Holy Week offers special worship

This Week at Wilshire Tapestry Weekly newsletter of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas Building a community of faith shaped by the Spirit of Jesus Christ Volume 63 No. 12 March 22, 2015 Holy Week offers special worship Holy Week special events begin next Sunday, with the traditional Palm Sunday worship services at Wilshire. Children s choirs will open both morning services with a procession of palm branches, recalling Jesus entry into Jerusalem. Beginning the next day, Monday, March 30, all are invited to brief daily Holy Week worship services in McIver Chapel. These services will begin at 12:15 and end at 12:35 p.m., allowing time for travel to and from work or home during the lunch hour. Box lunches will be available for purchase after each midday worship and may be taken to go or eaten in fellowship with others in the Parlor. Each day s homily will be drawn from a different Psalm and will feature staff voices not normally heard in the Wilshire pulpit: Joan Hammons, Mark Wingfield, Katie Murray and Tiffany Wright. The Good Friday midday wor- ship will be a service of silence and reflection. On Thursday evening, April 2, the traditional Maundy Thursday service of darkness will feature a group of Wilshire youth in a readers theater presentation of the Holy Week Scriptures, telling of Christ s journey to the Cross. Several musical meditations will be offered by Luke Wingfield on trumpet and Garrett Wingfield on saxophone. The Maundy Thursday service also includes a commemoration of the Lord s Supper. Be present as the darkness falls, the Bible slams shut and the Christ candle is taken from the Sanctuary. On Easter morning, Wilshire will hold its annual sunrise worship service at White Rock Lake. The location is TP Hill, on the southwest side of the lake, and the start time is 6:30 a.m. Easter worship in the Sanctuary will be at 8:30 and 11 a.m. Today 8:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m. 9:40 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. Sunday, March 29 Palm Sunday Children s choirs process with palm branches in both services. All week Interactive experience Join Wilshire s YourCall students for a hands-on exhibit following the last week of Christ s journey to the Cross Stephen Min. training 12:00 p.m. 12:00 p.m. 12:00 p.m. Holy Week Worship Teacher appreciation breakfast for children s div. Sunday School Worship 2:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. 5:30 p.m. Room 1205-L Personnel Committee Room 1205-G One Starry Night team Vision 20/20 Grow Team Room 3301 Nova Youth Choir Carillon Ringers Paradiso Shekinah Monday, March 23 9:30 a.m. The English Language class Room 3211 10:00 a.m. 42 Monday 6:30 p.m. Deacons meal and meeting 7:00 p.m. Wilshire Winds Choral Hall Tuesday, March 24 12:00 p.m. Yoga class Room 3208 Midday worship 6:00 p.m. McIver Chapel Monday through Friday, March 30 through April 3 12:15 to 12:35 p.m. Box lunches available Wednesday, March 25 Maundy Thursday A service of darkness 7:30 p.m. in Sanctuary Featuring Luke Wingfield and Garrett Wingfield Easter sunrise Community worship event TP Hill at White Rock Lake 6:30 a.m. Easter Sunday Worship in the Sanctuary 8:30 and 11 a.m. Flower cross on Abrams 9:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m. Stephen Min. training Room 1205-L New Song Koinonia Café 11:10 a.m. Gentle Voices 12:00 p.m. Bible Study 5:00 p.m. Koinonia Café 5:00 p.m. Children s handbells 5:00 p.m. Spanish as Second Lang. Room 3202 6:00 p.m. Children s Choirs Room 1306 6:00 p.m. Bible study 6:00 p.m. Gallery Café James Gallery Continued on page 2

Everybody loves a good story about overcoming the odds, right? There s just something about a person or group of people who are able to face seemingly overwhelming challenges and come out on top that strikes a certain chord within us. Well, I ve got one for you. The Shaw Hawks just won their second consecutive Mississippi 1-A state basketball championship. Now, you may think that s pretty impressive on its own, and you would be right. But when you consider where Shaw, Miss., is right smack dab in the middle of the Mississippi Delta, one of the most stricken areas in the United poverty- States it seems a little more special. Then, when you find out that the high school hasn t had a functional gym all year because the roof caved in and there was no money to fix it, it adds another layer of intrigue. Then, when you find out that, because of the gym situation, the Hawks weren t able to play a home game until the middle of January, and even then they had to play at McEvans Elementary school, the story begins to sound more like a Hollywood screenplay than anything based in reality. But it s true, all of it. You may wonder why I am so knowledgeable about a tiny little school from a tiny little town in a place that most people would consider the middle of nowhere. Well, it s because I have family there. Wait a minute, Darren, I thought you were from south Louisiana, not the Mississippi Delta. I didn t know you had family there. Actually, I didn t know I did either until last week. I was part of the Wilshire group that took Another Voice Family a spring break mission trip to Shaw to work with Delta Hands for Hope, the nonprofit group started by former Wilshire Minister of Missions Jason Coker. On Sunday morning, we worshiped at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church and were told by Pastor Dexter in no uncertain terms that we Wilshire folk were not guests, but we were family. At first I didn t put much stock in this and played it off as just something people say. But as the service progressed, and as he turned the pulpit over to Erica, and as he had us all go around the room and exchange hugs, and as we shared a meal together afterward, it became clear that his comment about family was not a throw-away line at all. In fact, it had implications. If we really are family, then the relationship doesn t end when the final Amen of the service is spoken. If we really are family, then the relationship doesn t end when we pack up our cars and drive back to Dallas. If we really are family, then the experiences Wilshire had in Shaw can t simply fade into memory as things so often do. I have to confess, I ve been troubled by Pastor Dexter s words since returning to Dallas. I went to Shaw to help people and try to do some good. I didn t necessarily go to be adopted into a new family. But apparently that s what happened, and now I have to figure out what to do with that. I guess I can start by celebrating my new home team s state championship. Go Hawks! Darren DeMent This Week at Wilshire Continued from page 1 Wednesday, March 25 6:00 p.m. Making Sense of the Bible, McIver Chapel 6:00 p.m. Understanding Islam, Room 3301 6:00 p.m. Yesterday s Poems for Today s World, Room 3211 6:00 p.m. Yoga, Room 3208 6:00 p.m. MOPs Steering, Room 3203 6:30 p.m. Watershed 6:45 p.m. Children s Bible Skills 6:45 p.m. Globetrekkers 7:00 p.m. Sanctuary Choir Thursday, March 26 1:30 p.m. Knit Unto Others, Parlor Friday, March 27 Youth spring retreat Saturday, March 28 Youth spring retreat This Wednesday at Wilshire Two options to choose from: Noon and evening. Come enjoy lunch from 11 a.m. to noon, followed by Bible study in Community Hall. In the evening, dinner is served in Koinonia Café from 5 to 6 p.m., followed by classes for all ages, including short-term options for adults. Koinonia Café March 25: Beef quesadillas, taco salad, queso, borracho beans, Spanish rice, grilled zucchini, assorted salads, sopapillas. April 1: Carved barbeque chicken breast, stuffed peppers, roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli, fried zucchini, sautéed carrots and caramelized onions, fresh vegetable salad, dill cucumber salad, pecan pie. Condolences x Betty Hardin on the death of her great-granddaughter, Abigail Faith Jackson, March 10. x Family and friends on the death of Mike Palmer, former Wilshire member, March 9. New members x Brandi Tanaka Tapestry (USPS 022025) is published weekly except Christmas week by Wilshire Baptist Church, 4316 Abrams Rd., Dallas TX 75214. Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, TX. Telephone: (214) 452-3100. Website: www.wilshirebc.org. Editor: Mark Wingfield. Contributing writer: Sue Coffman. Postmaster: Send change of address to 4316 Abrams Rd., Dallas TX 75214. 2

Gaston Christian Center opens new doors By Mark Wingfield Associate Pastor One of Wilshire s partner missions groups took a giant step last Sunday, as the membership of Gaston Oaks Baptist Church voted unanimously to transfer ownership of its property to Gaston Christian Center. The property transfer will take place on or about April 1. In a called business meeting as part of morning worship, longtime Gaston member Dorothy Myers made the motion to approve the property transfer, and the motion was seconded by Clarence Griffith, who is 102 years old and has been a Gaston member 75 years. In 2010, Wilshire began a partnership conversation with Gaston Oaks Baptist Church that has been facilitated by Gary Cook, Gaston Oaks pastor, and me. The beginning of this conversation was to explore how Wilshire and Gaston might work together to ensure a missions future for the Gaston Oaks property as the congregation declines in membership. Gaston Oaks, originally known as Gaston Avenue Baptist Church, is the secondoldest Baptist church in Dallas. The church has an enduring missions legacy, evidenced by Bill O Brien s report that no other church in the Southern Baptist Convention has produced more foreign missionaries than Gaston. The historic Gaston Avenue Church left its neardowntown location about 25 years ago and relocated to the corner of Royal and Greenville, hoping for a new start. Over the years, the relocated church experienced ups and downs but did not thrive in the way its members had hoped. What did happen, however, was an unexpected venture into international missions on a local level. In time, Gaston Oaks began opening its 66,000-squarefoot building for use by ethnic congregations that needed places for worship. Today, the Gaston Oaks property is home to six congregations, ranging in size from a few dozen people to nearly 300 people. Through the dialogue between Gaston Oaks and Wilshire, the church came to see its future not in rebuilding the Anglo congregation but instead in creating a base for ethnic congregation incubation and Christian social ministries. This new enterprise was given the name Gaston Christian Center. Subsequently, GCC has been incorporated as a registered nonprofit entity and is managed by a board of directors. In addition to Gary Cook and myself, board members from Gaston Oaks are Tom Diggs, Joy Fenner, Dorothy Myers and Nell Bowles, and additional board members from Wilshire are Allan Stafford, Patty Lane and Heather Mustain. In 2013, the Gaston Christian Center concept got its first big boost when Healing Hands Medical and Dental Clinic moved its operation to the Gaston property. Healing Hands was recruited to be an anchor tenant in this missions cooperative. The clinic has thrived in its new location and currently is expanding its presence there with the addition of new programs. Wilshire, of course, was a founding supporter of Healing Hands and has provided significant financial and volunteer support to this clinic. Gateway of Grace, another of Wilshire s missions partners, also has moved to the Gaston property. There, Samira Izadi Page and a team of volunteers are working to welcome international refugees, to help them find housing and jobs and to offer training in English and computer skills. Wilshire volunteers led by Max Post and Mark Blackwood have created a computer lab that is the hub of in-house ministries there and is building cooperative work between Gateway of Grace and the ethnic congregations also meeting at Gaston. This fall, Bakke Graduate University will relocate its administrative offices from Seattle to Dallas and will be housed at Gaston. This is a global learning community that connects through online courses and urban immersion experiences in the largest cities on four continents. The focus of Bakke s programs is transformational leadership through urban development, business and Christian theology. Wilshire member Bill O Brien, a leading voice in missiology, currently serves as executive director of the Gaston Christian Center on a part-time basis. In this role, he is building synergy among the various tenants in the building and seeking to bring in additional like-minded ministries. Wilshire s role in this process, from the beginning, has been to offer support and a safety net to help a sister Above: Several members of the Gaston Christian Center board were present last Sunday: Bill O Brien, Nell Bowles, Dorothy Myers, Gary Cook, Joy Fenner, Mark Wingfield, Tom Diggs. Left: Pastor Gary Cook with Dorothy Myers, who made the motion for the transfer, and Clarence Griffith, who seconded the motion at age 102. Baptist church determine its future and ensure its missions legacy. Wilshire leadership has repeatedly made clear that Wilshire has no interest or intent in receiving any financial gain from this relationship. Our interest is in being a steward of the shared missions interest of the two churches. The Baptist Foundation of Texas has been counseling Gaston Oaks and Gaston Christian Center through this process and will create and execute the legal documents required. The Gaston Christian Center board has researched and developed a 2015 budget that demonstrates its ability to operate the property within the financial means available from rental income, gifts and church support. Making this switch will allow the Gaston Oaks congregation to extend its potential life span by several years, due to no longer having to manage the property. Wilshire has committed $15,000 from the Unified Budget toward the Gaston Christian Center in 2015. 3

Pastor to address forum today on apocalyptic extremism Senior Pastor George Mason will speak this afternoon at a Texas Leadership Forum event in Community Hall that is open to anyone who wants to participate. His topic: Is the End Near? A Look at How Jewish, Christian and Muslim Extremists Destroy Civilization by their Dangerous Apocalyptic Vision, and What Can Be Done About It. Texas Leadership Forum is a local program of the Today Foundation and is dedicated to building the community s next generation of leaders. Wilshire member Gary Griffith serves as president of the group. The event will begin at 3 p.m. with a reception, followed by a brief presentation by a Woodrow Wilson High School student who is a participant in the Forum. George will speak beginning about 3:45 p.m., and his address will be followed by a questionand-answer time. There is no charge to attend, and no advance reservation is required. Of his topic, George explained: In light of recent global issues related to ISIS and other Muslim terror threats, I will offer a brief overview of the three Abrahamic religions, then look at various movements within them as they relate to the modern world and global politics, then focus on ISIS as a test case for why what we believe matters. ISIS is a Muslim example of apocalyptic end-times thinking that motivates their violent actions. Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel and Christian sects like that of David Koresh hold or have held similar end-times views that lead to tragic consequences. More youth now serving Wilshire s youth are coming up and out of their basement Youth Center, thanks to opportunities given to them by the Vision 20/20 Grow Team. One initiative championed by the Grow Team was creating churchwide engagement of youth as the next generation of church leadership. The team s goal was to find ways to help youth participate in leadership roles and to make their voices heard. As a result, nearly 20 youth this year serve on churchwide ministry teams and committees. Julie Francis serves on the Give Easter lilies Christian Advocacy Committee. Kendall Davis serves on the Churchwide Social Committee. Rebecca Francis and Tanner Cabaniss serve on the Missions Committee. Grant Dodgen serves on the lay support team for Pastoral Resident Matthew Broyles, and Peyton Cabaniss serves on the lay support team for Pastoral Resident Erica Whitaker. Other youth serving on various ministry teams include Carter Adcox, Heidi Backhaus, Allie Dalton, Nicholas Leal, Holden Magee, Henry Roden, Emma Roden, Kevin Sanchez and Sean Swift. It s time to order Easter lilies to adorn Wilshire s Sanctuary on Easter Sunday.The flowers may be given in honor or in memory of others. A complete list of honorary designations and memorials will be published in the Easter Sunday Tapestry. Cost is $12 per plant. Place your order using forms available in the church office or online at wilshirebc.org/registration. Deadline for inclusion in the listing is Sunday, March 29. Briefly x Youth Choir fundraising a success. Thanks to all who participated in this year s Youth Choir spaghetti luncheon and silent auction. The results have been tabulated, and the event netted more than $22,000 to help underwrite this summer s Youth Choir mission tour to New Mexico. The extra fundraising supplements tour fees paid by the singers and annual funding from the church s Unified Budget. x Advocacy Day rescheduled. Due to the weather earlier this month, the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission rescheduled its Advocacy Day in Austin for Thursday, April 9. Katie Murray, Wilshire s Christian advocacy specialist, will take a group of interested Wilshire members to Austin for this educational and interactive experience that will include hearing about the CLC s public policy priorities and meetings with state legislators. The group will leave from Wilshire at 6:45 a.m. and return by 7 p.m. the same day. If you would like to participate, contact Katie by Wednesday, April 1, at kmurray@wilshirebc.org. x Foundations of Faith class. Foundations of Faith is Wilshire s unique Sunday School class that systematically works through the entire Bible in a two-year cycle. The class is open to anyone who would like to attend, for as long as they want to attend. It is an ideal introduction to the Bible for those who want to learn the basic structure and content of the Bible, and it also is a good refresher for anyone who already knows the Bible. On Sunday, March 29, the class will begin the final segment in the current cycle, with an eight-month arc that covers all the New Testament beyond the Gospels, meaning Acts through Revelation. New learners are always welcome. The class meets in Room 3207 at 9:40 a.m. every Sunday. x Empowered to Connect conference simulcast. Wilshire will host a national simulcast of a two-day conference for adoptive and foster care parents, ministry leaders and professionals designed to help them connect with children who have been adopted or are in foster care. The dates are Friday and Saturday, April 10-11. This trust-based parenting material will help parents understand why children might behave in certain ways, how a person s history affects their relationships, and how your child s brain works. Participants will get practical tools for replacing fear with trust in order to genuinely connect with children. This type of relationship can help children who have been hurt find healing. The event is free, but advance registration is required at www.wilshirebc.org/registration. To learn more, contact Joan Hammons at (214) 452-3141 or jhammons@ wilshirebc.org. x Open house for Parkland Hospital. All Dallas citizens are invited to an open house to see the new Parkland Hospital facility before it opens. The date is Saturday, April 11, and the time is from 9 a.m. to noon. Self-guided tours will include the 154-stretcher Emergency Department, Women and Infants Specialty Hospital, 27-room Surgery Suite, and inpatient care unit. Clinical personnel will be present in each area to provide orientation and to answer questions. 4

The numbers Report for March 15 Sunday School Officers... 19 Preschool... 101 Children... 83 Youth... 71 Young adult... 84 Median adult... 217 Senior adult... 211 Total present... 786 Total previous week... 621 Total last year... 805 Generosity Unified Budget received $151,036 Unified Budget projected $91,377 Unified Budget YTD $992,292 Unified Budget projected $1,086,367 Pathways Endowment received YTD $63,108 Pathways Endowment current fund value $3,462,378 December 31 goal $5,076,475 December 1 goal November 1 goal October 1 goal September 1 goal August 1 goal July 1 goal June 1 goal May 1 goal April 1 goal March 1 goal $812,235 February 1 goal $456,882 Unified Budget I m blessed to have three families, said Max Post, a Wilshire member since 1959. He s referring to his personal family; his family at Texas Instruments, where he worked for 39 years; and of course his Wilshire family. Wilshire gave me my wife, Candy, helped raise our three children and was there in difficult times, he said. The church was very supportive after the loss of Candy in November 2012. We had just enjoyed a surprise celebration of our 40th anniversary. Max was born in Mangum, Okla., and grew up on a farm. During World War II his father worked in the aircraft industry in California, then did shipbuilding in the Houston area, and last worked at Tinker Field in Oklahoma City. I went to a different school every year through sixth grade. It was an adventure, he said. After eighth grade my parents divorced, and I moved with my mother to a farm near Willow, Okla., he said. My school didn t have a spring break; we had a fall break to pull cotton. We made 2 cents a pound. I wouldn t trade for those years. When Max graduated, he won a $100 college scholarship and enrolled at the University of Oklahoma. It s an easy decision to attend college if you ve ever pulled cotton and raised pigs and chickens, he said. At OU he was active in the Baptist Student Union and was a member of the Naval ROTC. After he graduated with a degree in industrial engineering, the Navy sent him to Little Creek Amphibious Base near Norfolk, Va. As the assistant public works officer, I was responsible for the base s maintenance, he said. After completing military service, Max was awarded a fellowship for graduate study at OU. He finished his master s degree in engineering at Southern Methodist University. In 1959 Texas Instruments hired him to work in the semiconductor area, doing I Am Wilshire Max Post research on applying computer technology to business. Before joining Wilshire, Max attended First Baptist Church in Dallas, finding it pretty overwhelming for a country boy. One day at work, an engineer asked me where I lived. When I told him, he asked why I wasn t going to Wilshire, which had the greatest singles group in Dallas. When I went to Wilshire the next Sunday, I said to myself, This is my church. Max was involved in Wilshire s large and active singles group. We formed six groups to do mission activities, and we began a literacy program at the Ervay Mission Center that led to helping with tax returns, he recalled. In 1968 Max s naval reserve unit was called to active duty. We were Seabees, and we had to be on active duty in six weeks, he said. For almost a year in Vietnam, we built structures, paved roads, rebuilt bridges and airfields, put in pipelines, repaired hospitals and helped with schools. Back at TI, Max became manager of the silicon wafer manufacturing operation, and in 1972 he was offered the opportunity to manage the company s European distribution center near London. However, he needed to accept the offer immediately. I took the rest of the day off. I needed to talk to Candy, whom I had been dating for a few years, he said. I raked leaves at her house until she came home from her teaching job. She thought I d been fired because of the time of day. We weren t sure whether I proposed, but I asked her if she d like to get married and go to Europe. With the help of Wilshire friends, we were marred at Candy s house on Oct. 12, 1972. We enjoyed our time in London. We traveled a good bit and had lots of visitors, returning to Dallas and Wilshire in 1975. All of Max s children have achieved their dream of owning their own businesses. Matthew has opened a true Tex- Mex restaurant in New York City. Twins Becky and Cindy live in Tulsa. Becky is an attorney in private practice. Cindy redecorates furniture and recently began manufacturing and distributing specialty paints. A deacon emeritus, Max taught children s Sunday School classes for many years and is now a member of Open Bible Class. He has served on numerous committees, chair- ing the Committee on Committees and serving on the Personnel Committee that recommended that Mark Wingfield become Wilshire s associate pastor. He presently serves on the History Committee and the Vision 20/20 Grow Team. I retired in 1998, and for about three months I tried to be a good retiree, but I missed my schedule and activities, Max said. The next year he and the late Jim McCray started Wilshire s computer class for senior adults, which now includes training on ipads and iphones. Our great volunteers enjoy helping people, and the class is a good community-outreach project, he said. Max also helped start a computer lab at the Gaston Oaks Center that supports the ministry of Samira Izadi Page at Gateway of Grace. He appreciates Wilshire s stability and innovation, its caring congregation, the opportunity to try new programs, and the congregation s focus on missions. The great preaching is a blessing, he added. 5

Wilshire contacts To e-mail any member of the Wilshire staff, use the first initial with the full last name and then add @wilshirebc.org. To phone staff, dial (214) 452- and the four-digit extension: Pastoral offices George Mason (3132) Debby Burton (3132) Mark Wingfield (3128) Kathi Lyle (3130) Pathways to Ministry Geri McKenzie (3159) Brent Newberry (3152) Britt Carlson (3153) Erica Whitaker (3156) Matthew Broyles (3154) Business offices David Nabors (3157) Teresa M. Newtown (3131) Susan Kimball (3108) Dale Pride (3101) Sandy Allen (3150; sgallen) Beverly Faubion (3111) Wilshire Baptist Church 4316 Abrams Rd Dallas TX 75214 PERIODICALS RATE Age-graded ministries Jessica Capps (3129) Darren DeMent (3102) Julie Girards (3103) Joan Hammons (3141) Holly Irvin (3106) Care ministries Tiffany Wright (3107) Debby Burton (3132) Missions/advocacy offices Heather Mustain (3110) Katie Murray (3126) Sandy Allen (3150) Music offices Doug Haney (3123) Sarah Stafford (3121) Barbara Clayton (3125) Jeff Brummel (3122) Food services Chris Terry (3117) Weekday Education Mary Browder (3115) Parish nurse Linda Garner (3151) Library Jeri Baker (3114) Reception desk (214) 452-3165 Join the discussion Wilshire Reads 2015 Already, more than 250 Wilshire members are reading Making Sense of the Bible by Adam Hamilton as part of Wilshire Reads. There are more opportunities to join the conversation and learn from this book. Making Sense of the Bible discussion luncheon Sunday, May 3, at noon If you ve read the book or studied it in your Sunday School class but want to join a larger discussion about it, this is for you. This isn t a lecture or presentation about the book but is instead an opportunity for guided group discussion. Facilitated by Mark Wingfield. Making Sense of the Bible in one day Rescheduled for Saturday, April 11, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Lunch provided. Join Mark Wingfield in working through an overview of the entire book in one day. RSVP for either event with Kathi Lyle at klyle@wilshirebc.org or (214) 452-3130. 6