Preparing for worship

Transcription

1 First Sunday after Christmas December 30, 2018

2 Preparing for worship If you follow me at all on social media, then you ll know our family just finished one of the most magical seasons of our lives together yet. Celebrating Christmas with a 3-year-old provided a deep well of joyful memories we will cherish forever. Like the time Jimmie waved over and over to me at her first Christmas concert at Wilshire, called any and all nativity scenes Mary had a baby boy, our nightly Christmas light hunts, and the time she realized Santa was married to Mrs. Claus on the North Pole Express. I ll also remember the profound sadness that immediately replaced all joy when we told her Christmas was over, that we will soon be packing up all the ornaments and the lights, and that there are, in fact, no more presents to be opened. It s amazing how different seasons can usher a spectrum of emotions. According to the liturgical church calendar, today is the first Sunday after Christmas, and perhaps you re feeling much like our family, that all the joy and magic Advent had to offer soon will be repacked into the Sterilite tubs it came out of at the beginning of December. While processing my own thoughts and emotions around this, I recalled last year s Advent theme and infamous poem by Howard Thurman, The Work of Christmas, and it provided, as always, a fresh perspective to what this season is really preparing us for anyway. When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among the people, to make music in the heart. So on this Sunday after Christmas, no need to pack up your joy. Instead, may it guide you toward the lost, the broken, the hungry, the prisoner and the nations to bring peace and to make music in your heart. Now to explain this to my own child; wish me luck. Heather Mustain Wilshire Baptist Church 4316 Abrams Road Dallas, Texas (214) Partnered with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Building a Community of Faith Shaped by the Spirit of Jesus Christ ON THE COVER: Page from a 15th century Book of Hours showing a typical medieval treatment of the story of the boy Jesus in the temple. 2

3 December 30, :00 a.m. First Sunday after Christmas Chiming of the Hour The people of Wilshire gather this morning to worship God. In order for this service of worship to be focused upon that purpose, please turn off all cell phones, pagers and alarm watches. Prelude Meditation on Lo, How a Rose E er Blooming arr. DeRousse Bill Jernberg, guest organist Opening Sentences Mike Meripolski The night has passed; the day has dawned. We gather here in the joy of Christmastide, celebrating the birth of hope in our world once again. Christ the Savior is born and lives among us. Let us sing together the good news of the shepherds and angels, Noel, noel, the king is born, noel! +Processional Hymn 137 Sing We Now of Christmas french carol Greeting to Worshipers Mark Wingfield Guests are invited to take a Response Card from the pew rack, complete it and place it in the offering plate when it is passed later in the service. You also are invited to take the red fabric rose from the card and place it on your lapel or blouse to help others identify that you are our honored guest today. Prayer concerns will be received and prayed for this week when listed on an intercessory prayer card from the pew rack and placed in the offering plate. +Gospel Reading Luke 2:41 52 Candy McComb Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching +All congregants who are able are invited to stand. Hearing devices are available in the Narthex and South Atrium. 3

4 for you in great anxiety. He said to them, Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father s house? But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Children s Moment Julie Girards +Hymn 115 The Hands that First Held Mary s Child kingsfold Prayers of the People Vic Henry Giving of Tithes and Offerings Will you join us in making our mission and vision a reality for 2018? Through today and tomorrow, Wilshire needs your help to fully fund our Unified Budget. What we re doing together is vitally important. In a city where there s a church on nearly every corner, we know there aren t many churches like Wilshire. We strive to be a city set on a hill, shining the Christ Light as a beacon of hope to all who need to find faith or renew faith. Offertory Partita and Variations on From Heaven Above to Earth I Come arr. Schack +Offertory Response lasst uns erfreuen 4

5 Anthem What Child Is This? Walker Sanctuary Choir Ralph Manuel, guest director What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary s lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping? Why lies he in such low estate where ox and cows are feeding? The only light, the starry night, the way to the manger leading. This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing; Haste, haste to bring him laud, the babe, the son of Mary. So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh, come peasant, king, to own him; The King of kings salvation brings, let loving hearts enthrone him. Message God Grows Up Aaron Coyle-Carr +Hymn 143 Go, Tell It on the Mountain go tell it Sharing of Decisions Postlude Fanfare on Joy to the World arr. Page Someone to talk with. If you are facing a life challenge and would like to have a spiritual friend to walk alongside you for a season of healing, perhaps you would benefit from a Stephen Minister. Learn more at wilshirebc.org or contact Tiffany Wright at (214) Meet today s worship leaders Mike Meripolski and his wife, Debbie, came to Wilshire in They are the parents of Ann, who also is a Wilshire member. Mike and Debbie are members of Epiphany Class, and he is an usher and serves on the Building and Grounds Committee. Vocationally, he is a lawyer working in the office of the Texas attorney general. 5 Vic Henry and Candy McComb joined Wilshire in They lead the Odyssey Class for younger adults. They have two adult sons, Lee and Taylor, and a daughter-in-law, Rachel. Vic is deeply involved in community development work in Tanzania, where Wilshire now has a partnership. He serves on the Missions Committee and Committee on Committees. Vic has been a civil trial lawyer in Dallas since Candy is a veteran high school choral director and consultant who now leads Wilshire s children s choirs program.

6 The Wilshire Tapestry Year-end giving Tomorrow is New Year s Eve, which means it is the last day to make 2018 contributions to Wilshire s mission and ministries. As of Friday, Dec. 28, about $130,000 was still needed to fully cover expenses for the year. Your gift will make a difference and allow the church to do everything we ve said we want to do together this year. Contribute online at wilshirebc.org/give or via the Wilshire app on your smartphone. Annual Church Conference Wilshire s Annual Church Conference will be held on Sunday, Jan. 20, at noon in Community Hall. This is the once-a-year time for the church to gather to hear updates on our shared ministries and approve the annual budget, committee nominations and deacon nominations, along with any other business to come before the church. Lunch will be served. No reservation is needed; just show up. Child care will be available by reservation. Marriage Connections The next Marriage Connections is Friday, Jan. 11. The topic is Parenting Communication and More. Couples are invited to attend the brief program at 6:30 p.m., then leave children for free child care while going to dinner on their own. Register for free child care at wilshirebc.org/ registration by Sunday, Jan. 6. If you do not need child care, no advance registration is necessary. Single Parents Night Out Free child care for the next Single Parents Night Out will be offered on Friday, Jan. 11, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Register at wilshirebc.org/registration by Sunday, Jan. 6. Staff contacts George A. Mason Senior Pastor (214) Mark Wingfield Associate Pastor (214) Doug Haney Minister of Music (214) Jeff Brummel Associate Minister of Music/ Organist (214) Tiffany Wright Minister for Care Ministries (214) Heather Mustain Minister of Missions & Advocacy (214) Jessica Capps Minister to Senior Adults (214) Darren DeMent Minister to Students and Young Adults (214) Julie Girards Minister to Children (214) Joan Hammons Minister to Preschoolers (214) Aaron Coyle-Carr Pastoral Resident (214) Matt Dodrill Pastoral Resident (214) Jared Jaggers Pastoral Resident (214) Ryan Wilson Pastoral Resident (214) David Nabors Director of Business Admin. (214) Dale Pride Facilities Manager (214) J. Preston Bright Associate Pastor Emeritus To any staff member, use the first letter of the first name combined with the full last name and

7 Wednesday activities resume on Jan. 9 There are no Wednesday activities this Wednesday, Jan. 2. All programs will resume on Jan. 9. This includes daytime and evening activities, Koinonia Café, New Song, preschool, children, youth and adult programs. Vespers on Jan. 9 Healing Waters, a resident-led vespers, will be offered in McIver Chapel on Wednesday Jan. 9, at 6 p.m. All are welcome. Child care will be available. Reclaiming Joy book signing and luncheon On Sunday, Jan. 13, Ella Wall Prichard will speak at a noon luncheon in Community Hall about her new book, Reclaiming Joy: A Primer for Widows. She wrote the book she needed, but could not find, after her husband died. She offers practical advice on how to achieve joy. Each chapter focuses on a different trait needed to move from grief to joy. The book is part memoir, part guide, part inspiration. Women s Brown Bag Book Club Bring your own lunch and join the monthly discussions in Wilshire s Brown Bag Book Club. The group meets from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 1205-L. No reservation is required. The first gathering of 2019 will be on Jan. 10, and the book discussed will be Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray. Future dates and books are Feb. 7, The Awakening by Kate Chopin; March 7, Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce; April 4, Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver; May 2, Recipes for Love and Murder by Sally Andrew; June 6, A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline. For more information, contact Tiffany Wright t (214) or twright@wilshirebc.org. Deacon ordination Wilshire s annual deacon ordination will be held on Sunday morning, Jan. 27. Deacon nominees will be voted on at the Annual Church Conference the week before. Five members have been nominated for ordination to deacon service: Allison Brown, Linda Imhoof, Richard Luttrell, Jon-Erik Schoellhorn and Alison Wingfield. Nine ordained deacons have been nominated to new three-year terms of service: Pat Austin, Carol Cabaniss, Bob Coleman, Craig Keith, Kenton Keller, Michael Moorhead, Shaeron Moorhead, Hank Thompson, Everett Williams. Texas Legislature update On Wednesday, Jan. 16, join Heather Mustain, minister of missions and Christian advocacy, in Room 1205-L at 6 p.m. for a preview of the upcoming session of the Texas Legislature. She and the Christian Advocacy Committee will speak about Wilshire s identified priorities in the session and review the how-to s of advocacy and ways you can be involved. Joy: A Study of Philippians A three-week study of the book of Philippians will be led by pastoral residents beginning Wednesday, Jan. 16, and concluding Jan. 30. The class will meet in Room 1205-G at 6 p.m. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Few verses in Paul s letters are as oft-quoted as this one from Philippians. But what does it mean? What s the context? Come explore the book of Philippians. Farm-to-Table class Leanna Coyle-Carr will lead a two-week class about the farm-to-table movement on Wednesday evenings, Jan. 23 and 30, at 6 p.m. in Room 1205-L. Farm-to-table is a phrase indicating that the food on the table came directly from a specific farm or a local farm or garden. This movement focuses on eating and supporting food that is grown close to where you live. Does it make sense to adopt this practice? Does it make a difference where we buy our food? What about what we put in our bodies? How can the table and a simple meal help us feel more community? Participants will have practical discussions about the sacredness of an ordinary meal and thoughtful discussions on this farm-to-table idea. Keep up with all the Wilshire news at wilshirebc.org or by using our Wilshire app or via social media. Worship is live streamed every Sunday at 11:00. 7

8 The Wilshire Tapestry Adventurers to Alamo Drafthouse All senior adults are invited to a Wilshire Adventurers private screening at the Lake Highlands Alamo Drafthouse (Abrams and Skillman) on Monday, Jan. 14, at 11 a.m. The movie to be screened will be Secondhand Lions, which includes in its cast Travis Willingham, son of our own Trish Willingham. This star-studded movie (Michael Caine, Robert Duval, Kyra Sedgwick) is a comingof-age story about a shy, young boy sent by his irresponsible mother to spend the summer with his wealthy, eccentric uncles in Texas. Reserve your $10 seat by contacting Kathi Lyle at klyle@ wilshirebc.org or (214) Adventurers will be able to order and pay for their own lunch off the Alamo Drafthouse menu before and during the movie. ranges, such as soprano, alto, tenor and bass. The program is free, and a special Valentine s luncheon will be served at noon for $10 per person. No reservation is needed. All are welcome. Women of Wilshire mini-retreat Spark Joy! is the theme of a one-day retreat for Women of Wilshire on Saturday, Feb. 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $25 per person and includes lunch. There will be breakout sessions, fellowship time and a surprise guest speaker. Sign up at wilshirebc.org/registration. WOW! Women s Tuesday Night Book Club This book club meets the second Tuesday of each month from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Parlor. All women are welcome. On Tuesday, Jan. 8, the group will discuss A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. WOW! Swap Meet Women of Wilshire will sponsor a swap meet on Saturday, Jan. 12, from 10 a.m. to noon. Participants are invited to bring good-quality clothing, toys, housewares, kitchen items, rugs, lamps. Then participants will shop the swap meet for donated items they would like to take home. For details and to participate, Christie Michie at wownewsletter@wilshirebc.org. Make a will Adventurers Valentine s program All senior adults (and wanna-be senior adults) are invited to a special Valentine s program on Tuesday, Feb. 12, in Community Hall. The Dallas Recorder Society will present a musical program titled Romancing the Recorder. The small ensemble will perform a four-part arrangement of Pachelbel s Canon, a Corelli solo sonata with delightful ornamentation and some love songs from both ancient and modern times. The recorder is a woodwind instrument in the flute family. Recorders are made in different sizes with names and ranges corresponding to vocal 8 January is an ideal time to make a will or update an existing will. As you plan for a new year and prepare for taxes, take time to be sure you have written down your wishes for how your assets should be distributed upon your death. And as you do, consider that you can make a lasting and recurring contribution to God s work by including Wilshire in your will. Would you consider at least a tithe of your estate to the church s work? You might choose to support the Pathways to Ministry Endowment or a special missions cause or the Building Reserve Fund. For assistance, contact David Nabors at dnabors@ wilshirebc.org or (214)

9 Condolences to: Marty Pool on the death of her sister, Donna Bryan, Dec. 20. Jack Levison and Priscilla Pope-Levison on the death of Jack s mother in Georgetown, Texas. Arrangements pending. MLK weekend events On Saturday, Jan. 19, Wilshire congregants are invited to join Friendship-West Baptist Church for A King Teach In. George Mason and Freddy Haynes will engage in a dialogue focused on justice. On Monday Jan. 21, 50 volunteers are needed for our MLK Day of Service. We will package 10,000 meals from 10 a.m. to noon All ages are welcome, but advance registration is required at wilshirebc.org/registration. Homeless count On Jan. 24, Wilshire will again be a training center for the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance annual homeless count. Volunteers will be sent out all over the city. To help, register at wilshirebc.org/ registration. This is a great opportunity to engage your work colleagues as well. Room in the Inn dates Many volunteers are needed to make these evenings of respite lodging for homeless women happen at Wilshire. Upcoming dates are Jan. 18, Feb. 15 and March 15. Sign up at wilshirebc.org/ registration. Spring break mission trip This year s spring break mission trip to Shaw, Miss., will be March A team from Wilshire will work with our missions partner, Delta Hands for Hope, to lead a children s camp, complete a few manual-labor projects and tour important Civil Rights locations. Families are encouraged to participate on this trip together, as children of all ages are welcome. The average cost of the trip per person is $220. Contact Heather Mustain at hmustain@wilshirebc.org or (214) Thank you to One Starry Night workers By LeAnn Hampton One Starry Night chair Once again, Wilshire became the village of Bethlehem for the evening of Dec. 14. It takes a village to create a village, and Wilshire, what a village you were. About 100 volunteers worked behind the scenes with preparation, set-up and clean-up. On the night of the event, 200 Wilshire members worked in various capacities to bring the village to life. The planning committee is grateful for everyone who donated, sewed, planned, painted and assembled puzzles, copied, designed, organized, moved furniture, set up and decorated tents, cleaned up, assigned costumes, worked in booths, took photographs, promoted the event, demonstrated skills, provided medical support, danced, sang, played an instrument, acted, greeted indoors and outdoors, watched the animals, helped with the telescope, gave directions, prayed and encouraged. We were able to reach more than 350 individuals with the message of God s love, and 9 we created new friendships within our Wilshire village as individuals worked together on various tasks. An event of this magnitude requires countless hours of volunteer service, and we are grateful for the outpouring of support. The planning committee included Tommy Bosler, Kay Brashear, Becky Bridges, Abi Dodrill, Barbara Gass, Dawn Hallman, Steven Hallman, Kaylynn Lyon, Jenyce Gush, Joan Hammons, Jeff Hampton, LeAnn Hampton, Anna Hines, Ashley Howland, Jeff Lewis, Candy McComb, Pat Spikes, Allan Stafford, Sarah Stafford, James Steel and Christy Tabor. This group began working several months ago and spent many hours managing all of the details involved in this special event. We are especially grateful to George Mason, Mark Wingfield, Joan Hammons, Julie Girards, Darren DeMent, Holly Irvin, Carol Cabaniss, Abbey Adcox, Michele Stinecipher, Elizabeth Ferguson and her team, Dale Pride, Maricela Escutia, Daniel Latin and Kevin Merida for their amazing help and support. We are eager to see how God will use these efforts in the days ahead.

10 What child is this? Fellowship Southwest is one of Wilshire s primary mission partners and is an extension of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Wilshire s Christmas Eve offering was designated for Fellowship Southwest ministries along the Texas- Mexico border. Worshipers at our two Christmas Eve services gave $4,000 toward this work. What follows is a first-hand account of Fellowship Southwest work at the California-Mexico border. By Marv Knox Coordinator, Fellowship Southwest The faces of Central American children who would spend this Christmas huddled in tents along the U.S.-Mexico border reflect the sweet innocence of a little boy whose parents bundled him up and immigrated far, far away to save his life 2,000 years ago. I wonder if we can respect their lives as we revere his. Less than two weeks before Christmas, I met several Cooperative Baptist Fellowship colleagues Glen Foster, coordinator of CBF West; Rubén Ortiz, CBF Latino field coordinator; and Jorge Zapata, associate coordinator of CBF Texas in San Diego, for a trip to Tijuana, Mexico. We spent a long, sobering day witnessing a modern humanitarian crisis that was, in turns, compelling, heartbreaking, frustrating, aweinspiring, revolting, infuriating and downright sad. We met survivors of the infamous Central American caravan that transported 7,000 people from their homes and deposited them on the United States doorstep. We started the day at the notorious Benito Juarez tent city, home to 800 immigrants just yards from where they made international news when the U.S. government used rubber bullets and tear gas to thwart their efforts to cross the border. We visited El Barretal, the makeshift shelter for about 2,000 immigrants, as somber as it is massive. And we entered the sacred space of a tiny congregation, Camino de Salvacion Iglesia Cristiana Bautista, that houses refugees who have given up their dream of U.S. asylum and await a bus ride back home. We heard immigrants stories. Ray Schellinger, an American Baptist leader and former longtime missionary in Tijuana, told us why one mother fled to the United States with her two young 10 sons. A gang hacked her two older sons to death, cooked them and forced her to eat their flesh. She hopes to convince U.S. officials she and her sons face credible danger if they return to Honduras. (Schellinger acknowledges this is an incomprehensibly horrible story, but his research convinced him she s telling the truth.) We encountered immigrants on their turf. Young men tried to sell us cigarettes, candy and trinkets. A girl, maybe 13, cared for her three little sisters while their father ventured into the city, seeking work. Hundreds stood in line for a sandwich-and-apple lunch. And most loitered around their pop-up tents with absolutely nothing to do. We sought to encourage ministers and church members who prepare meals for immigrants who cannot feed themselves. We felt a special bond; our organization has provided funds to help them purchase food and to build temporary showers in El Barretal. We met the Mexican leader of a shelter, who spends 12 hours a day, seven days a week looking after guests in her homeland. She described a massive, ongoing endeavor to keep thousands of under-resourced people nourished, safe and orderly. She reported rude and disrespectful behavior, animosity, anger and violence within her facility. And quietly, she acknowledged the toll 84- hour work weeks have taken on her own family. We sat with consuls general from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. We heard how they seek to keep their citizens safe in a foreign country and to process the immigrants papers, so they

11 can document their requests for Mexican visas and U.S. asylum. These Central American officials told us the situation should be resolved within six months, when the immigrants will either (a) enter the U.S. legal system, seeking asylum, (b) receive visas to stay and work in Mexico or (c) be deported back home. Meanwhile, the immigrants languish in diplomatic, physical and spiritual limbo. The volunteers who feed them grow weary with the enormity of a daily task. The people who protect them grow numb from disrespect. And the politicians from their homelands, their temporary home and the country where they want to live either distort the tragedy for their own benefit or don t have a clue what to do. If this report sounds ambivalent, frustrating, sad and furious, that s because this situation is confusing, irritating, disheartening and infuriating. Practically everything you ve heard about this crisis is true. Yes, some outside organizers were involved with the caravan. Many of the immigrants are healthy and apparently strong young men. Some want to come to the United States for financial reasons. Many have been disruptive and disrespectful of their Mexican hosts. But some fled for their lives. Others escaped ongoing extortion so exorbitant it would make the Mafia blush. Even strong young men ventured north because they feared for their safety and wanted to make a break from violent gangs. And without a doubt, the governments of their countries have failed them. Anyone who says this crisis is simple and fixable with a single action is either ignorant, lying or trying to manipulate your emotions for their own gain. It s enormously more complicated than what politicians say, infinitely more grievous than a 90-second news clip can convey. The human impulse is to avert your eyes, to throw up your hands at the intractability of it all, to walk away. And yet my colleagues and I looked into the faces of the children. We watched parents, mostly mothers, trying to keep them safe, nurtured and, against all odds, hopeful. Our hearts broke. Flying back to my home, 580 miles from the nearest border, I kept thinking about those children. This near to Christmas, I also kept recalling a toddler named Jesus and his parents were immigrants, too. The local king got word that another king had been born, and so he declared genocide against all Hebrew boys age 2 and younger. Jesus parents, Mary and Joseph, took him to Egypt to spare his life. In a mirror image two millennia in the making, that frightened Honduran mother, and so many other parents, marched their children through Mexico. Why would any parent walk that far with small children if they did not fear credible danger? Will history cast the president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, and his Central American colleagues in the same light as King Herod, who imperiled Jesus? As we remember the immigrant Jesus and his frightened parents, let us do what we can for the Central American immigrants. Let us: Pray for the immigrants, even those whose actions repel us and especially the ones whose stories make us cry. Let s also pray for the volunteers who feed them and the peacekeepers who protect them. Let s pray for decision makers throughout Central America, Mexico and the United States whose policies shape their lives. Give money to feed and clothe them, especially the children. Urge U.S. lawmakers to enact comprehensive immigration reform, including working with Mexican and Central American governments to change dynamics that compel parents to bundle up their children and flee for their lives. 11

12 Six ways to support Wilshire s mission 1. In worship: Place your cash or check (payable to Wilshire Baptist Church) in the offering plate during any of our worship services. 2. By mail: Send to Lori Gooden, Wilshire Baptist Church, 4316 Abrams Road, Dallas TX, Please write on your check if it is intended for the Unified Budget or another purpose. 3. Online: Schedule a recurring or one-time gift charged to either your debit or credit card or directly as an ACH from your checking account. Visit wilshirebc.org/give (be sure you have enabled cookies on your phone or tablet) or scan the QR Code in today s order of worship Automatic bank pay: Go to your bank s website, log in to your individual bank account and follow your bank s instructions to set up Wilshire as a new payee. Your bank will print and cut a check. 5. Text: Using your smartphone, text WILSHIRE and the dollar amount (example: WILSHIRE 50) to 73256, then follow the link that pops up. The first time you use this option, you will enter credit card and contact information. All text gifts will be applied to the Unified Budget. 6. Wilshire app: Download the Wilshire app from the App Store or Google Play to make gifts easily from your phone or tablet.