2017 December Lakewood

LAKEWOOD/EAST DALLAS

WILSHIRE BAPTIST’S SCHISM

SCHEDULE THE SEASON

‘NUTCRACKER’ FOR ALL

Whatever bridge you’re crossing, we’re there for you.

More

When

ON THE COVER:

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

Happy Holidays from the White Rock YMCA!

Donate to the Angel Tree

You an make a difference in a family’s Christmas! Stop by the Y and pick an Angel off our tree to shop for. Unwrapped gifts are due back December 18. Visit our facility for more information about specific drop-off times and locations.

Cookies with Santa

Join us for our annual Cookies with Santa event! We will be enjoying cookies, crafts, hot cocoa, and free pictures with Santa. This year’s backdrop is country Christmas themed, so grab your boots and cowboy hats and get ready to deck the halls y’all!

When: December 9, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Where: White Rock YMCA Gym

Cost: FREE

Healthy for the Holidays

YMCA Personal Trainer Shannon Kaul, B.S, Nutrition and Fitness, shares her tips for staying healthy and maintaining your goals through the holiday season.

Even if it’s half the time you might normally devote to your workout, something is better than nothing! Just a 15 minute walk around the block can make a difference, and studies show that people who devote time to physical exercise tend to make healthier food choices.

In anticipation of treats and holiday splurging, ensure you have healthy meals and snack options at home. Make sure you are getting plenty of lean meats and vegetables, avoid adding butter and sugar when cooking, choose high-protein snacks like hard boiled eggs or Greek yogurt, and keep your unhealthy treats out of sight so you’re less likely to indulge.

Aim to have a small meal or at least a healthy snack before hitting that holiday party. If you aren’t starving by the time you get to the snack

table, you will be more likely to make controlled, conscious decisions.

Alcoholic and sugar-sweetened beverages often contain more calories and sugar than expected. Try having a glass of water between each serving, and avoid mindless sipping.

It’s easy to reach for hot cocoa or cider to quench your thirst, but remember that nothing can replace water. Also, if you are feeling hungry between meals, try drinking a glass of water – hunger is often a signal that you are dehydrated.

Half of your plate should be fruits and vegetables and the rest should be filled with whole grains and lean protein. Although this might not always be possible at your family potluck, you can still try to generally follow these rules of thumb: limit indulgent foods to a quarter of your plate, and fill the rest with healthier choices. Top tip: turkey, a holiday staple, is a great source of lean protein!

Getting the appropriate amount of sleep is es-

sential for any healthy lifestyle, regardless of the time of year. Studies show that the average person consumes an additional 300 calories per day when they are not getting enough sleep. Adults 18 years and older need an average of 7-9 hours of shut eye per night.

Every time you are tempted to indulge, ask yourself, “Is it really worth it to me?” If the answer is yes, allow yourself the freedom to enjoy the treat. If you are concerned about excessive weight gain, set a goal for yourself to limit weight gain to only a few pounds over the 6 week period between Thanksgiving and New Year. Make sure to regularly check in with yourself and ensure your indulgences aren’t getting out of control, but don’t restrict yourself so much that you aren’t enjoying your holiday time!

The White Rock YMCA wishes you a happy and healthy holiday season! For information about membership, programs, and rates, visit www.WhiteRockYMCA.org. Financial assistance is available.

OPENING REMARKS

By RICK WAMRE

A fool’s Christmas

Finding forgiveness this season, whether it’s deserved or not

I’m guessing Louis C.K. won’t be having a particularly joyous holiday season. Harvey Weinstein probably won’t be spending much time near any mistletoe. Kevin Spacey will likely have an uncomfortable amount of “me” time between now and the end of the year, too.

It’s shocking how quickly a life can change.

These guys are getting what they deserve, you could say, but the rapidity with which they were marooned by the rest of us is still breathtaking.

I know some of you aren’t particularly “holiday” people — you don’t care much for the Christmas story, perhaps, or you don’t get along with your family, or you don’t enjoy champagne and fireworks at midnight.

But there’s a certain sense of community created by the holidays, whether you love them or loathe them, and it’s a sad thing when someone has lived a life so fraught with idiocy or abuse that he or she is forced to stand apart during a time of the year when good cheer is practically mandated.

The specter of watching someone’s life collapse is hard to turn from when it’s broadcast so conveniently on every form of media in our paths. The ubiquitousness of the stories doesn’t forgive the time we spend tuning them in, but it’s easier to forgive ourselves for being spectators than it is to forgive them for being fools.

There are plenty of people out there with desperate illnesses or strikingly sad personal lives who see the holidays as a chance — a final chance, in some cases

to right past wrongs, to say a word of forgiveness long overdue, or just to hug someone who longs to hug back.

I’ve spent a good deal of my life a thousand miles from most of my family. For

a long time, I made it back for holidays, regardless of how long it took or how hard it was to get there. That sense of family and community wiped the slate clean each year, whether I deserved it or not, and helped me prepare to tackle what was ahead.

Perhaps I don’t have that much to atone for each season, in a relative sense, but any sin is one too many, according to a book I’ve partially read, and no effort to seek forgiveness is unwelcome.

So here’s hoping our holidays are spent with people who love and forgive us, no matter what we’ve done; and that we

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Will Maddox

find some time and space in our lives to forgive some people who may not deserve our mercy but could certainly use it.

I’ve read that “the loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.”

I suspect most of us have been to that precipice a couple of times, figuratively speaking, and we were lucky enough to be pulled back by someone in our lives who refused to let go. Here’s hoping we don’t find ourselves there staring blankly again someday, too.

Maybe we won’t be anyone’s savior this holiday season, but that doesn’t mean we can’t extend a hand or a hug or a dollar.

There are some real dirtbags out there, for sure. But the line separating us can be awfully thin sometimes, too.

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monthly by East Dallas Lakewood People Inc. Contents of this magazine may not be reproduced. Advertisers and advertising agencies assume liability for the content of all advertisements printed, and therefore assume responsibility for any and all claims against the Advocate. The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising material. Opinions set forth in the Advocate are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the publisher’s viewpoint. More than 200,000 people read Advocate publications each month. Advertising rates and guidelines are available upon request. Advocate publications are available free of charge throughout our neighborhoods, one copy per reader. Advocate was founded in 1991 by Jeff Siegel, Tom Zielinski and Rick Wamre.

It’s shocking how quickly a life can change.

’Tis the season for gathering around the fire.

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READERS REACT TO: “How might the bond improve cycling in the neighborhood?”

“There is an often misplaced causality involving bike-ability, which gives many people the wrong idea; they seem to think we don’t need bike lanes because nobody’s using them, but how can they be used if they aren’t there?! Complete streets can only benefit a community — it has been proven in cities all across the United States. Bicycle (and other non-motorized) infrastructure is severely under-funded in Dallas. This is a great bond measure and I look forward to it passing!”

“Dallas taxpayers just paid for and built a bike path that connects from White Rock Lake to Deep Ellum. We do not need special bike lanes along a route that parallels the existing Santa Fe Trail... the Santa Fe Trail will be over 8 miles long when fully implemented. There is no demonstrable need for two sets of bike lanes within 800 feet of each other, serving the exact same neighborhoods and locations.”

CITIZEN KANE

“Narrowing streets by removing traffic lanes that are not needed, and adding bike lanes don’t merely benefit those who use the street. Street narrowing reduces speeds and makes crosswalks (crossing that street) shorter and safer for everybody. Routes to three schools cross Abrams/Columbia. Three significant shopping areas are along this route, a library, and a senior-living development.”

MELANIE VANLANDINGHAM

DEC. 9

SHORELINE SPRUCING

L A UNC H Out & About

For the Love of the Lake invites neighbors to join its monthly Second Saturday Shoreline Spruce-Up at White Rock Lake. Meet at 8 a.m. at the nonprofit’s office to grab breakfast munchies, and the needed clean-up supplies.

For the Love of the Lake, 1152 N. Buckner, whiterocklake. org, 214.660.1100, free

DEC. 2 AND 16

WINTER MARKET

Lake Pointe Church hosts White Rock Market, one of Good Local Markets’ many locations throughout the city. It offers fresh local produce, baked goods and crafts from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Good Local Markets, 9150 Garland Road, goodlocalmarket.org, 972.379.7097, free

DEC. 14

ADULT COLORING

Head to the White Rock Hills branch library and de-stress from the holiday hustle. Crayons and coloring pages are provided for some adult coloring time, from 6-7 p.m. White Rock Hills Library, 9150 Ferguson Road, 214.670.8443, dallaslibrary2.org, free

DEC. 16

MOANING MUSIC

Check out the Southern California band Moaning at Transit Bicycle Company on Lower Greenville at 7:30 p.m. One dollar from each ticket will be donated to Resource Center, an LGBTQ and HIV/ AIDS service organization in North Texas. Transit Bicycle Company, 1915 Greenville Ave., 214.219.2453, transitbikes.com, $8

DEC. 16

PUPPY MEET AND GREET

The Education and Animal Rescue Society is hosting a dog adoption session at Pet Supplies Plus on Mockingbird. Give a pup a forever home from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Pet Supplies Plus, 6060 E. Mockingbird Lane, 214.827.1248, earstexas.org, free

DEC. 20

TRIVIA

Yucatan Taco Stand hosts a tequila, tacos and trivia night at 8 p.m. with the world renowned PubGuys Trivia.

Yucatan Taco Stand, 2023 Greenville Ave., 469.779.9263, yucatantacostand.com, free

DEC. 30

BOB SCHNEIDER

Finish off the year with Texas music favorite Bob Schneider at the Granada Theater on Lower Greenville. He is joined by Roxy Roca, Ryan Berg and the Velvet Ears. The show starts at 9 p.m.

Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., 214.824.9933,granadatheater.org, $26-$39

SHARING THE STAGE

By WILL MADDOX |

FULGENCIO

Photo by DANNY

Anna Weis is one of the stars of this year’s “Nutcracker.”

eeny mice, soldiers and young sugar plum fairies dance alongside a teenage Clara and Fritz in this growing holiday tradition, the fourth-annual “Nutcracker Short ’N Suite” at Woodrow Wilson High School.

Numerous “Nutcracker” performances are danced around the city every Christmas, but there is often a serious time commitment and cost involved in these intricate performances. Woodrow’s “Short ’N Suite” allows families to participate without spending every night for weeks rehearsing, and hundreds of dollars on lessons and costumes.

Students from all over the Woodrow Wilson feeder pattern are invited to sign up and dance a role in the performance, providing exposure to the arts for families who may not have access to high-level instruction. The tradition was begun by former Woodrow dance teacher Lisa Moya, and is continued this year by Monica Reyes, who is in her first year with the dance program at Woodrow Wilson.

The hour-long show is a good fit for families who may not have the time or attention spans for the full ballet, but the ornate costumes and quality dancers give the performance a sense of professionalism.

According to Michele Matney, whose daughter is a dancer at Woodrow, last year’s performance included 60 elementary students, 25 students from J.L. Long and nearly 100 high school dancers and she hopes to have at least that many again this year.

Tickets for the show help fund the dance program, and will specifically go toward dancers attending the National High School Dance Festival at Point Park University in Pittsburg this winter. While at the prestigious dance university, Woodrow dancers will perform and be evaluated for dance scholarships and summer intensives while attending different genres of classes. Usually, students have to pay around $1,500 for airfare, lodging and attendance, but because of funds raised by the “Nutcracker,” Matney hopes students will be able to attend the trip for as little as $300.

“Nutcracker Short ’N Suite” runs Dec. 7 and 8 at 7 p.m., and Dec. 9 at noon at Woodrow Wilson High School. On Dec. 9 at 10:30 a.m., neighbors are invited to the Land of Sweets Breakfast, where they can take pictures with costumed Nutcracker characters and Santa Claus. Tickets for the show range from $6-$10 and the breakfast is $5. Tickets can be bought online at woodrowwildcats.org or at the door.

Patient Quote of the Month:

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— Robert Ackerman

SHAGGY DOG

Edgar the Old English sheepdog rocks a pony tail like only he can. Owner Chris Youpa talks to Edgar like he’s a person, insisting that his furry hound understands 90 percent of what he hears. The dog was a familiar face when Youpa used to build sets for the Woodrow Wilson musical, considered a “semi Woodrow mascot.” Over the years, Edgar has developed a love for the patios at Mi Cocina, Chips, Truck Yard and Pints & Quarts. The 10-year-old tail-wagger is moving a little slower these days, but he still loves to walk around the lake and let his hair flow in the breeze for a ride in the truck or convertible. Edgar is a people pleaser, and when he is at the dog park, he spends more time visiting the humans than playing with other canines. “Everyone wants to pet him,” says Youpa, “and he knows it.”

A GIANT CHRISTMAS TRAGEDY

This 56-foot Santa Claus sat atop the roof of Porter Chevrolet, and was designed by the same man that brought Big Tex to life at the State Fair. But this Santa has a tragic history. Roy Davis, a 46-year-old man who had been recently released from the hospital and told to take it easy, asked his boss at the crane company where he worked to borrow a crane so that

he could have his picture taken with the giant St. Nick for his Christmas card, and they said yes. He got his picture with Santa, but as he was being lowered, witnesses say he went limp and fell 35 feet from the crane, landing between the boots of the giant Santa, where he died. Now, all that remains of the dealership is a parking lot for Campisi’s.

Happy Holidays to Our Clients

AFTER THE SCANDAL

Finding redemption after being a part of SMU’s ‘death penalty’ football team

By WILL MADDOX

Photo by DANNY FULGENCIO

David Blewett won a conference championship while playing at SMU.

avid Blewett could have let the most infamous moment in college football ruin the rest of his life, but he didn’t.

He was a member of Southern Methodist University’s team in the mid-1980s that went from being nationally ranked to receiving the “death penalty,” when the NCAA canceled its 1987 season. In many ways, the team never recovered, but the moment that took what Blewett loved most put him on a path of personal redemption that would change his future.

Blewett wrote a book about his experience on that fated team called “Pony Trap.” In it, he describes SMU football as a name that once inspired fear in its rivals. With nationally ranked teams, top-ranked recruits and a bevy of players heading to the NFL, they were a force.

According to Blewett, and an ESPN “30 for 30” documentary, it was difficult for any Division I football program at the time to land elite recruits without illegally paying the players on the side. Most of the payments were small contributions for food or transportation, but there were more sizable gifts being passed under tables as well.

The NCAA tried to crack down on these illegal payments, but it needed to tread lightly, as the organization received its power from the very universities it was tasked to police. If the NCAA wanted to make an example of a school that was cheating, SMU was the perfect candidate. It was a smaller school, lacking the power of more established entities, but was also successful on the field, rivaling established football schools such as the University of Texas in Austin.

When the NCAA communicated with a couple of disgruntled former SMU football players who had been paid (but not enough to keep quiet), the NCAA found its smoking gun.

“It was the perfect storm,” Blewett says.

The result was swift and hefty. NCAA canceled SMU’s season in 1987, the only time that has ever happened to a university, despite other cheating scandals. No one could have predicted the hurt. The program never reached the same level of success again.

“It’s zombie penalty,” Blewett says. “Here we are, 25 years later, and it’s still out there.”

Blewett says he was not one of the paid players, and was given the option

THE STORE IN LAKE HIGHLANDS

Holiday Gifts Galore! We are stocked full of an incredible selection for family, friends, teachers and everyone on your list!

Mon-Sat 9:30-5:30

10233 E. NW Hwy@Ferndale (next to Rooster’s) 214.553.8850

2SHEA BOUTIQUE & MED SPA

Stop in to shop at 2Shea Boutique & Med Spa. We have beautiful handmade jewelry from local designers. Each piece is unique and one of a kind. It makes the perfect gift!

6342 La Vista Dr. 214.272.3652 2sheaboutique.com

FLEECE

Make your New Year’s Resolution with Fleece and learn a new skill. Knitting, Crochet, Felting, and Macrame lessons and the most beautiful yarns in town. Book your next birthday, shower or party at Fleece.

Located in Medallion Center 6464 E Northwest Hwy., Ste 330 214.238.3820 fleeceboutique.com

WALTON’S GARDEN CENTER

Shop Walton’s today to create a sizzling home for the holidays! Christmas trees, decorations, grills and gifts for the indoors and out!

8652 Garland Rd. 214.321.2387

to transfer to another school to continue his college football career, but decided to stay at SMU to finish his degree and double major in philosophy and finance. The weeks after the penalty, though, left him despondent and aimless.

Decades later, Blewett was raising his children (he now has seven) with his wife in East Dallas when he became aware of the “30 for 30” documentary made in 2010 by ESPN about the SMU cheating scandal. Blewett wasn’t part of the documentary (he never called the director back, wary of the media after his college years) and was not engaged

CITY VIEW ANTIQUE MALL

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE - DEC. 5TH, 6-9:30!

Join us for Great Food & Special Sales!

Unique gifts, vintage Christmas decor & more...Happy Holidays from our 65 dealers! 6830 Walling Ln. (off Skillman/Abrams) 214.752.3071 cityviewantiques.com

YOGA MART

Can’t Decide? Yoga Mart has gift cards. Come visit our new location.

2201 Tucker St. Suite 101, Dallas 75214. YogaMartUSA.com. 214-238-2433

214.560.4203

with the university or team at the time. But his daughter saw the film, and had questions.

“I heard something bad happened there. Did you do anything wrong?” she asked.

The question planted a pit in his stomach that began to grow, inspiring him to seek redemption in a familiar place. He decided he would get back in shape, and attempt to use his remaining football eligibility to play for his alma mater. He only played two years in the 1980s, and if he got approval from the NCAA and SMU, he could play for the team again. He wanted to prove to himself and his family that he could do it, and while he knew that a 40-year-old man probably couldn’t compete for an entire season with college athletes, he saw a higher purpose.

In Blewett’s eyes, SMU never owned up to its sins and accepted responsibility, instead carrying on like the scandal never happened, shunning the players involved

“Here we are, 25 years later, and it’s still out there.”

and trying to outrun the problem.

“SMU needs to have a cathartic moment,” he says. “They need to say, ‘Here’s what we did wrong, please forgive us of our sins and let’s start over.’ ”

Blewett thought making the team would atone the university, both rectifying the past and symbolically welcoming a generation of players who were looking to reconnect with their old school.

Blewett worked for months and was in the best shape of his life, but in the end was not given an opportunity to play by the coach. He understood that he would be a distraction to a team trying to win games, but was still disappointed. There was a silver lining, however.

“There is nothing sad about this at all,” he says. “Throughout the process, I reengaged with friends, reengaged with the university and reengaged with my physicality.”

The experience led him to write his book, which tells the story from the players’ perspective rather than the media’s or the NCAA’s. He has since run for city council and has plans for more books in the future.

“When you try these things, even when you fail, you learn things and it makes you a better person,” he says. “I don’t have the fear of putting myself out there anymore.”

These days, Blewett works in real estate, raises his children, and stays busy volunteering at Stonewall Jackson Elementary and SMU.

He turned what could have been a shameful chapter into a transformative moment and doesn’t regret any part of it.

“I would go back to SMU again, even knowing all the stuff we went through,” he says. “It’s crazy when I say it out loud, but it’s true.”

Merry

from the Lamont Real Estate Family!

One of the real joys this Christmas season is the opportunity to say thank you to all our Clients for entrusting us with one of your most important assets – your home. Whether you are fellow Church families, School Friends, New or Old Neighbors, helping you realize your Real Estate dream will always be our goal.

For dedicated professional representation, call local expert

2017 SOLD BY LAMONT REAL ESTATE

DELICIOUS Mad for macarons

By WILL MADDOX

Photos by KATHY TRAN

How does an entrepreneur with no formal baking or business education end up as the owner of a small macaron empire? Kelli Watts, of Savor Patisserie, explains: “It’s been the wildest ride of my life, that’s for sure. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.”

Watts grew up baking recreationally, but worked in fashion design and lived in New York, where the macaron craze already had hit. She began experimenting with baking them herself, leaning on her French background.

Macarons are not for your average Easy-Bake Oven operator; they are exceptionally difficult to perfect with a shell that toes a delicate line between soft and crunchy.

When she found the perfect combination of texture and flavor, she sold small batches to friends and family, who encouraged her to start a business. In January 2015, Watts quit her job at Neiman Marcus to open Savor Patisserie at The Shops at Park Lane.

“There was no sign at first,” she says. “People had to accidentally bump into the place to find it.”

When her lease on Park Lane was up, she moved to her Casa Linda shop in August 2016 and has been there ever since.

Savor goes against the grain by offering baking classes, where they teach patrons how to make the very cookies that are sold at the shop.

The Casa Linda location clearly has Watts’ designer touch. Black and white

DID YOU KNOW: Macarons are best when they have rested for 24 hours, giving the filling a chance to soften the shell for the perfect balance between crispy and soft.

décor is accented with colorful succulent centerpieces, and the cornucopia of dazzling macarons draw the eye through the glass display.

Watts has gone from a one-woman operation to employing 42 people. For a perfectionist such as herself, it was difficult passing on her recipe to another baker, but she has learned to delegate.

This season she is presenting holiday flavors like candy cane, eggnog, gingerbread and Mexican hot chocolate.

“All of these people are part of my little family,” she says. “It’s great to be able to affect their lives in a positive way.”

Macaron shops have become all the rage in Dallas lately, but with Savor expanding to its fourth location in Uptown this year, Watts isn’t worried about the competition. “I just keep my head down and work hard every day,” she says. “The more people know about macarons, the better.”

SAVOR PATISSERIE

Ambiance: Whimsical dessert shop

Price Range: $2.50 per macaron, 5 for $12 Hours: 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 12-8 p.m. Sunday 9440 Garland Road #142 972.913.4900 savorpatisserie.com

Savor Patisserie’s holiday macarons are both tasty and beautiful.

HOLIDAY SPIRITS

Holiday drinking

’Tis the season for revelry, and our neighborhood’s watering holes do not disappoint. From spices to stouts, here are some of the seasonal specialties you can find this month.

By WILL MADDOX

CAMPFIRE OLD FASHIONED

This libation comes with a kick thanks to Wild Turkey 81/101 and black walnut bitters, but it’s topped with a toasted marshmallow so it ends on a sweet note.

LIBERTINE BAR

2101 GREENVILLE AVE.

ST. BERNARDUS CHRISTMAS ALE

At 10 percent alcohol, this is a Belgian Ale for sipping, with a dark color and rich fruity finish.

CRAFT BEER CELLAR

6324 GASTON AVE.

HOT YOOHOO YEEHAW

This Christmas twist on the classic frozen Yoohoo includes peppermint schnapps and Thin Mint cookies.

SINGLE WIDE

2110 GREENVILLE AVE.

EGGNOG COCKTAIL

Spicy and sweet, this holiday classic gets a boozy finish.

POUR HOUSE

1919 SKILLMAN

COCOAMINTZ

This holiday creation combines hot cocoa and Rumple Minze liqueur. 504 BAR AND GRILL 2121 GREENVILLE AVE.

CAFÉ AU LAIT CHICORY COFFEE

MILK STOUT

This New Orleans style stout is made with White Rock Sumatra coffee beans. ON ROTATION 7328 GASTON AVE.

Photo by DANNY FULGENCIO

MARKETPLACE

DUTCH ART GALLERY

EYEVENUE DALLAS

Eye exams, glasses & contact lenses

Glasses can be made the same day after you pick out some new frames! Need an updated prescription? No problem, Dr. Nguyen has appointments available the same day as well! Call us or schedule an appointment at www.eyevenuedallas.com

SUNSTONE FIT

Yoga, Pilates, Barre, Cardio

Whether you’re new to fitness or just new to Sunstone, go online and schedule your 30 min. required Orientation prior to your first class. sunstoneFIT.com/join

23 days of CHRISTMAS in East Dallas

By WILL MADDOX

THRUJAN.

8 holidayAttheDallasArboretum,atraditionaltuneistakentonewheights.Called “12DaysofChristmasatNight,”theevent offersararechancetotourthearboretum afterdark.Theexpansivegardensglowwith thetwinkleofmorethan500,000holiday lights,whicharepairedwithclassiccarols forafestiveholidayevening.Theevent runsfrom6-9p.m.for$12.

THRU DEC.24

Bad Christmas sweaters — the gaudier, tackier and more three-dimensional, the better- are back. The Ugly Christmas Sweater pop-up shop offers an array of tasteless knits at 5531 E. Mockingbird Lane, #175.

THRUJAN.

THRU DEC. 23

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” makes its return to the Dallas Children’s Theater. The family can enjoy Charles Schultz’s classic characters find the meaning of Christmas.

8 ExploretheUnitedStates, fromTimesSquaretothe GoldenGateBridge,during theTrainsatNorthPark, raisingmoneyfortheRonald McDonaldHouseofDallas.

THRUDEC.24

talesSantaClauswillsharefestive aboutthesnowyNorthPole andat10:30a.m.Monday-Saturday Center.noononSundayatNorthPark InadditiontoStorytime withSanta,hewillbeavailablefor portraitswithkiddos.

THRUDEC.21 KathyBurksandtheDallas Children’sTheatrepartnerto present“FrostyandFriends.” Thisversionwillbepresented entirelyinpuppetry.

DEC. 1-3Christmas and local history are intertwined at the Alexander Mansion., during the Dallas Woman’s Forum Holiday Celebration. The festivities also include a bistro, the proceeds of which benefit local charities. The holiday celebration is from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. with the bistro running from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

NOV. 24 THRU DEC.

23

A traditional tale gets an unusual twist with “Joe Dicken’s Ebenezer Scrooge,” a musical adaptation of “A Christmas Carol.” This neighborhood classic marks its 36th year at Pocket Sandwich Theater. Shows are set Thursday through Sunday during the holiday season.

THRU DEC. 24

Neighbor Jeff Patton once again puts up a Christmas tree lot at the Mockingbird and Abrams, open daily from 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

DEC.3

theTakeintheHangingof cocoa,Greenwithcookies, vocaland instrumentalperformances at8:30p.m.atWilshire BaptistChurch.

DEC.

1

The festive Light Up Lakewood, happening from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Harrell Park, is sponsored by Lakewood Neighborhood Association as well as a number of neighborhood businesses. What started in 2002 as a simple customer appreciation event by Talulah and Hess owner Elizabeth Mast has turned into a community event that includes a visit from Santa, a petting zoo, a marionette show, toy soldiers on stilts, school choirs, bands and more. This year the event will remember longtime volunteer Vicki Thompson.

DEC.9 Schoolmaynotbethefirstplace yougotoshopbutthere’sareason togiveitatrythisChristmas. BishopLynchHighSchool’s ChristmasBazaarissetfor 9a.m.–4p.m.attheschool.

DEC. 5-24

DallasFortheeighthyear,Gingertown bringsdesign,engineering toandconstructionfirmstogether NorthParkcreateagingerbreadvillageat Center.Thelivebuild competitionbenefitstheChildren’s CraniofacialAssociation.

DEC. 9

Watcheveryone’sfavorite Christmascaperonthebig screenwhentheAngelika Film Center shows “Home Alone” at 10 a.m.

DEC. 16

andEastDallasneighborRickiDerek performancehisorchestraarebackforalive attheGranadaTheater.an“AMerryLittleChristmasShow”is alwaysold-fashionedholidayrevuethat placedrumsupnostalgia.Ittakes at8p.m.attheGranada, $30-$42.

DEC. 16-17

Justafterdark,volunteerswilllight

7,000lightsthroughouttheCasa

LindaEstatestoraisemoneyforthe Guns&HosesFoundationofNorth supportTexas,whichprovidesfinancialtothefamiliesoffirefighters andpoliceofficerswhodiedin thelineofduty.

DEC. 16

Beapartofthere-creation searchofMaryandJoseph’sforaplacetostay duringtheLasPosadas celebrationat6:30p.m.at EmanuelLutheranChurch.

DEC.

17-31

DEC.

17

Join St. Matthew’s in festive behymnsat4p.m.Thesingerswill outagainat10p.m.onDec. 24,afterthechildren’sChristmas pageantat5p.m.thatdayat St. Matthew’s Cathedral.

When Liz Simmons’ house is lit up, you know it’s Christmas. This year the Electric Lizzyland Christmas light display on Newell Avenue promises to be just as big and maybe just a bit brighter. The light show, timed with music, sets the neighborhood aglow when the sun drops down.

DEC.

17

The Christmas Choir Cantata is sung at 10:15 a.m. at Lakewood United Methodist Church.

DEC. 24

Theyoungermembersofthe MungerPlaceChurchwill performtheirownversionof aChristmaspageantat2:30 p.m.,oneoffiveChristmas servicesthatday.

DEC.28-JAN. 1

DEC. 17

hostsEastDallasChristianChurch theDiscipleWomen’s andAllChurchChristmasParty noonchildren’sprogramat atthechurch.

TheLoneStarCircusmarksits holiday11thyearofbringingitsfestive“CirqueJoyeaux”showcase ofacrobatsandaerialists,music andmimestotheDallasChildren’s Theater.You’llwanttogetthere45 minutesearlytotakeinthepre-show withmusic,poetryandmore.

THE LEADERSHIP OF WILSHIRE BAPTIST CHURCH

KNEW TWO THINGS: THE VOTE WOULD BE CLOSE, AND EITHER WAY IT WENT DOWN, THEY WOULD LOSE PEOPLE.

By KERI MITCHELL

Photos by DANNY FULGENCIO

Nearly 450 members voted, and 67 percent affirmed the church’s new direction.

It

The church’s new, young pastor, George Mason, had taken the helm of Wilshire two years earlier after the retirement of longtime leader Bruce McIver. Mason, at 35, navigated his flock through that tenuous period and into its future.

Twenty-five years later, in November 2016,

Mason found himself and his church in a similar crisis. This time, the issue threatening Wilshire’s unity was the role of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the congregation.

They already were church members, but gray area persisted: Could they marry? Have their babies dedicated? Become leaders as deacons or even as pastors?

Once again, the decision would be the final straw for some folks. This time, nearly 950 ballots were cast with 61 percent of votes affirming the full rights of membership for those in their midst who identified as LGBT.

“Open to all, closed to none” became Wilshire’s new mantra.

And yet, now as then, hundreds of people felt shut out by the decision. In the aftermath of the 1991 vote, most people stuck it out despite their theological differences. This time, however, the bleeding began as soon as Wilshire’s leadership announced a committee would study the issue, and continued for 14 months until the vote elicited a hemorrhage. Three Sunday school classes of older adults disappeared altogether.

Months later, after the bleeding had stopped, the church counted its losses: About 250 members left, taking $700,000 of annual giving with them.

Mason, now 61, calls the experience “the biggest misjudgment of my ministry” — not in terms of the decision itself, but in terms of its consequences.

“I assumed that if we followed a deliberative process on this matter, that like these other matters, we would have had dissent, but we would not have had a major loss of membership or financial contribution,” Mason says.

“I was wrong.”

Note: Whites and blacks include only those who are not Hispanic. Source: Pew Research Center survey conducted April 12-19, 2016.

But they believed this was an issue that couldn’t be glossed over or kicked down the road any longer.

Over the years, it had bubbled to the surface, and now it threatened to rock the congregation.

Wilshire was known as a progressive church, but this change represented a line in the sand some members said they couldn’t cross. Their beliefs were sacred, and giving in would unravel a faith that, for some of them, had been a lifetime in the making.

was 1991, and after four decades of existence, Wilshire would allow women to be ordained as ministers.

A couple of months after Wilshire’s monumental vote, a schism unfolded at a different “church” across town. Uptown’s Kalita Humphreys Theater transformed into a sanctuary for the Dallas Theater Center production of “The Christians.” The play portrays the story of a megachurch led by Pastor Paul, who blindsides his congregation one Sunday with a sermon revealing his epiphany that hell doesn’t exist.

The show’s director, Joel Ferrell, spent a couple of months visiting local conservative and megachurches to get a better feel for their dynamics.

Wilshire’s clergy were among those he asked to participate in “Stay Late” conversations following each performance.

“The fact that Wilshire was a Baptist church dealing with an issue that had separated the church body made it interesting to me,” Ferrell says.

Typically 30 to 40 audience members stick around for Stay Late sessions, but for “The Christians,” the theater company saw crowds rise to 50 or more. Those who stuck around were “intrigued, passionate” and often had personal stories to share about schisms they had experienced in their own churches, Ferrell says.

“This play rings really, really, true,” Wilshire’s associate pastor, Mark Wingfield, told theatergo -

‘The distance between us is insurmountable’

The Rev. George Mason has seen the church through two controversial votes over the years.

ers at one Stay Late session. “It’s almost painful to watch because it’s bringing stuff up. And at the same time, you realize this kind of conflict is inherent from the very beginning of the church.”

Wilshire’s “splintering,” the term Wingfield prefers to “split,” was not about hell — “though some would say it’s felt like hell to have the conversation we’ve had about LGBT inclusion,” Wingfield says.

“Don’t be like Pastor Paul,” Wingfield quipped to the audience after the play. And yet, he added, “the reality is that even with a lengthy, drawn-out process that’s much more thoughtful than what Pastor Paul goes through, these difficult issues of faith can still be so controversial.”

Wilshire is hardly the first Dallas church to affirm same-sex marriage and ordination. Cathedral of Hope in Cedar Springs, known as “the world’s largest gay church,” has been around since 1990. Discussions and debate in mainline Protestant denominations — such as Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Methodists have impacted Dallas churches, too. Grace, Greenland Hills and Lakewood United Methodist Churches (UMC) in our neighborhood all are part of the UMC network of “reconciling” congregations who fully affirm LBGT members.

It’s the “Baptist” in Wilshire’s name that seemed to draw such shock from outsiders and such ire from within its denominational ranks. Texans are most familiar with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), an almost 170-yearold network of more than 47,000 U.S. churches. It’s the predominant Baptist force in the Bible Belt, which still loops around North Texas.

Dallas is home to more than 100 Southern Baptist churches, the best known of which is First Baptist Dallas, the Downtown church led by the Rev. Robert Jeffress. His proclamations from both the pulpit and the cable news circuit — that the Bible is unequivocal about the sinful practice of homosexuality — is representative of SBC doctrine.

But Baptists are a “hugely diverse group throughout history,” ranging from the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. to Jerry Falwell to President Jimmy Carter, says Ted Campbell, professor of church history at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology.

That’s because in Baptist congregations, decisions are made at the local church level, which is different than hierarchical denominations, where edicts

come from on high and are passed down to local congregations.

“Each [Baptist] congregation can make up their own minds about the issues that face them,” Campbell says. “Congregational polity allows Baptists to have a degree of flexibility, despite their kind of legendary conservatism.”

Wilshire was part of the SBC until it stopped participating in 1990 and formally severed ties in 2000. It identifies instead with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), which tends to represent churches that are “progressive on social issues and traditional on forms of worship,” Campbell says.

The CBF split from the SBC in 1991 over scriptural differences, including the ordination of women. The SBC still maintains its long-held belief that the Bible limits pastoral roles to men.

“I do think you can draw a straight line from that vote to the latest one,” Wingfield says of the 1991 and 2016 votes, “and find a number of folks who acquiesced on the women in leadership issue despite reservations but hung on anyway, until the possibility of same-sex marriage was just a bridge too far.”

‘That is not a Baptist church’

Jeff Patton attended Wilshire for 58 years. He sat in the same pew every Sunday. His parents and his grandparents were Wilshire members. His mother taught Sunday school. For 15 years of Mason’s tenure, Patton and Mason shared a locker at Lakewood Country Club. Patton considered his pastor a good friend.

But one day, “George Mason took it upon himself that we should start marrying gay people,” Patton says. “I’ve got nothing against gays at all, but gays don’t get married in a Baptist church.”

Wilshire’s clergy say the intent of the 14-month study was to ensure people had all the information they needed to make a decision and plenty of opportunity to have a voice. But for Patton and other Wilshire members with similar views on gay marriage, it felt like a long, drawnout campaign to change people’s minds.

“He pushed a little too far this time,” Patton says of Mason. “Something just went haywire in his head. I told him he had lost his mind.”

Patton had his own experience pushing the envelope at Wilshire. In 1968, when Patton was in high school, fellow

Woodrow Wilson High School student John Paul McCrumbly attended Wilshire with Patton’s family.

Woodrow recently had begun integrating, and McCrumbly, who is black, was ushered by Dr. Walter H. Patton to the second row of “a Southern Baptist church that never had a black person in it,” Jeff Patton told us for a 2011 story.

Patton does not see any parallels between the Civil Rights movement in the ’60s and the Gay Rights movement of late, at least as it applies to Baptist churches. Nor does he see parallels between the 1991 vote to ordain women and last year’s vote to ordain LBGT persons.

“There’s absolutely no comparison. You’re talking about apples and oranges,” he says. “Baptists do not ordain gay people. It does not happen. That is not a Baptist church.”

Campbell, because of his expertise in

Baptist

church history, has provided historical perspective to the discussion his own United Methodist Church (UMC) is having on gay marriage and ordination. His study and interactions have led him to believe that it is the “flashpoint issue” of our era.

“I think the direction right now is polarization. It’s not heading toward consensus at this point,” says Campbell, who says the United Methodists are seriously divided over these issues, and those divisions may take the form of denominational division by 2020. “The question in the UMC is, ‘Can’t we all just get along with each other?’ And the answer is absolutely clear — the answer is no.”

“A flashpoint issue becomes the standard for orthodoxy,” Campbell says, “and people go to their own sides and say, ‘I’m not going to budge on this.’ ”

After the vote, when Patton left his church of 58 years, he says it felt like family members had died. It was “betrayal,” he says.

“The church got stolen from the people who built it,” he says.

“I’ve got nothing against gays at all, but gays don’t get married in a

church.”

KEEPING OUR NEIGHBORS IN LAKEWOOD SMILING FOR OVER 70 YEARS

Of the more than 250 members who left Wilshire, Patton is the only one we found willing to allow his name to be used in this story. No one else is willing to be identified, he says, because “everybody wants to be politically correct and have 8,000 friends on Facebook, and I don’t do Facebook.”

After leaving Wilshire, Patton and his wife visited a few churches and landed at Park Cities Baptist Church, along with more than 100 other former Wilshire members, according to Wilshire’s accounting. One older adult Sunday school class moved to Park Cities almost en masse, Wilshire says. (Park Cities Baptist officials did not respond to an interview request for this story.)

The people who left tended to be older, wealthier and more conservative, Wilshire officials say. Of the roughly 250

active members lost, right around 200 of them were over the age of 50, and more than 100 of them were over the age of 70.

The stark generational divide on LGBT issues is not unique to Wilshire. According to a Pew Research Center study released in late 2015, “roughly half (51 percent) of evangelical Protestants in the Millennial generation (born between 1981 and 1996), say homosexuality should be accepted by society, compared with a third of evangelical Baby Boomers and a fifth of evangelicals in the Silent [or Greatest] Generation.”

The study also showed, however, that “acceptance of homosexuality is rising across the broad spectrum of American Christianity, including among members of churches that strongly oppose homosexual relationships as sinful.” Attitudes and perceptions have “shifted absolutely remarkably in the last five years,” Campbell says, which he attributes to the simple reality of “gay people’s willingness to publicly say that they are gay.”

“Basically, gay and lesbian sex has

“The question is, ‘Can’t we all just get along with each other?’

And the answer is absolutely clear — the answer is no.”

RICK BEADLE D.D.S. | REID SLAUGHTER D.D.S.

been a concealed subject in the past that couldn’t be talked about or admitted to,” Campbell says. But now, “people have the opportunity to get to know them and realize these are not frightening monsters — these are people just like us who have different sexual orientation than we have. Getting to know people has always been the key.”

Yet Campbell believes polarization will trump consensus for the foreseeable future because “that’s the historical pattern.” The church’s last flashpoint issue in American history was slavery, he says. From the 1820s through the 1860s, Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists and other denominations “were all divided regionally and absolutely could not compromise until after the Civil War,” he says.

But even after slavery became illegal in the United States, churches had to decide whether to retain segregation in their churches or allow the new law of the land to inform their congregational polity. Some integrated, and some embraced Jim Crow. It could be argued that “the regional divisions still exist,” Campbell says.

He expects that church compromise on LGBT inclusion will have a similar timeline.

“Really, after one generation kind of dies off and fades away from leadership, you can move toward some sort of consensus,” Campbell says, “but we’re not there yet.”

How can a pastor change his mind?

The timing of Wilshire’s vote coincided with the tensions surrounding our country’s divisive 2016 election; Wilshire’s members cast their ballots on LGBT issues in church the same week they voted for president.

The Sunday after Wilshire announced the results, protesters showed up on its sanctuary doorsteps greeting worshippers with a bullhorn and signs declaring, “Sin Destroys Nations” and “Cleanse Your Hands You Sinners.” The following week, some neighbors responded with a counter-protest, holding signs referencing 1 Corinthians 6:14, “Do Everything in Love,” and “Thank You Wilshire for Loving All.”

Many Christians believe the historical definition of biblical marriage rules out gay marriage, and any change shows the church is caving to the culture on

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This shift in the law of the land was no doubt part of the impetus for Wilshire’s study, Mason says. Until the Supreme Court decision, churches couldn’t perform same-gender weddings because it was illegal to do so. Once they became legal, churches had to make their case upon religious convictions rather than the law.

And at that point, Mason had to come to terms with his own convictions.

In his office, months after the vote that splintered Wilshire, Mason reflects on how long it took him to change his mind on LGBT inclusion. It’s an issue

he grappled with for the entirety of his ministry.

“For many years, I went back and forth struggling with how hard a line to hold, how much grace to grant to people who were struggling with same-sex orientation,” he says.

Though Mason didn’t believe that gays and lesbians could control their affections, for decades he urged those he counseled to control whether they acted upon those affections. He told them that pleasing God and being fully accepted in the church meant bearing the cross of celibacy for their entire lives.

“That means they would never be able to have intimate relationships of love with another person the way the rest of 95 percent of the Christian world could,” Mason says.

“I realized how little hope that really gave, how little good news the church was offering to them, and I watched them live too often in futility, having to

“This is not a matter that we could continue to sweep under the carpet. Lives were at stake here. The witness of the gospel as we understand it was at stake.”

bear shame and often leaving the church. Increasingly, I believed something was wrong with that.”

Mason describes himself as a person who needs to be sure of something before he changes his mind. Over many years, he came to believe that biblical passages about homosexuality addressed people acting in sexually irresponsible and perverse ways, rather than in loving and caring relationships. That wasn’t enough, however, for him to build a case for gay marriage.

“But finally,” he says, “the weight of other biblical passages overcame my need for certainty.”

Mason references New Testament passages that talk about how Christians should not grieve the Holy Spirit, who is at work in people’s lives; that Christians should not prevent people from becoming a full part of the church because they hadn’t been circumcised, hadn’t eaten the right foods or had become eunuchs.

“All these things that were part of scriptural prohibitions, the early church discerned that the Spirit was at work in these people anyway, and they should accept them,” Mason says.

“Finally, I came to the conclusion that the authority of the Bible is not only in what it tells us to do or not to do; it is in how it helps the church to discern the will of God for today. The Bible shows us how the people of God made decisions in their day. The authority of the Bible calls on us to do as they did, not necessarily what they did.

“That became a new way of me being able to see the presence of Christ in my gay brothers and sisters and want to see them flourish within the body of Christ.”

Wilshire congregants who believed differently than Mason, who were upset with him for changing his mind, felt that he was judging them for not being enlightened enough. But it wasn’t an overnight process for him; it had taken a lifetime. To look down upon these congregants “would be intemperate on my part,” Mason says.

Some people criticized the church for acting too swiftly. Wilshire’s members would have come around within a few years, they believe, and the church could have avoided what felt like a bad divorce if the church had just waited until more people were ready.

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New Year's Day (Monday, January 1st)

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• CLOSED: McCommas Bluff Landfill, City transfer stations, Administration office

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kids coming out who had grown up in our church, in our families.” They could be members, yes, and worship alongside heterosexuals, “but couldn’t do so honestly,” he says. “It was much more ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ ”

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This reality, combined with external factors such as the Supreme Court decision, necessitated a conversation that the church had been putting off for years, Mason says. Once that discussion began, “there are thousands of people for whom if we said ‘we’re not ready’ would be more deeply hurt than if we never took it up at all,” he says.

Another factor, Mason says, is that he’s no longer a spring chicken. At 61, he isn’t sure how much longer he will be at the helm of Wilshire. If “ready” meant waiting until after his retirement, “then we would be leaving the most contentious issue in the church’s history to a new pastor,” he says. “It seems to me that this is one I had to take, so to me, delay meant deny.”

“I feel for the people who have left because I believe that they loved their church and they trusted their pastor and the leadership over many years to lead with integrity, and many of them feel betrayed,” Mason says.

“I regret that. I wish it weren’t so. But this is not a matter that we could continue to sweep under the carpet. Lives were at stake here. The witness of the gospel as we understand it was at stake.”

They are coming hesitantly, cautiously

Despite all of its losses over the past year, Wilshire is seeing glimmers of hope.

The church has welcomed 100 new members since last November, “which is a pretty high number for us,” Wingfield says. “All of those new members — to a person — know about our decision and have intentionally come to us either because of the decision or in light of the decision.”

The church hasn’t yet tracked the age of all newcomers, but typically they are younger than 60, which means that “all of a sudden, we have become a much younger church,” Wingfield says. “And yet, we still are a highly intergenerational church.” He recently presided over a funeral for an 89-year-old woman “who was one of the most vocal proponents of our inclusion efforts you could imagine.”

“We have lost some longtime leaders through this. And we lost some younger emerging leaders,” Wingfield says. But,

he says, “the losses we’ve experienced have caused others to step up and take leadership roles when they hadn’t seen a need to do so before.”

No clergy or staff members walked away from the church. Mason sought their buy-in before embarking on the study, knowing that financial fallout could put their jobs at stake. They were

Members of many Protestant denominations now more accepting of homosexuality

Percentage who say homosexuality should be accepted by society

aligned in their willingness to push forward, he says, and in some cases preceded him in their resolution.

The church budget did take a hit, dropping from $4.9 million in 2016 to $4.2 million in 2017. This reflects “a realistic projection of the financial shift going on,” Wingfield says. It also reflects the giving patterns of younger congregants, who aren’t as likely to tithe as regularly or as much as the Greatest Generation or even Baby Boomers.

The same is true for church attendance.

For 30 years, Wilshire’s active membership, or people who come to church at least once a year, has been relatively stable at around 1,500. It has dropped to 1,300 since last November, but because of church attendance trends, the gap

Source: Pew Research Center survey conducted June 4-Sept. 30, 2014.

appears larger than that, Wingfield says.

“A pastor friend in Richardson who has not addressed this LGBT issue in his church recently commented to me about the number of Greatest Generation members he was burying,” Wingfield says.

“And he said this: For every Greatest Generation member I lose, it takes at least two new members to make up their attendance and three new members to make up their giving. That’s just the way it is these days.”

No same-gender weddings have taken place at Wilshire since the vote last November. There have been no baby dedications for same-gender couples, no practicing gays or lesbians ordained as deacons or ministers, either.

“So there have been no precipitating steps since the vote, except that we have now what we hoped in the vote, and that is hope for LGBT persons and their families, that they can live openly as followers of Jesus among us and worship and serve freely,” Mason says.

They are coming, he says, but they are coming hesitantly, cautiously.

“Many have been visiting since November and still haven’t joined because they’re still trying to believe that it’s so and that we won’t change our minds again,” he says. Yet, “we are seeing gay

the hardest stretch of Mason’s ministry, but “this was for Christians who are gay and lesbian and transgender and for their families and for the gospel’s sake. These are people who have known pain and rejection that I will never be able to match,” Mason says, adding that the temporary suffering of Wilshire’s staff and parishioners “is nothing compared to centuries of loneliness, alienation and rejection felt by LGBT Christians.

“If we can share in the sufferings of others so that we can share the joy of this, that’s where the hope is found.”

Peace be with you

When Wilshire began its voting in November 2016, the weight of both the impending national election and the local church election hung thick in the sanctuary air.

people who feel for the first time in their lives that they can trust God and the church again. I don’t know how that is not evangelism.”

It has been a painful journey, probably

“We will vote in both cases on matters that have divided us,” Mason preached in his sermon that morning. “Some would rather move to Canada than live in a future in our country under the admin-

“We are seeing gay people who feel for the first time in their lives that they can trust God and the church again. I don’t know how that is not evangelism.”

istration of the one they didn’t vote for. Some would rather move to another church than live under the conditions of a future determined by a vote they didn’t support. But by doing so, we only prove that the way the world operates is the only way open to us.”

The world draws lines in the sand and refuses to join hands with people on the other side. The church should be different, Mason says. It should be able to unite amid differences of doctrine. But by that point in Wilshire’s journey, Mason had accepted his own naïveté that Wilshire’s people could come together.

He then spoke directly to those who stood across the line from him.

“I am aware that this may be the last time many of us will worship together. If you are one of those who have already decided that you are leaving, I have something to say to you.

“Thank you,” Mason said.

“Thank you for all the years of sacrifice and service. Thank you for the gifts of time, talents and treasure that you have given to make us the church we are today. And if you wonder how you will be remembered after you leave, I will tell you: You will be recorded among the saints of this church. No one wants to be judged on the basis of one decision or snapshot of time in a life. So we will bless you and miss you.”

When the sermon ended, Wilshire congregants rose to “pass the peace,” an ancient practice of the church that allows Christians to reconcile with one another before they receive God’s forgiveness at the communion table. “Peace be with you,” Christians say to each other, with love and forgiveness flowing through handshakes and eye contact.

Mason left his pulpit and walked down the platform steps to the front pew. He sought out Wilshire deacons who no longer recognized their church, and he passed the peace of Christ to them. He knew it likely would be their final exchange.

A little over a year later, Mason is still sitting in the tension. But he is, indeed, at peace.

“It’s entirely possible that when we all get to the end, they will have been right, and I will have been wrong,” Mason says.

“But how will we know now? And if you have to be on the side of love and grace, or on the side of caution that keeps people from experiencing the full dignity of their life in Christ in the church, which side do you want to be on?”

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

By PATTI VINSON

Everyone loves a parade

Giant balloons, marching bands, festive floats, celebrities in fancy cars — now that’s a parade to celebrate the season. There’s no need to travel up north. We heart you, New York, but Dallas has its own spectacular parade downtown, enjoyed by more than 400,000 spectators who line its route. But a few neighbors have a unique perspective, walking, driving and waving their way down Main Street as a piece of the parade.

Mel McDonald is Lakewood’s resident expert. He and his antique autos have been in every holiday parade since it began in 1988, as well as other area parades. As soon as he acquired his 1909 Maxwell Roadster in 1983, he offered the use of the car to the State Fair of Texas opening day parade, plus the parade thorugh the fair each evening.

That gig led to the Cotton Bowl/New Year’s Day parade, during which he has carried the likes of Cowboys Rayfield Wright and Emmitt Smith. When the holiday parade was first planned, McDonald and his vehicles came with glowing recommendations. McDonald eventually would add to his collection a 1911 Cadillac Touring Car, a 1914 Buick Roadster and a 1915 Packard Touring Car.

“It really is fun. People are in a good mood, glad to be there. They are all joyous affairs,” he says. “The only drawback is that we don’t get to watch them, except on video.”

Decked out in his top hat, long over-

coat and colorful tie, he suits his vehicles. Wife Jane is always alongside, and children Lyle and Elise have waved to the crowds since infancy. The kids are grown now, living on the East Coast, but they still make travel plans around the parade. New grandbaby Lillian will soon make her parade debut.

More often than not, McDonald and crew also carry costumed characters in the parade. Over the years, those have included Dennis the Menace, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Hello Kitty and Raggedy Ann and Andy.

“Carrying Mickey Mouse and Mrs. Claus was always a special experience,” recalls McDonald. “The kids along the route just went wild, and our kids, at young ages, were thrilled about it, too. Made for a pretty momentous show-and-tell at school on Mondays.”

McDonald also remembers a costumed character with a bit of a twist: McGruff the Crime-Fighting Dog. Most of the characters/celebrities in the parade have “handlers,” and McGruff was accompanied by a police officer. “I did notice that he was very particular about knowing all the arrangements during the parade and after we finished,” McDonald says. “He stayed close by and walked along with the car during the parade.”

These East Dallasites get behind the scenes at the annual Christmas parade

McDonald was later informed that the person in the costume was an inmate from Dallas County Jail. “Not what we expected,” he grins.

Another East Dallas neighbor, Ryan Booth, is a relative newcomer to the parade but loves it just as much. A resident of University Meadows, Booth has been in several parades as part of the Ebby Halliday Realtors team. Those giant balloons that elicit oohs and ahhs from the crowd? Booth can tell you all about handling them.

The balloon handlers dress to match the balloon. “One year our balloon was Garfield, so we wore orange sweatshirts and had tails. Another year, we were Mr. Potato Head and we wore black hats with fake mustaches.”

He helps to inflate the balloons with a “huge helium tank machine.” Booth says, “It takes a team effort. Those suckers are really big. Some are three or four stories

tall. While the balloon is being blown up and after it’s filled, the volunteers have to hold it with ropes — otherwise, it would take off into the sky.”

And the weather can complicate matters even more. “If it’s windy, we need at least 25 people per balloon to hold it down and keep it from hitting buildings or trees.”

But picture-perfect weather doesn’t mean the job is easy. “Even if the weather is calm, we have to steer around buildings, light poles, and trees. It’s a work out.”

The crowd sometimes works them even harder with shouts to “spin,” which prompts the handlers to run in a wide circle to twirl the character.

One other job Booth has performed in the parade is holding the banner which introduces the balloon and sponsor. “I personally like holding the banner more or just standing to the side and waving because you can see more people and really get in the energy,” says Booth.

Booth, like many families for whom this event is a tradition, looks forward to the parade, regardless of his role in it. “As long as I’m involved in putting smiles on the kids’ faces, I’ll be perfectly happy.”

The Dec. 2 event runs down Commerce Street from Houston to Harwood this year, and steps off at 10 a.m. For more details at dallasholidayparade.com

Patti Vinson is a guest writer who has lived in East Dallas for over 15 years. She’s written for the Advocate and Real Simple magazine, and has taught college writing.

Ryan Booth’s holidays include steering giant inflatables through the streets of Downtown Dallas.

BIZ BUZZ

FOOD NEWS

Lakewood Office Space

WHAT’S UP WITH NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESSES

A new dessert option is headed to Lakewood Shopping Center. Lakewood neighbor Chrissy Kuo quit her job in August 2016 to start Snow Baby after trying Taiwanese shaved ice overseas. It will also partner with Unrefined Bakery for gluten-free options, White Rock Coffee for their coffee flavor and local farmers markets for their fresh fruit.

Moving to Lower Greenville, the old Crown and Harp and Daddy Jack’s spaces have been combined and redone by the owners of Lower Greenville’s bourbon lounge and restaurant Feed Company into two concepts. Leela’s Raw Bar will be on the first floor and ABV Establishment will be above. On the lower level, Leela’s Raw Bar will serve seasonal plates and oysters and include a meat slicing counter with a wine bar. ABV Establishment will have more of a speakeasy feel, and will serve old-school cocktails and bar food. Across the street, in the old pawn shop space, a Wells Fargo is on the way as well as another dessert option. Creamistry is a California transplant that makes ice cream with liquid nitrogen.

What used to be Plum Yoga on Lower Greenville is now a bright space for coffee, books and gifts. The Merchant is now open at 1924 Greenville Ave., unique because everything in the store is for sale. The vintage furniture, decorations and signage throughout is all priced to move, as are the gifts that rest on top of them. The Merchant sells Portland’s Stumptown coffee, cold brew cans and novelty drinks as well as pastries from Dallas’ Empire Bakery. There are several tables, free wifi and plugs for those who need a quiet workspace on the busy street.

STAYING FIT

City Crew, a new rowing-centric workout space, arrived in the neighborhood last month. The business converted what was Yoga Mart on Oram into a streamlined rowing room. Co-founder Molly Setnick, a Lakewood neighbor who used to run Crowbar Cardio, says the workouts will be focused on rowing, but will include yoga and circuit training as well.

DALLAS MARATHON BRINGS

BACK WHITE ROCK LAKE LOOP

Tens of thousands of runners will fill Dallas streets Sunday, Dec. 10, as they tackle the BMW Dallas Marathon, formerly the White Rock Marathon. The inaugural 1971 race included two loops around its namesake pond, but the course evolved to accommodate a boom in participation. By 2012, when the name changed, Dallas marathoners ran but a few miles along the shores of White Rock Lake. Participants have subsequently complained about long uphill miles and a departure from the event’s historic origins.

Organizers announced recently that a large portion of the 2017 marathon route returns to White Rock Lake with a full 9.3-mile orbit.

“As one of Dallas’ most popular training spots, the lake will deliver a home

field advantage for local runners and give our out-of-town participants a chance to see one of our city’s most stunning views,” notes marathon president Paul Lambert.

After a start at Dallas City Hall, contenders traverse Downtown Dallas, Victory Park, Uptown, Highland Park, Lower Greenville, Turtle Creek, Lakewood, Swiss Avenue and Deep Ellum, offering fans and spectators plenty of options for revelry and cheering.

Residents who deem the event an annoyance retain ample cause for customary grumblings about street closures, crowds and noise. Since 1997, the Dallas Marathon has benefitted Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, to which it has donated more than $3.9 million.

COURSE MAP PROVIDED BY BMW DALLAS MARATHON, AND IS STILL SUBJECT TO MINOR CHANGES

GETTING AROUND

After numerous crashes along Abrams Road, the city performed a speed study, ticketing 151 people in four days along the way. City Councilman Mark Clayton says that there will soon be additional lights and radar signs along the East Dallas thoroughfare, so everyone will know just how fast they are going.

The Katy Trail extension bridge is now complete over Mockingbird Lane. The bridge, which helps connect the Katy Trail to Ridgewood Trail, will allow cyclists and runners to travel from White Rock Lake to Victory Plaza by trail. The bridge also will be a part of a larger project called The Loop, which is more than 50 miles of trail connecting White Rock Lake, the Great Trinity Forest and Downtown, partially funded by the Circuit Trial Conservancy

CRIME

A J.L. Long custodian was attacked near the portables one night last month. When the victim was able to escape, authorities were called and police scoured the area, while the Dallas Police Department AirOne helicopter searched the area via spotlight. The suspect was described as a black man but was not found. The custodian is in stable condition.

Dallas police also responded to a stabbing at the intersection of Apple Street and Swiss Avenue near Dallas Theological Seminary in Old East Dallas. The victi told police she was in a verbal fight with the attacker, whom she knew.

A night of drinking ended in tragedy near Casa View in East Dallas, when a man accidentally shot and killed his friend. Nuno Guillermo, 26, was shot as he approached a home in the 10100 block of San Juan Ave. The shooter said he didn’t recognize his friend Guillermo, and as he pulled a revolver from his pocket, the gun went off, according to a police report.

A woman was found with a gunshot wound to the head at the Villa Bonita Apartments near La Prada and I-30. Officers found her in the breezeway of the apartment complex, and she was transported to Baylor Hospital where she died of her wound.

What appears to be the same man was twice caught on video breaking into Lotus Yoga Dallas in Lakewood and Rainbow Land, a childcare center in Junius Heights

Abut $500 worth of property was stolen from Lotus, according to owner Jennifer Hensley, including a laptop and a small amount of cash, and almost nothing was available to steal from the childcare center. Employees take the laptop home every night after previous break-ins.

LAKEWOOD IN PRINT

Jaclyn and BD Amend turned what neighbors love about our neighborhood into a whimsically illustrat-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 57

EDUCATION GUIDE

OUR REDEEMER LUTHERAN

School of Dallas 7611 Park Lane, Dallas, TX 75225 214.368.1371 / ORDallas. org

On a beautiful campus just across from NorthPark Center, Our Redeemer encourages working above level, but without the atmosphere of anxiety and pressure. We’re nationally accredited through NLSA with our students historically scoring 2.5 years above level in nationally normed testing. PK 2 – 6th graders are provided a faithbased education of co-curricular Fine Arts and Language enrichment, strong academics, daily PE and recess and interscholastic athletics. Before and aftercare options are offered for PK3 and up. Private tours by request.

JOIN

December

Or

www.stjohnsschool.org www.facebook.com/sjesdallas

p.214.328.9131

ZION

6121 E. Lovers Ln. Dallas / 214.363.1630 ziondallas. org

Toddler care thru 8th Grade. Serving Dallas for over 100 years offering a quality education in a Christ-centered learning environment. Degreed educators minister to the academic, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of students and their families. Before and after school programs, athletics, fine arts, integrated technology, Spanish, outdoor education, Accelerated Reader, advanced math placement, and student government. Accredited by National Lutheran School & Texas District Accreditation Commissions and TANS. Contact Principal Jeff Thorman.

Yesterday, Today, Forever.

Hebrews 13:8

Open House

January 18 5:30-7:00pm

WHITE ROCK NORTH SCHOOL

9727 White Rock Trail Dallas/ 214.348.7410 WhiteRockNorthSchool.com

Zion Lutheran School provides a quality Christ-centered education.

6121 E. Lovers Ln. (@ Skillman) Dallas, TX 75214 214-363-1630/ ziondallas.org

6 Weeks through 6th Grade. Our accelerated curriculum provides opportunity for intellectual and physical development in a loving and nurturing environment. Character-building and civic responsibility are stressed. Facilities include indoor swimming pool, skating rink, updated playground, and stateof-the-art technology lab. Kids Club on the Corner provides meaningful after-school experiences. Accredited by SACS. Call for a tour of the campus.

WHITE ROCK NORTH SCHOOL

A one of a kind school In the Lake Highlands area! Awesome After School Program!

6TH GRADE TO INFANTS - APPLY TODAY!

Now offering specialized services for students with: ADHD, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, & Speech/Language challenges

COME TO OUR OPEN HOUSE!

THURSDAY, JANUARY

By GEORGE MASON

‘A more perfect union’

Ayear ago, the church I serve as pastor — Wilshire Baptist — took a historic vote to clarify that our bylaws provide for only one class of membership. We removed the longstanding practice of denying certain privileges of membership, such as ordination and marriage, from Christians who are same-sex oriented or transgender. (See Keri Mitchell’s story on page 36 of this edition.)

We have since used the phrase “Open to All, Closed to None” to describe our fellowship. That’s generally true, but it doesn’t mean we lack discretion. We don’t allow convicted axe murderers to work in the nursery or bank robbers to count the collection. Like most churches, we require belief in Jesus and baptism in his name as a membership threshold. Full inclusion also includes high moral standards, all of which now apply equally to all.

The decision to address the scope of engagement in congregational life of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Christians was not about welcome per se. The church welcomed LGBT persons to worship with us and even to join as members. The question was whether they would be treated as second-class citizens in their own church.

Not everyone believes that was the issue. Some who left the church after the vote, and even some who stayed, believe the point was whether we would hold fast to the Church’s historic teaching that marriage is only between one man and one woman and leadership is reserved for role models of traditional sexual mores.

The debate before the vote and the reaction after it often came down to those who quoted scriptures that seems to condemn all same-sex behavior for all time, and those who looked at gay Christians today in their church and families and said, “Surely those biblical texts cannot be addressing what we see in the lives of these people.”

Churches, like nations, are unfinished

projects. We are communities of real people seeking to live out our ideals toward, what Lincoln termed, “a more perfect union.” The Christian project for some is about preserving what is good from the past, while for others it’s about leaving things better than we received them. Conservatives remind progressives that every innovation isn’t an advance; progressives remind conservatives that tradition isn’t always truth. “We see as through a glass darkly,” St. Paul said. No one has all the light yet.

Like all churches, ours is a work in progress. Whether this change is progress or not is for God and time to tell, but

WORSHIP

BAPTIST

PARK CITIES BAPTIST CHURCH / 3933 Northwest Pky / pcbc.org

Worship & Bible Study 9:15 & 10:45 Traditional, Contemporary, Spanish Speaking / 214.860.1500

ROYAL LANE BAPTIST CHURCH / 6707 Royal Lane / 214.361.2809

Christian Education 9:45 a.m. / Worship Service 10:55 a.m.

Pastor - Rev. Dr. Michael L. Gregg / www.royallane.org

WILSHIRE BAPTIST / 4316 Abrams / 214.452.3100

Pastor George A. Mason Ph.D. / Worship 8:30 & 11:00am

Bible Study 9:40 am / www.wilshirebc.org

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

EAST DALLAS CHRISTIAN CHURCH / 629 N. Peak Street / 214.824.8185

Sunday School 9:30 am / Worship 8:30 am - Chapel

10:50 am - Sanctuary / Rev. Deborah Morgan-Stokes / edcc.org

EPISCOPAL

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH / stjd.org

Worship: Sat 5:30 pm, Sun 8 & 10:30 am / Christian Ed Sunday Morning & Weekdays, see calendar on website / 214.321.6451 / 848 Harter Rd.

LUTHERAN

CENTRAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, ELCA / 1000 Easton Road

A Welcoming and Affirming Church / Pastor Rich Pounds

Sunday School 9:00 am / Worship 10:30 am / CentralLutheran.org

FIRST UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH / 6202 E Mockingbird Lane

Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am / Call for class schedule. 214.821.5929 / www.dallaslutheran.org

METHODIST

GRACE UMC / Diverse, Inclusive, Missional

Sunday School for all ages, 9:30 am / Worship, 10:50 am 4105 Junius St. / 214.824.2533 / graceumcdallas.org

LAKE HIGHLANDS UMC / 9015 Plano Rd. / 214.348.6600 / lhumc.com

Sunday Morning: 9:30 am Sunday School / 10:30 am Coffee Worship: 8:30 am & 11:00 am Traditional / 11:00 am Contemporary

MUNGER PLACE CHURCH Come and See mungerplace.org

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

here’s the good news as I see it: LGBT Christians can now bring their whole selves to church. We are finding “them” to be “us” — no more “us and them”! We are all of us loved by God and called to live honorable lives of service to the Lord.

St. Benedict counseled his brothers to “welcome all as Christ.” We are learning anew what “all” really means; and we are being made new ourselves because of new friends who are finding their place in the pew and in our hearts.

George Mason is pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church. The Worship section is underwritten by Advocate Publishing and the neighborhood businesses and churches listed here. For information about helping support the Worship section, call 214.560.4202.

LAKE POINTE CHURCH – WHITE ROCK CAMPUS Classic Service at 9:30 & Contemporary Service at 11:00 am lakepointe.org / 9150 Garland Road

PRESBYTERIAN

NORTHRIDGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / 6920 Bob-O-Link Dr. 214.827.5521 / www.northridgepc.org / Sundays 8:30 & 11:00 am Sunday School 9:35am / All Are Welcome

PRESTON HOLLOW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / 9800 Preston Road

8:15 am Chapel, 9:30 & 11:00 am Sanctuary, 5:00 pm Founder’s Hall

Senior Pastor Matthew E. Ruffner / www.phpc.org / 214.368.6348

ST. ANDREW’S PRESBYTERIAN / Skillman & Monticello Rev. Rob Leischner / www.standrewsdallas.org

214.821.9989 / Sunday School 9:30 am, Worship 10:45 am

UNITY

UNITY ON GREENVILLE / Your soul is welcome here! 3425 Greenville Ave. / 214.826.5683 / www.dallasunity.org

Sunday Service 11:00 am and Book Study 9:30 am

Churches, like nations, are unfinished projects

The Christian project for some is about preserving what is good from the past, while for others it’s about leaving things better than we received them.

ed adventure in “Goodnight Lakewood.” They decided to tell their story through the eyes of their children. “Goodnight Lakewood” takes readers around White Rock Lake, visiting with monk parakeets, a duck wedding and, of course, the local coyotes. The rhyming couplets keep the story moving and the colorful illustrations will keep children engaged.

ZIP CODE CONVERSION

Neighbors in Hollywood Santa Monica say they want to change their zip code so that they can make an argument to be included in Dallas ISD’s District 2. The HSM newsletter reads, “Our neighborhood does not have a voice in electing the DISD Trustee who represents our zoned public schools as we are in DISD Trustee District 9. Changing our zip code will help us argue that we should be in DISD District 2 when DISD Trustee boundaries are redrawn.” Those pushing for change are currently getting feedback from their neighbors and researching the process required to change the zip code.

SUING THE CITY

The company behind the stalled development at 4217 Swiss Ave. is suing the City of Dallas in federal court for revoking its permit. Last month, a stop-work order was put on the partially constructed property after the Peak’s Addition Homeowners Association took the city and the Board of Adjustment to court and won. Peak’s Addition argued that the permit issued to build the mixed-use development violated the residential proximity slope for the historic area, meaning the building was too tall and too close to the street. Encore Enterprises is the parent company of EMF Swiss Avenue LLC, who is the plaintiff in the case. EMF argues that the permit was legally obtained, and that the judge did not require to city to stop the work. Corporate Counsel Jonathan Rector wrote in a statement to the Advocate: “The city made the irrational and unnecessary decision to issue a stop work order, making a mockery of the well-established process for obtaining approval for development in Dallas and sets a dangerous precedent if it is allowed to stand.”

Peace W ill Come

Mourning Light Service

December 13th at 6:15 p.m. in Family Hall

A service of healing and wholeness for those who mourn during the holiday season. Holy Communion offered.

Christmas Eve Service

December 24th at 6:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary Carols, Candlelight & Communion

Join Us As We Celebrate at Central Lutheran Church

“Sing Noel” December 3 · 10:30 am Worship of Lessons & Carols by local community college choirs

December 6

Soup Supper 6 pm, Live Nativity 7 pm

December 10 · 10:30 am Worship

Bach Cantata; “Sleepers Awake” by Central Sanctuary Choir

December 10 · 3:30 pm

Bach Cantata; “Sleepers Awake” at Museum of Biblical Arts 7500 Park Lane

December 13 and 20

Soup Supper 6 pm, Vespers 7 pm

Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship 7 pm

Looking for a Welcoming & Affirming Church? You’ve found it. WELCOME HOME!!

AC & HEAT

CLASSES/TUTORING/LESSONS

DYSLEXIA THERAPIST/CALT/TEACHER

Individual or Group Tutoring for Reading. Grades K-12. References. Lindsay 214-566-4622

VOICE TEACHER with 40+ years experience. M.M. LSU • www.PatriciaIvey.com trilletta@msn.com • 214-769-8560

CONCRETE/MASONRY/PAVING

BRICK, STONEWORK, FLAGSTONE PATIOS Mortar Repair. Straighten Brick Mailboxes & Columns. Call Cirilo 214-298-7174

EXTERIOR CLEANING

G&G DEMOLITION Tear downs, Haul. Interior/Exterior. 214-808-8925

FENCING & DECKS

4 QUALITY FENCING • 214-507-9322

Serving the Dallas area for over 30 years

We raise our kids here, too!

Family Owned & Operated 214-330-5500

ClassicAirandHeat.com

TACLB29169E TACLA29042C

APPLIANCE REPAIR

JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE

TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

FINANCIAL CONSULTANT

Five Rings Financial has part-time opportunities! JR@FiveRingsFinancial.com 214-702-0033 x502

BUY/SELL/TRADE

CARS/TRUCKS WANTED!!! All Makes/Models. 2000-2016. Any Condition. Running Or Not. Top $$$ Paid. Free Towing. We’re Nationwide. Call Now 1-888-985-1806

GOT AN OLDER CAR, RV, BOAT? Do The Humane Thing. Donate It To The Humane Society. 1-855-558-3509

RANGERS, STARS & MAVS

Share front-row Texas Rangers, Stars & Mavs seats. Tickets are available in sets of 10 games (sets of 2 or 4 tickets per game available). Participants randomly draw numbers prior to season to determine a draft order fair to everyone. Call 214-560-4212 or rwamre@advocatemag.com

CABINETRY & FURNITURE

CABINETMAKER Design/Build Custom Furniture. Repair, Refinish. 40 yrs. exp. Jim 214-457-3830

SQUARE NAIL WOODWORKING

Cabinet Refacing, Built-ins, Entertainment/ Computer Centers. Jim. 214-324-7398 www.squarenailwoodworking.com

CLASSES/TUTORING/LESSONS

ART: Draw/Paint. Adults All Levels. Lake Highlands N. Rec. Ctr. Days: Mon & Wed. Students bring supplies. Nights: 1xt month workshop, supplies furnished. Jane Cross. 214-534-6829

CREATIVE ARTS CENTER

More than 500 adult art classes/workshops from metal to mosaic! www.creativeartscenter.org

CLEANING SERVICES

A MAID FOR YOU Bonded/Insured.Park Cities/ M Streets Refs. Call Us First. Joyce 214-232-9629

AFFORDABLE CLEANING Insd./Bonded. Move In/Out. Routine Cleaning. Reliable. Dependable. Residential/ Commercial. References. 28+yrs. Delta Cleaning. 972-943-9280.

ALTOGETHER CLEAN

Relax ...We’ll Clean Your House, It Will Be Your Favorite Day! Bonded & Insurance. Free Estimates. 214-929-8413. www. altogetherclean.net

AMIRA MAID 972-840-8880

Since ‘98. Insured. amiramaid.com Dependable Service. References

CINDY’S HOUSE CLEANING 15 yrs exp. Resd/Com. Refs. Dependable. 214-490-0133

FATHER, SON, GRANDSON Window Cleaning. Free Est. Derek. 682-716-9892

WANTED: HOUSES TO CLEAN: WINDOWS to Wash: Wkly & Bi Monthly. Great Prices $$. Honest & Reliable. Family owned 15 years. Excellent references. Call Sunny @ 972-487-6599

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS

ALL COMPUTER PROBLEMS SOLVED MAC/PC Great Rates. Keith. 214-295-6367

AT ODDS WITH YOUR COMPUTER? Easily Learn Essential Skills. Services include Digital Photo Help. Sharon 214-679-9688

BILL’S COMPUTER REPAIR Virus Removal, Data Recovery. Home/Biz Network Install. All Upgrades & Repairs. PC Instruction. No Trip Fee. 214-348-2566

COMPUTER HELP! Viruses, Data Recovery, Upgrades, WiFi Problems, Onsite Tech. 214-533-6216 • WebersComputers.com

CONFUSED? FRUSTRATED? Let a seasoned pro be the interface between you & that pesky Windows computer. Hardware/Software Installation, Troubleshooting, Training. $60/hr. 1 hr min. Dan 972-639-6413 / stykidan@sbcglobal.net

CONCRETE/MASONRY/PAVING

BRICK & STONE REPAIR

Tuck Pointing / Crack Repair. Mortar Color Matching. Don 214-704-1722

BRICK, BLOCK, Stone, Concrete, Stucco. Gonzalez Masonry. 214-395-1319

CONCRETE, Driveway Specialist Repairs, Replacement, Removal, References. Reasonable. Chris 214-770-5001

EDMONDSPAVING.COM Asphalt & Concrete Driveway-Sidewalk-Patio-Repair 214-957-3216

FLAGSTONE PATIOS, Retaining Walls, BBQ’s, Veneer, Flower Bed Edging, All Stone work. Chris 214-770-5001

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com

50 Yrs. Electrical Exp. Insd. 214-328-1333

BRIGHT LIGHT ELECTRIC • 214-553-5333

TECL 31347 Brightening Homes and Businesses

EXPERIENCED LICENSED ELECTRICIAN Insd. Steve. TECL#27297 214-718-9648

LAKEWOOD ELECTRICAL Local. Insured. Lic. #227509 Call Rylan 214-434-8735

TEXAS ELECTRICAL • 214-289-0639 Prompt, Honest, Quality Service. TECL 24668

TH ELECTRIC Reasonable Rates. Licensed & Insured. Ted. E257 214-808-3658

WHITE ROCK ELECTRIC All Electrical Services. Lic/Insd. E795. 214-850-4891

Specializing in Wood, New or Repair.

AMBASSADOR FENCE INC. EST.96 Automatic Gates, Fences/Decks Ambassadorfenceco.com 214-621-3217

FENCING & WOODWORK oldgatefence.com 214-766-6422

HANNAWOODWORKS.COM

Decks, Pergolas, Patio Covers. 214-435-9574

KIRKWOOD FENCE & DECK New & Repair. Free Estimates. Nathan Kirkwood. 214-341-0699

LONESTARDECKS.COM 214-357-3975

Trex Decking & Fencing, trex.com

All Wood Decks, Arbors & Patio Covers

Northlake Fence and Deck

Locally owned and operated by the Mccaffrey family since1980 214-349-9132

www.northlakefence.com

FLOORING & CARPETING

DALLAS HARDWOODS 214-724-0936

Installation, Repair, Refinish, Wax, Hand Scrape. Residential, Commercial. Sports Floors. 30 Yrs.

FENN CONSTRUCTION Manufactored hardwoods. Stone and Tile. Back-splash Specials. 214-343-4645

HASTINGS STAINED CONCRETE

CONSUMERS CHOICE AWARDS 2007-2016 Making

New/Remodel. Stain/Wax Int/Ext. Nick. 214-341-5993. www.hastingsfloors.com

WILLEFORD HARDWOOD FLOORS 214-824-1166 • WillefordHardwoodFloors.com

FOUNDATION REPAIR

TECL20502

arrowelectric.net

Phones Answered 24/7

EMPLOYMENT

AVON AGENTS WANTED StartAvon.com. Reference Code; CHASKIN

PET SITTERS, DOG WALKERS reply to http://www.pcpsi.com/join

ESTATE/GARAGE SALES

WANT TO MAKE MONEY? Richardson Mercantile is looking for dealers who want to join one of the best antique malls in DFW. Need details? Go to richardsonmercantile@gmail.com

• Slabs • Pier & Beam

• Mud Jacking • Drainage

• Free Estimates

• Over 20 Years Exp. 972-288-3797

We Answer Our Phones

GARAGE SERVICES

IDEAL GARAGE DOORS • 972-757-5016 Install & Repair. 10% off to military/1st responders.

ROCKET GARAGE DOOR SERVICE - 24/7. Repairs/Installs. 214-533-8670. Coupon On Web. www.RocketDoor.com

UNITED GARAGE DOORS AND GATES Res/Com. Locally Owned. 214-826-8096

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

LAKE HIGHLANDS GLASS & MIRROR

frameless shower enclosures • store fronts replacement windows • mirrors 214-349-8160

PRO WINDOW CLEANING

prompt, dependable. Matt 214-766-2183

ROCK GLASS CO Replace, repair: windows, mirrors, showers, screens. 214-837-7829

HANDYMAN SERVICES

ALL STAR HOME CARE Carpentry, Glass, Tile, Paint, Doors, Sheetrock Repair, and more. 25 yrs. exp. References. Derry 214-505-4830

BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730

HANDY DAN The Handyman. ToDo’s Done Right. handy-dan.com 214-252-1628

HANDYMAN SPECIALIST Residential/ Commercial. Large, small jobs, repair list, renovations. Refs. 214-489-0635

HOME REPAIR HANDYMAN Small/Big Jobs + Construction. 30 Yrs. Exp. Steve. 214-875-1127

HOMETOWN HANDYMAN All phases of construction. No job small 214-327-4606

HONEST, SKILLED

General Repairs/

WANTED: ODD

Allen’s Handyman

Your Home Repair Specialists

Safety

HOUSE PAINTING

BENJAMIN’S PAINTING SERVICE Professional Work At Reasonable Prices. 214-725-6768

RAMON’S INT/EXT PAINT Sheetrock, Repairs. 214-679-4513

TONY’S PAINTING SERVICE Quality Work

Since 1984. Int./Ext. 214-755-2700

TOP COAT 30 yrs. exp. Reliable, Quality Repair/Remodel Phil @ 214-770-2863

VIP PAINTING & DRYWALL Int/Ext. Sheetrock Repair, Resurfacing Tubs, Counters, Tile Repairs. 469-774-7111

KITCHEN/BATH/TILE/GROUT

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

855-349-6757

HOME SECURITY

SAFES For Guns, Home or Business. We Offer a Large Selection Plus Consultation & In-Home Delivery. Visit Our Showroom. 972-272-9788 thesafecompany.com

HOUSE PAINTING

1 AFFORDABLE HOUSE PAINTING and Home Repair. Quality work. Inside and Out. Free Ests. Local Refs. Ron 972-816-5634

A+ INT/EXT PAINT & DRYWALL

Since 1977. Kirk Evans. 972-672-4681

• Tubs, Tiles or Sinks

• Cultured Marble

• Kitchen Countertops

214-631-8719

WE REFINISH! www.allsurfacerefinishing.com

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

#1 WHITE ROCK TREE WIZARDS

Professionals, Experts, Artists. Trim, Remove, Cabling, Bracing/Bolting. Cavity-Fill Stump Grind. Emergencies, Hazards. Insd. Free Est. 972-803-6313. arborwizard.com

That nip in the air means winter has made its arrival. Here are some easy ways to keep in good spirits during the dark months:

1. Get grounded — Reduce the rushing. Draw your energy inward.

2. Feed your soul — See what foods are in season. This season is all about hearty, nutritious and warm foods.

3. Find your rhythm — Sticking to meal and bedtimes help create balance and will ground you.

4. Don’t lose your glow — Dry skin is all too common, so break out the moisturizer.

5. Treat yourself — Self massage will soothe the lingering stress. Start with the soles of your feet and work up to your head. Now you’re ready to embody the season.

KITCHEN/BATH/TILE/GROUT

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS LLC

Complete Kitchen And Bath Remodels. Tile, Granite, Marble, Travertine, Slate. Insured. 214-563-5035 www.blake-construction.com

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. dallastileman.com 214-343-4645

MELROSE TILE James Sr., Installer, Repairs. 40 Yrs. Exp. MelroseTile.com 214-384-6746

STONE AGE COUNTER TOPS Granite, Quartz, Marble For Kitchen/Bath-Free Est. stoneage.brandee@gmail.com 940-465-6980

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872

Complete Full Service Repairs, Remodeling, Restoration. Name It — We do it. Tommy. Insured. dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

A BETTER TREE MAN Trims, Removals, Insd. 12 Yrs Exp. Roberts Tree Service. 214-808-8925

CALL A TREE EXPERT - 469-939-3344

Prune. Stump grind. Plant. Burris Tree Service

CHUPIK TREE SERVICE

Trim, Remove, Stump Grind. Free Est. Insured. 214-823-6463

DALLAS GROUNDSKEEPER Organic Lawn Maintenance designed to meet your needs. 214-471-5723 dallasgroundskeeper.com

DALLAS K.D.R.SERVICES • 214-349-0914

Lawn Service & Landscape Installation

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

Sprinkler & Valve Repair/ Rebuild Older Systems. Lic. #1742. 214-398-8061

MAYA TREE SERVICE Tree Trim/Remove. Insd.

CC’s Accepted. 214-924-7058 214-770-2435

PAT TORRES 214-388-1850 Lawn Service & Tree Care 28 Yrs. Complete Landscape Renovation.

RED SUN LANDSCAPES • 214-935-9779

RedSunLandscapes.com

TAYLOR MADE IRRIGATION Repairs, service, drains. 30+ years exp. Ll 6295 469-853-2326. John

WHERE CAN I FIND LOCAL ...?

PEST CONTROL

A BETTER EARTH PEST CONTROL

Keeping the environment, kids, pets in mind. Organic products avail. 972-564-2495

MCDANIEL PEST CONTROL

Prices Start at $85 + Tax For General Treatment.

Average Home-Interior/Exterior & Attached Garage. Quotes For Other Services. 214-328-2847. Lakewood Resident

PET SERVICES

DOGGIE DEN DALLAS Daycare, Boarding, Grooming, Training. 6444 E. Mockingbird Ln. 214-823-1441 • DoggieDenDallas.com

THE PET DIVAS Pet Sitting, Daily Dog Walks, In Home/Overnight Stays.Basic Obedience Training. thepetdivas.com 817-793-2885. Insured

PLUMBING

AC PLUMBING Repairs, Fixtures, Senior Discounts. Gary Campbell. 214-321-5943

ANDREWS PLUMBING • 214-354-8521 # M37740 Insured. Any plumbing issues.

HAYES PLUMBING INC. Repairs. Insured, 214-343-1427 License M13238

M&S PLUMBING Quality Work & Prompt Service. Jerry. 214-235-2172. lic.#M-11523

NTX PLUMBING SPEC. LLLP 214-226-0913

Lic. M-40581 Res/Com. Repairs & Leak Location

THE PLUMBING MANN LLC

All Plumbing! Since 1978. Family Owned. RMP/Master-14240 Insured. 214-FAST-FIX/ 214-327-8349

POOLS

CERULEAN POOL SERVICES Family Owned/ Operated. Weekly maintenance, Chemicals, parts & repairs. CeruleanPro.com 214-557-6996

LEAFCHASERS POOL SERVICE Parts/Service. Chemicals/Repairs. Jonathan.

PROFESSIONAL

ACCOUNTING/TAXES

Chris King, CPA 214-824-5313

BOOKKEEPING NEEDS?

Finances? No Job Too Small Bookkeeping Services. Cindy

PARADIGMFAMILYHEALTH.COM

Family Medicine. Healthcare you 214-810-3553

NEED A NEW WEBSITE?

Mobile. SEO Friendly. Maintainable.

AdvocateWebDesign.com 214.292.2053

REAL ESTATE

REAL ESTATE & INT. DESIGN SERVICES contact John Cramer, Realtor w/ FireHouse Real Estate Services 214-212-6865

REMODELING

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS, LLC

Complete Remodeling, Kitchens, Baths, Additions. Hardie Siding & Replacement Windows. Build On Your Own Lot. Insured. www.blake-construction.com 214-563-5035

BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. dallastileman.com 214-343-4645

ADVOCATE PUBLISHING does not pre-screen, recommend or investigate the advertisements and/or Advertisers published

REMODELING

O’BRIEN GROUP INC. Remodeling Dallas For Over 17 Years www.ObrienGroupInc.com 214-341-1448

RENOVATE

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SKYLIGHTS

Bob

ROOFING

COMMENT

Visit advocatemag.com and search Angela Hunt to tell us what you think.

A grateful 2017

Is the city finally making headway on some of its biggest issues?

It’s the end of the year, and I’m torn. Thanksgiving and Christmas are upon us and I am conflicted as to how to evaluate this past year in our fair city. Is it better to look at 2017 through the mindful lens of Thanksgiving gratitude? Or should we take a cue from Santa and drop some coal into a few Dallas stockings? Do we count Dallas’ many blessings? Or list who’s been naughty and nice?

A naughty and nice list sure would be fun, but this has been such a good year for Dallas, why don’t we start with the good stuff?

The first goodest stuff, the bestest stuff: The death of the Trinity Toll Road. Almost 20 years after voters narrowly approved a vision of lakes and parks in our floodway, and a full decade after voters narrowly defeated the toll road referendum, the Dallas City Council finally voted to kill the Trinity Toll Road once and for all. The road had delayed our park for a generation. With the toll road gone, we can finally move forward in building an accessible, natural and flood-hardy Trinity Park.

Next up on our gratitude list is Dallas’ City Manager TC Broadnax. Broadnax has been shaking things up at 1500 Marilla since he came to Dallas in February, bringing in a slate of top professionals from across the country to run Dallas City Hall. He’s completely overhauled several city departments, including housing, economic development, and transportation. His new police chief has initiated a top-to-bottom review of the police force. With his focus on process, transparency and community engagement, Broadnax

has brought much-needed change to our city government.

Dallas also can be grateful that our city is moving in a new direction when it comes to transportation and mobility. It started with last year’s CityMAP, an incredible project led by the Texas Department of Transportation that evaluated improvements to downtown Dallas highways. CityMAP wasn’t just trying to figure out how to move more cars faster. It evaluated how different

OUR CITY

By ANGELA HUNT

highway scenarios impacted inner-city neighborhood redevelopment, community preservation, economic growth and walkability. It’s a remarkable first step in re-engineering central Dallas highways for future generations.

In other positive transportation news, the Dallas City Council shook up the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board, selecting a group of Dallas representatives who are pushing DART to focus on smart, pragmatic transit priorities, like overhauling our inefficient bus system. And the recently approved $1.05 billion City of Dallas bond package includes $20 million to construct the Loop Trail, which will connect more than 50 miles of offstreet trails in central Dallas. That’s going to be a game-changer.

Some of our city’s most challenging financial and legal issues also were put to bed this year. Thanks to some great leadership on our city council, the police/ fire pension crisis has been averted, and it also looks like we’ll finally see some resolution to the police pay referendum lawsuit that has loomed over the city for years. Some closure and finality on these issues is important to our city’s financial health as well as to the morale of our first responders.

Lastly, our city can be grateful for the great strides the Dallas ISD has made over the last year. For the second year in a row, DISD added three new national Blue Ribbon schools, leading the state both times. Over the last four years, district has reduced the number of schools rated “improvement required” from 43 to 13. The school district also made great gains in the state math assessment, and under DISD’s Teacher Evaluation System, the district has been able to retain good teachers while losing those less qualified.

There’s so much good stuff to be grateful for in our city over the last year that I’ve run out of space. What a wonderful problem to have.

I guess we’ll have to wait until January for that naughty list. In the meantime, may your holidays be merry and bright.

Angela Hunt is a neighborhood resident and former Dallas city councilwoman in East Dallas. She writes a monthly opinion column about neighborhood issues. Her opinions are not necessarily those of the Advocate or its management. Send comments and ideas to her ahunt@advocatemag.com.

A naughty and nice list sure would be fun, but this has been such a good year for Dallas, why don’t we start with the good stuff?

Properties of Distinction, Agents for Life.

For over 10 years, Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate has set East Dallas sales records, representing billions of dollars in property for thousands of satisfied clients. Our reputation as the area’s dominant real estate firm is founded on the combined strength of our dynamic team, dedicated to collaboratively cultivating an intimate understanding of East Dallas’ premier neighborhoods, with emphasis on quality, character, and design.

4107 Sperry · $999,000 Nancy Johnson 214.674.3840

6820 Kenwood · $1,399,500 Nancy Johnson 214.674.3840

710 Monte Vista · $565,000 Keith Callahan 214.675.6777

4502 Santa Barbara · $1,195,000 Scott Jackson 214.827.2400

6908 Kenwood · $1,599,000 Scott Jackson 214.827.2400

6732 Lake Circle · Price Upon Request Kim & Taylor Gromatzky 214.802.5025

6704 Belford · $440,000 Amy Malooley, Nancy Johnson Group 214.773.5570

9734 Estate · $575,000 Susan Nelson Wheeler & Wes Wheeler 469.878.8522

6362 McCommas · $475,000 Nancy Johnson 214.674.3840

9414 W. Lake Highlands · White Rock Lake · $1,299,000 Janice Parson 214.208.1801 & Eric Holmes 214.395.1183

There’s no subtle qualifier to this statement.

It’s fact – backed up by extensive market data and analysis. We pride ourselves on data transparency, and that means that apples should only be compared to apples. When you’re ready to make a move, contact your favorite Dave Perry-Miller Associate and work with the best in East Dallas – by a mile.

6938 Santa Maria · $479,000 Amy Malooley, Nancy Johnson Group 214.773.5570

8462 San Fernando · $1,050,000 Scott Jackson

& Lauren Moore

6940 Kenwood · $775,000 Nancy Johnson

10219 Vinemont · $445,000 Brandon Fleeman 214.263.4685

9834 Carnegie · $379,000 Heather Guild, Heather Guild Group 214.563.2385

Chart based on YTD Q3 Sold Volume for Lakewood and East Dallas (MLS Area 12).

5529 Winton · $549,900

Johnson

& Alex Simpson

8326 Garland · $1,699,000 Nancy Johnson

3608 Vintage · $1,495,000 Nancy Johnson

7226 Lehigh · $869,000 Scott Jackson

6930 Lakewood · $1,425,000 Nancy Johnson

6543 Ellsworth · $1,149,000 Scott Jackson

6853 Merrilee · $1,399,000 Nancy Johnson

6906 Southridge · $850,000 Scott Jackson

5622 Martel #B · $510,000 Susan Nelson Wheeler & Wes Wheeler

6834 L Scott Jac