taking part in the challenge by sending an email to Heather so she can coordinate pickups and promote your drive.
2. Look through the Wilkinson Center’s Amazon wish list and determine what you’d like to collect. Or consider collecting much-needed canned items that include protein, vegetables and fruit.
3. Set out a box or tub on your front porch for collection.
4. Advertise the collection with a sign in your front yard or through apps like NextDoor or Facebook or by texting or emailing your neighbors.
5. Email Heather when collection bins are full, and Wilshire volunteers will come to pick up your box or tub and drop it off at the Wilkinson Center.