Author: Jeff Hampton

For Wilshire Baptist Church

I was in church before I was born. Mom tells the story that while I was being “knit together” in her womb, as the Bible describes, she was printing the weekly worship bulletins at the little Southern Baptist church down the street. I like to joke that her inhaling the fumes from the mimeograph machine explains my moods and other flaws.

Sometimes that’s good for a laugh, sometimes not. What’s no joke and is very real in a good way is how Mom’s personal faith and devotion to her chosen faith family are going strong these many years later, and that’s the part of the story that has rubbed off on me.

Continue reading “Family Celebrations”

For Wilshire Baptist Church

I believe you can walk into a church and tell a lot about its history, theological leanings, liturgical practices, worship style and mission priorities by looking at the furniture in the sanctuary, and specifically, where the people sit.

At a time when many new or renovated churches have theater seats or folding chairs, Wilshire still has pews in both the sanctuary and chapel, which was the original sanctuary. The pews are in good shape for dating back to the 1950s and ’60s. Like the well-used furniture in a vibrant, multi-generational home, the pews at Wilshire aren’t pristine but still are comfortable and function as originally intended and still wanted.

Continue reading “Have a Seat and Stay a While”

For Wilshire Baptist Church

Summer is here and that means it’s time to go to camp. Church camp, scout camp, sports camp, robot camp, whatever kind of camp kids and youth go to nowadays. But when they go, they often go on a bus. It’s been that way all my life, and the experience is thick with memories.

My first group bus ride was from the YMCA in Richardson to day camp for a week somewhere on the edge of Dallas. We hiked, learned songs, did arts and crafts and other typical camp activities. We came home every afternoon by way of the giant swimming pool at Vickery Park, a long-gone amusement park on Greenville Avenue across from Texas Health Presbyterian.

Continue reading “Growing Up on the Bus”