Souper Bowl of Caring Soup pickup postponed until Feb. 13.
Souper Bowl of Caring, our annual event benefiting the Phil Strickland Hunger Offering, will be held Sunday, Feb. 13. Instead of our usual sit-down meal, this year’s event will be offered to go.
Proceeds will go to Delta Hands for Hope to assist in their food distribution efforts in four rural Mississippi Delta communities.
Delta Hands for Hope is supported by Together for Hope, a rural development coalition run by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Together for Hope is led by former Wilshire missions minister Jason Coker, who will be at Wilshire on Feb. 6. to offer a presentation in McIver Chapel at 10 a.m. [This is still happening on Feb. 6.]
Souper Bowl of Caring instructions:
■ Order soup online by Wednesday, Feb. 9 (deadline extension). Find link at wilshirebc.org/registration.
■ Pick up orders in James Gallery from 10:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13. Walk-up orders will be taken, but choices will be limited. Advance ordering is strongly recommended.
■ Each 1-qt. container serves 3 to 4 people. Choose from Beef & Vegetable, Chicken Tortilla, Tomato-Basil and Vegetable Minestrone.
■ Your donation of $20 for one soup, $35 for two, $50 for three or $65 for four will provide much needed support to Delta Hands for Hope.
■ To forego the soup and simply make a donation, visit the ordering link or note “Souper Bowl” with your online gift or on your check.
Dale Pride to retire from staff. After 25 years as Wilshire’s facilities manager, Dale Pride has announced that he will retire from the role, effective March 25. He will be honored during worship on March 27. Before coming to Wilshire 1996, Dale, who has both seminary and engineering degrees, spent a decade working with children in nonprofit, school and church settings. He worked at Texas Instruments early in his career. Dale has overseen many major projects at Wilshire, from the remodel of Community Hall to the creation of the current music wing. He and his staff handle all maintenance, custodial and security needs of the church, including the four resident houses on Springside Lane. Last July, on the occasion of his 25th anniversary on the church staff, Dale said, “It’s rare to be able to do something you love and something God has gifted you with as well.”
Darren DeMent sabbatical. Associate Pastor Darren DeMent will be on sabbatical from Feb. 6 through March 20. He was due for the sabbatical in 2020 but postponed it due to the pandemic. Darren’s plans include traveling to catch up with mentors and former ministry colleagues around the country. He will also attend a CBF Youth Ministry Network retreat in North Carolina and take a Spring Break trip with his family. While Darren is out, Student Ministry Intern Leah Lucas will coordinate youth ministry work, and Carolyn Murray will serve as point person for adult Sunday School.
Surplus funds allocated. Thanks to your generosity in giving to the Unified Budget, Wilshire’s income for 2021 exceeded expenses by $210,336. That amount, added to the forgiven PPP loan of $650,257, gave the church a surplus of $860,593 to allocate at the end of the year to support the following areas of ministry:
■ Missions Plus Fund: $60,111, increasing this fund’s balance to $100,000 to help support mission opportunities in our community and beyond.
■ Bereavement Ministry: $10,000 to support funeral expenses.
■ Operating Reserve: $120,297 to support operating expense not covered in the budget.
■ Building Reserve: $90,184 to replenish some of the funds spent on the bathroom remodel, Sanctuary updates and repair projects, increasing the balance of this fund to $300,000.
■ Communications Support: $15,000 to help with analysis of our communications strategy.
■ Resident Row Maintenance Fund: $100,000 to help with future repairs and updates to the four pastoral resident houses.
■ Pathways to Ministry Operating: $75,000 to support the residency program operating budget, postponing withdrawal from the Pathways Endowment.
■ Senior Pastor Transition Fund: $200,000 to support the budget of the Pastor Search Committee and senior pastor transition.
■ Staff Bonuses and Personnel Initiatives: $90,000 to support staff bonuses and anniversary gifts in 2022.
■ Liquidity: $100,000 to support cash flow.
Wednesday Night Live, Feb. 2 , Called to Care event CANCELLED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER
Resident-Led Study: Love Will Keep Us Alive
Feb. 9, 16, 23 • 6 p.m. • Parlor.
Join Pastoral Resident Jenna Sullivan for a study on the most foundational of all scriptural concepts: love. What is real Christ-like love? How does it differ from the kind that fills Valentine boxes and cards? What is God’s love language? We will study passages from 1 John and the beloved words of Paul in 1 Corinthians. We will also bring these texts into conversation with Valarie Kaur’s book See No Stranger.
New to Wilshire?
■ The monthly Wilshire Welcome Class helps guests and new members learn what Wilshire is all about. The class will meet Sunday, Feb. 20, at 10 a.m. in the Prayer Room (1100B).
■ Coffee and Conversation with Senior Pastor George Mason will be held Sunday, Feb. 27, at 10 a.m. This informal time in George’s study gives guests and new members a chance to ask questions about Wilshire.
■ Questions about these events? Contact Carolyn Murray at cmurray@wilshirebc.org.
Adventurers trip to Chicago and Mackinac Island. The Wilshire Adventurers’ first trip since before COVID will be to Chicago, Grand Rapids and Mackinac Island on Sept. 1–8. The week-long trip led by Rob and Pam Banta will begin with three nights in downtown Chicago, a river cruise, a lake cruise, history and arts tours and great food. The group will then travel to Grand Rapids to see the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum and Meijer Gardens before heading to beautiful Mackinac (pronounced “Mackinaw”) Island for a three-night stay at the Mission Point Resort. Enjoy the old-world charm of this island where cars are not seen and history comes alive. Find full details at wilshirebc.org/registration or in a brochure available in the front office. Registration will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis, with only 50 seats available.
Faith Commons to present Valerie Kaur film on Feb. 6. While the Feb. 2 and 3 events with author and faith leader Valerie Kaur have been postponed, George Mason’s Faith Commons nonprofit group is presenting a special online screening of Divided We Fall, Kaur’s 2008 film that documents hate crimes in the aftermath of 9/11. The film will be shown and discussed over Zoom on Sunday, Feb. 6 at 5 p.m., and will be especially relevant given the recent hate crime targeting Colleyville’s Congregation Beth Israel. RSVP at faithcommons.org/event/film to get the Zoom link.
Volunteer for Friday Friends. Friday Friends needs volunteers to engage one-on-one with individuals living with early-stage dementia at the Friday Friends meeting the second and fourth Fridays of each month. Training is available. Previous experience working with dementia is not necessary. For more information, contact Marilyn Morgan at jakermo@gmail.com or 214-662-9451.
Print statements with Realm. With Realm, you can view, download or print your contribution statement at any time by following these instructions:
- Sign in to your Realm account on a computer.
- Choose Giving from the menu.
- Click the funnel icon to filter the gifts that display or to change the date range.
- Click the printer icon to generate the statement.
- Click Print. A preview of your statement will display.
- Click the printer icon to print or click Download for a PDF file.
For help getting set up on Realm, contact Susan Kimball at skimball@wilshirebc.org or 214-452-3108. For help with online giving, contact Lori Gooden at lgooden@wilshirebc.org or 214-452-3131.
Dot Laux memorial service. A memorial service for Dot Laux will be held Friday, Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. in the Sanctuary. The service will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel (youtube.com/wilshirebaptist).
Postponed events
■ The Meal Packing Event at Wilshire originally set for Jan. 17 has been rescheduled for Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 21. Register at wilshirebc.org/registration.
■ The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance count scheduled for Jan. 25 will now take place Feb. 24. Contact Abbey Adcox at aadcox@wilshirebc.org to learn more.
Women of Wilshire book clubs
■ The WOW! Tuesday Evening Book Club meets in the Parlor monthly at 6:30 p.m. On Feb. 8, the group will discuss Wholehearted Faith by Rachel Held Evans and Jeff Chu. Zoom available by request. Contact: Debby Burton (dburton@wilshirebc.org).
■ The WOW! Brown Bag Book Club meets one Thursday a month at noon in Room 1205-L. On Feb. 3, the group will MEET ON ZOOM to discuss Chasing Shadows by Lynn Austin. Contact: Abbey Adcox (aadcox@wilshirebc.org).