By Dorrell Brown

Although I don’t do childish things anymore, my thoughts are sometimes childish, and my prayers can be, too. In my preparation for anything, prayer is usually done first, but like a child when it comes to some prayers, I’m at peace and might fall asleep, so this morning I’ll tell you a story instead.

There was an elderly lady who attended my childhood Baptist church. We all walked then, and no matter how early I left home, she was already in church singing the same lines over and over again to a children’s’ song I did not know then: “One door and only one, and yet its sides are two, inside and outside, on which side are you?” It made me wonder on which side I should be, and I would follow this lady if she went outside just to be on the same side of the door she was … but my mother noticed and wanted an explanation for my strange behavior. I had no choice but to believe my mother when she told me the lady was preparing, although I did not know for what. So l left it at that.

We sing today, Mothering God, You Gave Me Birth, and for that we are thankful. So let us all be engaged right now … it’s not difficult at all. Look around, name five things you can see and give thanks. Now four things you can hear, and also give thanks; three things you can feel — remember to be thankful for what you can feel — and two things you can smell — don’t forget to give thanks for that — and finally something you can taste, and again be thankful.

My earthly mother was correct after all. That elderly lady was preparing by praying through singing the repetitive lines mentioned above. And yes, I do know the rest of the song now. May our hearts be ready to receive and meditate on the word we will hear today, be appreciative and be thankful for our mothers or mother figures in our lives.

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Hometown: Bellmead (outside Waco)
Present City: Dallas
Education: Baylor University
Profession: Banking and Administration

Tell us about your family.
My ancestors moved from Arkansas to Texas just after the Civil War. I was born in Pursley Community outside Corsicana, Texas. I have a stepdaughter, Jeanne Poorman, of Wilmette, Illinois, and a stepson, Bill Hill Jr. of Austin. I have a niece, Carolyn Pearson, of Denver, and nephew, Louis Tobola, of Euless. My great niece, Adria Mauro, and my 5-year-old great-great niece, Nicole Mauro, live in Denver.

How about your work or volunteer life?
I worked in mortgage banking until 1992 and then went to work for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. I retired from the BGCT in 2002. I also worked at Wilshire for eight years.

Any favorite hobbies?
I enjoy genealogy research and have traced three of my family lines to the early 1800s in the U.S. I have assisted several friends at Wilshire and people from several states in their searches. I also am an avid reader. I have read over 500 books since 2020. I have a spreadsheet to keep track of the books I have read so I don’t reread one!

What are your favorite places to travel?
I love to travel in Italy and Greece. My two favorite cities I have visited are Florence, Italy, and Istanbul, Turkey. I have traveled to Europe and the UK several times and to the Holy Land with Wilshire and Temple Emanu-El.

What brought you to Wilshire and when?
I have joined twice. The first time was in 1957 upon my first visit. I rejoined in 1973 when I returned to Dallas after living out of state in Oklahoma and California.

Where are you engaged at Wilshire?
Discovery Class, Prayer Team, Adventurers Committee, WOW Brown Bag Book Club and the Belong Team.

What has surprised you most about Wilshire?
I am not surprised but am pleased by our welcoming spirit and involvement in missions here in Dallas and around the world.

Tell us about your faith journey.
My mother’s family was Baptist, and my father was Church of Christ. My mother was the influencer in my decision to join the Baptist faith. I made my profession of faith at age 12 at a youth-led revival led by Bruce McIver, later to become Wilshire’s pastor, and Baylor basketball player Jack Robinson.

Something interesting most people would not know about you?
I attended LBJ’s presidential inauguration in 1965. I also was privileged to hear Martin Luther King Jr. preach at Riverside Church in New York City in August 1961.

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Up next for Stolen Lives: May 18 rally
On Saturday, May 18, Moms Demand Action is collaborating with Texas Impact and Giffords to host a rally for gun violence prevention and NRA accountability at Dallas City Hall Plaza from 9 a.m. to noon. The rally is scheduled in parallel with the National Rifle Association’s annual conference, which is being held in Dallas May 16–19. The Stolen Lives (Vidas Robadas) T-shirts we prepared will be on display at the rally along with T-shirts from other area churches. Attendees are asked to register in advance. Volunteers are needed at 7:30 a.m. to help hang T-shirts and at the end of the rally to take down the display. If you can help, contact Abbey Adcox.

Wilshire in the Park: Churchwide Picnic
Sunday, May 19 | 5 to 7 p.m. | Flag Pole Hill Pavilion
8015 Doran Circle, Dallas 75201
All are invited to this family-friendly annual picnic with food, face painting and Flag Pole Hill’s unique inclusive playground. The pavilion and picnic tables are ours to use; bring your own lawn chairs. Wilshire will provide fried chicken, rolls and drinks. The rest of the meal is potluck with these assignments by last name: A–F, veggies; G–M, fruit; N–S, dessert; T–Z, salad. Please bring enough to serve at least eight. Containers and serving utensils must be disposable. Please include a card with allergen information (gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts, soy) if appropriate. Volunteers are needed to welcome guests, manage the buffet table and clean up. SIGN UP.

Adventurers to Meadows Museum on May 16
The Adventurers will tour the Meadows Museum at SMU on Thursday, May 16, at 10 a.m. Parking is free, and the group will gather at the entrance at 9:50. After the docent-guided museum tour, the group will have lunch nearby. A $10 per-person cost covers museum entry. Register by May 13 at wilshirebc.org/events/meadows-museum.

Wednesday nights on break
Wilshire’s Wednesday evening activities have ended for this school year and are now on summer break. This includes Koinonia Café; KidConnect; Preschool Music, Missions & More; and the 6 p.m. Bible Study.
■ Watershed has also ended, but Wilshire’s youth will have a tailgate event on May 15.
■ Sanctuary Choir rehearsals continue Wednesdays at 7 p.m. with some summer breaks planned.

Lunch & Learn continues through June 5
All are welcome each Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. in Community Hall for lunch ($10 each) followed by minister-led Bible Study. Pay at the door. No RSVP needed.
■ On June 5, the final Lunch & Learn before a summer break will be a joint event with Wilshire Adventurers featuring New Song Community Choir’s end-of-season concert.

Graduate recognition May 19
Wilshire will recognize its 2024 high school graduates during worship on May 19; their photos will be printed in the worship folder along with those of church members who received a bachelor’s degree from June 2023 to May 2024. Music in the service will include Youth Choir singing its signature Psalm 139 and 2024 graduate Joshua Brown playing the prelude on marimba.

Vacation Bible School: Seekers in Sneakers
June 10–14, 9 a.m.–noon.
At Vacation Bible School, kids will use their investigative skills to dig into the Bible. It’s a great opportunity to make new friends, sing fun songs, solve clue puzzles, do art projects and science explorations and play active games. For older preschoolers through sixth graders. VBS is free; class sizes are limited. Register by June 3.

Children and Preschool Summer Camps 
Find all the details on our summer offerings for children and preschoolers at wilshirebc.org/summer-camps.  
■ Vacation Bible School | June 10–14 | 9 a.m.–noon | Three-year-olds through grade 6
■ Cooking Camp | July 8–12 | 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Grades 1–6  (Sold out; waitlist available)
■ Listen to Your Art Camp | July 8–12 | 12:30–5 p.m. | Grades 1–6
■ Full day Cooking/Art option available for grades 2–6, July 8–12 (Sold out; waitlist available)
■ Passport Kids Camp | July 27–30 | Overnight camp in Brownwood | Grades 3–6
■ Kindergarten and Preschool Camp | July 22–25 | 9 a.m.–noon

Join the summer fun!
Looking for a place of service at Wilshire? Do you enjoy working with kids? Are your kids grown, or do you not have kids? Are you retired? Do you have a flexible schedule or work from home? I’d love to have you join us for one or more of our children’s summer activities. Or on a more regular basis for Sunday School or Wednesday nights — or as a sub. It’s fun, easy, rewarding and we’ll train you! Let me know if you or someone you know is interested, and we’ll find the right spot. Our greatest need is for someone with special needs experience. Contact me at [email protected] or 214-452-3104. —Julie Girards, Minister to Children

MOPS is now The MomCo; registration open for fall
After 51 years, MOPS International is updating its name to The MomCo (short for Mom Community) to better align with its mission of reaching all moms, not just mothers of preschoolers. Wilshire’s group began in 1997 and is still going strong, meeting six to seven times during the school year on Friday mornings. Childcare, called KidsCo, is offered, and programming for moms includes brunch, a speaker and sometimes a craft — but always community. The group includes Wilshire members but consists mostly of local moms looking for connection. Wilshire MomCo will still focus mostly on moms with young kids, but as with all things Wilshire, the more the merrier. Registration for the fall is open.

Youth Camp
“Find Your People” is the theme for this year’s Youth Camp for grades 7 to 12, to be held July 1–6 at Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center in Little Rock. Pastoral residency alum Jared Jaggers will serve as camp pastor. Registration is open. 

Minister to preschoolers sought
Wilshire is actively seeking applicants for the position of minister to preschoolers, a part-time ministerial role. Senior Pastor Timothy Peoples said, “Last year we began a process of intentionally assessing our ministries from birth to age 18. With learnings from guest speakers, surveys and all-church listening sessions, we now feel we are in a better spot to begin searching for a minister to preschoolers. This doesn’t mean we’ve finished listening or dreaming, but it’s time to bring in someone with great expertise to help us continue planning for the future.” In accordance with Wilshire’s personnel policies, the Personnel Committee will work with Associate Pastor Darren DeMent in the hiring process. A job description and instructions for applying can be found at wilshirebc.org/employment. Applications will be accepted through June 1.

WOW: Women of Wilshire
■ Tuesday Evening Book Club | May 14 | 6:30 p.m. | Parlor | Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon. Contact: Debby Burton ([email protected])
■ Brown Bag Book Club | June 6 | Noon | 1205-L | A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. Contact: Carolyn Murray ([email protected])
■ Let’s play mahjong! Join Women of Wilshire for mahjong the first Friday each month at 10 a.m. and the second Wednesday each month at 6 p.m. Please sign up.
■ Evening knitting group. Anyone who enjoys knitting is invited to Peggy Tinsley’s Garland home one evening each month, usually the third Thursday, to work on their projects in fellowship with others. The group is open to knitters of all skill levels. Contact Sara Tinsley for more details.

Wilshire Winds concert, June 2
Wilshire Winds will present a concert of sacred, classical and popular music on Sunday, June 2, at 6:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Shana Gaines directs the volunteer group of woodwind, brass and percussion players.

ECLC enrolling for fall
Wilshire’s Early Childhood Learning Center is enrolling for the 2024–2025 school year. ECLC is a licensed early care program offering a comprehensive approach to education for infants to Pre-K. Learn more at wilshirebc.org/eclc.

Subscribe to sermon podcast
Sermons from Timothy Peoples and other Wilshire preachers are available as a weekly audio podcast on all major podcast platforms. Search for “Wilshire Baptist Church” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or iHeartRadio.

Chronic illness support group
Wilshire’s support group for those experiencing a chronic or undiagnosed illness meets on Zoom the second and fourth Tuesdays every month at 7:30 p.m. To learn more, contact group leader Annette Miller.

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Wilshire Prayer Notes: May 10

Condolences to:

• Kelly Park on the death of his wife, Nancy Park, May 5.

• Ruth Kaun on the death of her son, Paul Kaun, May 2. Arrangements pending.

• David Duncan on the death of his sister, Sheila Moore, May 1. Sister-in-law is Carole Jean Abernathy and niece is Paula Woodbury. Graveside is in Waco May 13; Memorial service is May 14, 10:30 a.m. at Preston Hollow Presbyterian.

• Family and friends of Jim Nickell, April 24. Service is Monday, May 13, 10:00 a.m., Wildwood Chapel at Restland.

Others in need of prayer:

James, Virgil, John, Gaye, Montgomery, Neil and Carol Ann, Carolyn, Bobby, Cathy, Maria, Erin, Julie, Kathy, Ella, Martha, Sue, Elwyn, Owen, Emily

Friends and Family concerns:

• Dakota, great-nephew of Robin Sefzik
• Tracy Yetter, stepdaughter of Janice Vergez
• Caroline, niece of Tanya Benson
• Patricia, sister-in-law of Joyce Harris
• Connie, sister-in-law of Gayle Lawson

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A beautiful thread of love runs through our worship this morning. Our Young Musicians sing of spreading kindness, our Gospel reading reminds us to love one another and the choral offertory offers a prayer of restoration and peace to all. When we are gathered for worship, God’s message and commandment to love feels easy, but outside this space, in the messy, divisive world, loving the stranger, the enemy — loving all of humanity — can be quite complicated.

In her book “See No Stranger,” Sikh activist Valarie Kaur calls us to commit to “revolutionary love,” which she defines as the choice to labor for others, our opponents and ourselves. Despite our best efforts, we carry unconscious biases that cause us to be suspicious of the stranger and condemning of the enemy and prevent us from loving all of humanity. Othering is pervasive, and we become vulnerable to creating irreconcilable gaps between ourselves and those we see as the other.

Psychologist Susan Fiske has demonstrated with brain imaging that our brains process members of ‘out-groups,’ people who are different from us, as nonhuman, and the areas that activate in the brain are those activated when viewing something of disgust. Our propensity to “other” is a reflex of our neural biology.

Kaur’s response is to see others with curiosity and wonder, because once people stop wondering about others, once they no longer see others as part of themselves, they disable their instinct for empathy. In the Sikh tradition, one approaches others by acknowledging that they are a part of themselves they do not yet know. Wondering about a stranger’s favorite meal or the childhood nickname of your enemy creates familiarity and commonality, which makes love possible. It allows us to see past our differences and honor the image of God that is present in all. It is not easy, and often boundaries are important, but it is necessary. We are called to love one another as Christ loves us and to see the other as somebody, even as a part of ourselves. We are called to the work of justice and bringing the Good News into the world.

As we worship today and live in this brutal and beautiful (brutiful?) world, may we lead with curiosity and wonder as we encounter the stranger, and may we live into revolutionary love.

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Hometown: Dallas;
Present City: Dallas;
Education: MS;
Profession: Teacher;

Tell us about your family.
I have two sons, Charles, 8, and William, 7. My mother lives with us. I am a widow.

How about your work or volunteer life?
I teach sixth grade at Merriman Park Elementary, and I’m a BETA Club sponsor there. This fall I’ll be teaching at the Winston School. I help in children’s ministry at Wilshire.

What are your favorite hobbies?
I love to travel, crochet, refinish furniture, read, swim, play board games, build Legos and do science experiments with my boys.

What are your favorite places to travel?
I have visited Mexico, Russia, England, Spain, Italy, Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia. There is not a place I haven’t liked. My favorite thing to do is go to a local market where I can try the native foods of an area.

What brought you to Wilshire and when?
We moved back to Dallas in June 2023. I was looking for a church that had solid teaching and was also open to people in the LGBTQ+ community for when my brother-in-law visits me; I want him to feel welcomed. A dear friend recommended Wilshire, and when we came, we were welcomed with open arms.

What has surprised you most about Wilshire?
I was most pleasantly surprised by how much the church welcomes children to be involved in serving.

Tell us about your faith journey.
I was raised in a Christian family, but each part of my family went to a different church: Catholic, Methodist, Disciples of Christ and nondenominational. I learned at a young age to embrace difference in whatever form it comes. I made friends with good people and didn’t ask anything else. I became a believer at age 10 and was baptized shortly after that. I had some struggles with my faith along the way, but ultimately I came back to the church and my faith. I can’t say I’ve loved the challenges in my life, but God makes sure I can grow in the journey, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Something interesting most people would not know about you?
I went to Arts Magnet and studied theater and visual arts. On my honeymoon, I was walking the gardens of Highclere Castle and discovered some sheep. I started petting them and discovered Lord Carnarvon in his Land Rover. I was at a play where Martin Freeman played Richard III, and I was drenched in his “blood” as he “died” because of how close we were seated.

*If you are interested in being featured in an upcoming I Am Wilshire feature, contact Carolyn Murray ([email protected])

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As you prepare for worship today, take a moment to reflect on what brings you here. Why do we gather for worship? What are our hopes as we open our hearts and minds for this sacred time together?

Let’s explore the essence of worship. Corporate worship is a dedicated time where we collectively acknowledge the presence of the Divine in our lives. In our context, we structure our worship using sacred elements rooted in ancient traditions that have evolved over millennia. The book of Acts illustrates the early church’s commitment to fellowship, teaching, prayer, Communion and offering. This foundation encourages our gathering to listen for God’s voice, communicate with God, receive divine gifts and reciprocate by offering our gifts to God and one another.

At its essence, worship is a dynamic practice of nurturing and honoring relationship. It’s a dedicated time to foster, celebrate and deepen our bond with God and our community. It’s not a passive act of observation but of active engagement. Like any significant relationship, worship requires an open heart and mind, inviting us to be responsive to the Divine. Our weekly gathering should reflect the ongoing work of the Spirit in our lives, drawing us closer to God and each other.

You may notice subtle shifts in our service order in today’s worship. These adjustments reflect our ongoing pursuit to engage more intentionally with God’s voice through word, song and prayer. As you join in our worship, stay attuned to where you may encounter God’s presence in fresh and transformative ways.

Let our prayer resonate with the words of our hymn: “Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven, to earth come down. Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit into every troubled [heart]. Finish then [a] new creation; pure and spotless let us be. Let us see [your] great salvation perfectly restored in [us].”

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Hometown: Dallas;
Present City: Dallas;
Education: UNT, Biology; UNT, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine; Michigan, MBA.
Profession: Physician (internist), health care executive;

Tell us about your family.
I’ve been married to Rhonda for 43 years. We raised four sons: Steven, married to Ashley with two children, Kennedy, 6, and Carter, 3; Daniel, married to Ami; Benjamin, married to Taylor; and Andrew.

How about your work or volunteer life?
I retired in 2023 and now consult for clients working to improve healthcare for Medicaid and the medically underserved. I volunteer on a federal advisory committee focused on Medicare and Medicaid reform. I’m a hospice volunteer for VNA Texas and a visiting professor in Healthcare Disparities and Strategic Management for UTD and Rutgers.

Favorite hobbies?
Gardening, hiking, scuba diving and reading.

What brought you to Wilshire and when?
We moved from Waxahachie in 2013 after our last son left for college. We found Wilshire because of its mature leadership and application of Christian theology around social justice and egalitarianism.

Where are you engaged at Wilshire?
Epiphany Class and the Missions Committee.

What’s surprised you most about Wilshire?
Wilshire’s maturity and openness to being an early adopter for how Christian institutions can recognize and respond to the urgent need for diversity, inclusion and equity in leadership, membership and practice in society.

What do you think God is up to in your life right now?
God is teaching me to slow down and recognize the power of developing new relationships with strangers — reducing the distance between myself and others with different backgrounds and lived experiences and better connecting with what God is up to in the world.

Tell us about your faith journey.
Raised as a Methodist, I was influenced by Young Life leaders and became a Christian in 1984. I struggled to express my faith as a husband, father and physician, but in the last decade I’ve experienced a renewal of faith, coming to a deeper understanding of God’s love for both me and the world.

Something interesting most people would not know about you?
In Waxahachie, I transitioned from private practice to making “house calls” for impoverished survivors of complex neurotrauma living without health insurance in Dallas. This gave me opportunities to participate on medical teams responding to the healthcare needs created by natural disasters and the long-term consequences of poverty and social injustice.

What adjectives best describe you?
Curious.

*If you are interested in being featured in an upcoming I Am Wilshire feature, contact Carolyn Murray ([email protected])

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Wilshire has launched a new rental and utility assistance program that will help meet immediate needs in our community. The initiative will be funded by about $81,000 in Missions Plus funds drawn from surplus giving to Wilshire’s 2023 Unified Budget.

The program was born out of learnings from last year’s housing advocacy cohort and represents what that group felt we had to offer to Dallas County’s housing crisis. Some of the cohort’s learnings were:

• For the first time in three years, money from the pandemic-related federal CARES Act is no longer available to many nonprofit agencies, leaving • large gap in the community for this service.
• Dallas County residents are being evicted at higher rates now than before the pandemic, and 70% of evictees are single moms.
• According to research, when families and individuals remain housed, all other social determinants of health stabilize and lead to greater security.

While the problem is big, expensive and complex, we also feel doing nothing isn’t an option. So while we may not be able to contribute to the need for more affordable housing, we do have this to offer: grace in the form of a gift given without expectation; a listening, empathetic ear; a heart to love; and the hope of restoring dignity and worth to those who often go unseen.

The program will serve any neighbor living in Dallas County by helping pay one overdue monthly rent payment or one month’s overdue utility payment per calendar year while expecting nothing in return from the neighbor. Since January, we have helped 14 individuals. Stop by the church office and check out our new cards to learn more. If you’re interested in volunteering, contact Abbey Adcox at [email protected].

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Greg Garrett’s sermon has lingered in my mind and soul all week. As a parent, I’m never really certain what, if anything, my child sitting next to me is absorbing. In Greg’s closing, he reminded us that we don’t have to be so afraid. Without missing a beat, my Jimmie leaned in and responded, “Are you sure about that?” Honestly, she read my mind as I asked myself the same exact question in return.

Greg touched a nerve for my family and perhaps yours too. Fear lurks everywhere, but as someone reminded me recently, fear is just false evidence appearing real, requiring courage to lead us to faith.

As I spent some time with today’s order of worship, I noticed a thread throughout. Like fear and faith, this morning through song and word we will explore light and darkness, gain and loss, strength and weakness, joy and pain. Binaries like these expose life to be what author Cole Arthur Riley calls a “sacred spectrum.”

We rarely experience light without knowing darkness, life without facing death, joy without feeling pain — but instead they exist within our hearts and lived experiences as sacred spectrums. And like in today’s song from the basement, “each need their moment to shine,” and that can sure be a hard pill to swallow.

Riley goes on to say, “Fear can make us demand definition from mystery. We condense and simplify our own stories to make them clear and resolved. But instead, perhaps we need to remember that we are not singular, but are free to be more than one thing.” I’m in a season of life where God is making it known that two truths can co-exist at once — in fact, perhaps they need one another in order for me to fully grow into my own becoming. So instead of finding resolution, I’m finding the freedom to feel it all.

Perhaps God is wanting to expand in you and is using a sacred spectrum to do so. Today as you notice one of these binaries, consider how you can honor your own becoming through this knowing that life is indeed a sacred spectrum.

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