Fourth Sunday after the EpiphanyJanuary 28, 2018

Charles Wesley—the brother of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist denomination—is credited with composing more than 6,000 hymns. This includes many favorites making their way into modern hearts, such as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” and “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” One of our anthems today, “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” might be a lesser-known hymn but tells of Charles’ deep, abiding faith and trust in Christ.

While preaching in the English countryside, a mob began to threaten Charles during a sermon. They found Methodism an abrupt and false departure from loyalty to the Church of England and thereby the crown. As the story is told, Charles slipped away from the mob and sought refuge at a local farmhouse. The brave wife of the farmer hid Charles under the porch, and when the mob arrived she served them tea and biscuits to calm their rage while Charles waited with bated breath underneath his pursuers’ feet. While in hiding, the lyrics of this hymn floated into his imagination and became

his heartfelt prayer to God: “Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly, while the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high. Hide me, O my Savior, hide ‘til the storm of life is past! Safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.”

We sing songs to still our souls and to steel our spines in the face of uncertainty and calamity. The music we sing in worship does not merely float into the ether, but songs sink into our souls and create the soundtrack of our courage and hope. This God-given gift of music stirs our emotions—for good or ill—and shapes how we orient ourselves to the world.

What have you been listening to lately? So many songs, from Charles Wesley to Johann Sebastian Bach to the Avett Brothers, offer us simple God-given gifts: beauty, transcendence and mystery. Listen up, friends. God might speak to you in song today.

—Kevin Sinclair

Preparing for worship

ON THE COVER: Jesus Casts Out Unclean Spirit, © 2018, iStock Photo

Wilshire Baptist Church4316 Abrams Road | Dallas, Texas 75214

(214) 452-3100 | www.wilshirebc.orgPartnered with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

Building a Community of Faith Shaped by the Spirit of Jesus Christ

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January 28, 20188:30 and 11:00 a.m.

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Chiming of the HourThe people of Wilshire gather this morning to worship God.

In order for this service of worship to be focused upon that purpose,please turn off all cell phones, pagers and alarm watches.

Prelude I Come with Joy arr. TuckerCarillon Ringers

Opening Sentences Mary Lu Hare / Kristin Cabaniss

You are welcome in this place of worship today. Whoever you are, wherever you’ve come from, however sinful or saintly you feel, whether you are happy or sad, regardless of your status, you are welcome here. We gather today as the body of Christ, diverse in all ways except this one: We declare our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, interceding on our behalf before the throne of God and coming again to consummate God’s redemptive plan. Because of this joy, we invite all to join together to sing the praises of God.

+Hymn 306 Come, Christians, Join to Sing madrid

Greeting to Worshipers Joan Hammons / Lance Currie Guests are invited to take a Response Card from the pew rack,

complete it and place it in the offering plate later in the service.We would love to know you were here today. Prayer concerns will be received

and prayed for this week when listed on an intercessory prayer card from the pew rack and placed in the offering plate.

Musical Meditation *God Is All You Need McDonaldNew Song

Be not dismayed whatever betide; beneath his wings of love abide;God will take care of you; he will take care of you.

Through days of toil when heart doth fail; when dangers fierce your path assail;God will take care of you; he will take care of you.

He never will forsake you; he’ll hold you when you fall;And when your heart is hurting, he’ll comfort through it all.

His peace gives calm assurance, his grace enough for ev’ry need.Through ev’ry day, in ev’ry way, God is all you need.

*8:30 worship service / **11:00 worship service+All congregants who are able are invited to stand.Hearing devices are available in the Narthex and South Atrium.

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No matter what may be the test, lean, weary one, upon his breast;God will take care of you; he will take care of you.

**Jesus, Lover of My Soul JohnsonSanctuary Choir

Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly,While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high:

Hide me, O my Savior, hide, ’til the storm of life is past;Safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on thee;Leave, oh, leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.All my trust on thee is stayed, all my help from thee I bring;

Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of thy wing.

Plenteous grace with thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;Let the healing streams abound; make and keep me pure within.

Thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of thee;Spring thou up within my heart, rise to all eternity.

– Charles Wesley

Prayers of the People Mark Wingfield

Hymn O Lord, Hear My Prayer o lord, hear my prayer

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*Epistle Reading — 1 Corinthians 8:1-9 Travis Keath

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him. Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. “Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

This is the word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.

**Old Testament Reading — Deuteronomy 18:15-19 Melissa Atkinson

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.” Then the Lord replied to me: “They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable.”

This is the word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.

Giving of Tithes and Offerings

When you give to Wilshire’s Unified Budget, you are present on the streets of our city through compassionate ministries such as the Metro Dallas Homeless Count that we hosted in our building last week and in which Wilshire members participated.

Offertory Great Is Thy Faithfulness arr. Hustad

+Offertory Response gloria patri

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

World without end. Amen, amen.

+Gospel Reading — Mark 1:21-28 Gwin Morris / Heather Mustain

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All guests are invited to a coffee reception in the James Gallery immediately after the service.

The flowers on the chancel today are given in honor of Steve and Gail Brookshire for all they do for our community of faith.

Welcome to Wilshire today. If you are a guest with us today, we welcome you warmly to our congregation. We would like to get to know you and tell you more about our church. Please take a Response Card from the pew rack, fill it out and place it in the offering plate when it comes by.

Someone to talk with. If you are facing a life challenge and would like to have a spiritual friend to walk alongside you for a season of healing, perhaps you would benefit from a Stephen Minister. Learn more at wilshirebc.org or contact Tiffany Wright at (214) 452-3107.

They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

This is the word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.

+Hymn 158 Jesus Shall Reign duke street

Message * “Just Between You and Me” Kevin Sinclair ** “Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Jakob Topper Something Ancient, Something New”

+Hymn of Commitment 254 Diverse in Culture, Nation, Race canonbury

Sharing of Decisions

Christian Advocacy Presentation George Mason

Affirmation of Baptism

Benediction

Postlude Come, Christians, Join to Sing arr. Lowe

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Meet today’s worship leadersMelissa Atkinson and her husband, Hugh, first joined Wilshire in 1995 and are members of Epiphany. They are the parents of Macy, who is a recent graduate of the University of Texas. Melissa is a Stephen Minister. Professionally, she is vice president of the Parkland Foundation.

Kristin Cabaniss grew up at Wilshire and is the sister of Wilshire member Kevin Cabaniss. She returned to Wilshire in 2014 and is a member of Discovery Class. Kristin works as a school counselor at Fowler Middle School in Frisco and as an avocation trains dogs for agility competitions.

Lance Currie and his wife, Rebecca, came to Wilshire in 2010 and are members of Labyrinth Class and he serves on the Missions Committee. They are the parents of Ashleigh, a second grader, and Logan, who is 5. Lance is an attorney with Carrington Coleman specializing in business and securities litigation.

Mary Lu Hare grew up at Wilshire and is a teacher in seventh grade Sunday School. She

recently married Thomas Hare. Her parents are Wilshire members Scott and Jeanne Spreier. Mary Lu works as program coordinator for International Stroke Conference at the American Heart Association.

Travis Keath and his wife, Pattie, have been part of the Wilshire family since 1992. They are members of Foundations of Faith and he is a deacon and serves on the Deacon Nominating Committee. They are the parents of an adult son, Matthew, who also is a Wilshire member. Travis is a business and securities valuation analyst by profession.

Gwin Morris and his wife, Brenda, came to Wilshire in 2008 after a long association with Baptist causes and institutions across the state. Gwin retired from the development staff at Buckner International after a career in Texas Baptist life as a professor and academic administrator. He is a deacon, an adult Sunday School teacher and member of Compass Class.

George A. MasonSenior Pastor

(214) 452-3132Mark Wingfield

Associate Pastor(214) 452-3128Doug Haney

Minister of Music(214) 452-3123

Sarah StaffordAssociate Minister of Music

(214) 452-3121Jeff Brummel

Music Associate/Organist(214) 452-3122

Tiffany WrightMinister for Care Ministries

(214) 452-3107

Heather MustainMinister of Missions & Advocacy

(214) 452-3110Jessica Capps

Minister to Senior Adults(214) 452-3129

Darren DeMentMinister to Students

(214) 452-3102Julie Girards

Minister to Children(214) 452-3104

Joan HammonsMinister to Preschoolers

(214) 452-3141Kevin SinclairPastoral Resident

(214) 452-3155

Jakob TopperPastoral Resident

(214) 452-3152Aaron Coyle-Carr

Pastoral Resident(214) 452-3154Matt Dodrill

Pastoral Resident(214) 452-3156David Nabors

Director of Business Admin.(214) 452-3157

Dale PrideFacilities Manager

(214) 452-3101J. Preston Bright

Associate Pastor Emeritus

Staff contacts

To email any staff member, use the first letter of the first name combined with the full last name and add @wilshirebc.org.

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Simulcast with Brené Brown

What can a research professor and a Black Lives Matter activist teach us about how to have hard conversations? What does talking about courage, shame and vulnerability have to do with race and privilege? Find out when bestselling author Brené Brown and community activist DeRay McKesson come together for a live conversation on how we summon the courage to show up for those moments that can make a real difference in our lives and our world. The event at Riverside Church in New York City will be live-streamed in Wilshire’s Community Hall on Feb. 1 from 7 to 9 p.m. No reservation is required. All are welcome. “The Courage to Show Up: A Conversation with Brené Brown and DeRay McKesson” is part of the Beyond the Dream: Living King’s Legacy lecture series.

Career Day presenters needed

Heather Mustain is looking for volunteers to share with elementary-aged students at Jill Stone Elementary about their careers. Presentations are usually about 30 to 45 minutes in length and can be as creative as you’d like them to be. Presenters will be asked to share with multiple classes in a rotation of sorts. Feb. 9 is the deadline. Contact Heather at hmustain@wilshirebc.org or (214) 452-3110.

Resident Reunion

Alumni of Wilshire’s pastoral residency program will be here this week and will speak during the Bible study time on Wednesday, Jan. 31, both noon and evening. Strengths class

The Living Your God-Given Strengths class will be offered on Wednesday nights from Feb. 21 through April 4 at 6 p.m. This class uses the Gallup StrengthsFinder instrument to help participants identify and know how to use the

positive attributes given to them by God. Online registration is required at wilshirebc.org. For more information contact class facilitator and certified StrengthsFinder coach Geri McKenzie at (214) 452-3159 or gmckenzie@wilshirebc.org.

Genesis 1 in tapestries

Wilshire’s own Shirley Cunningham has created a new art series featuring elaborate tapestries that tell the creation story from Genesis 1. This series of fabric art will be on display at Wilshire in the South Lobby throughout the month of February. The artist—who also created Wilshire’s Sanctuary paraments and Community Tapestry—will speak about the Genesis series on Wednesday night, Feb. 7, at 6 p.m. in Room 1205-L.

Lent book available Even though Christmas seems barely gone, the Lenten season is fast approaching. Ash Wednesday this year falls on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. Throughout the Lenten season, Wilshire will focus on the theme “40 Days with the Holy Spirit,” following the book by Jack Levison of the same name. Copies of this book of daily Lenten readings are available in the church office for $5. Jack Levison is an SMU professor who spoke at Wilshire in the fall.

Year-end contribution statements

Watch your email inbox for your year-end contribution statement from the church, which should come near the end of January. Beginning in 2018, quarterly and annual contribution statements will be delivered via email to everyone who has a registered email address in the church database. Those who do not have email addresses on file will receive paper copies in the mail. If you

This week at Wilshire

Keep up with all the Wilshire news at wilshirebc.org or by using our Wilshire app or via social media. Worship is live streamed every Sunday at 11:00.

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would prefer to receive a paper copy rather than an email link, contact Lori Gooden at lgooden@wilshirebc.org or (214) 452-3131. Members may access their contribution records online anytime by following the login link at wilshirebc.org.

Koinonia Cafe Jan. 31: Rosemary brisket, chicken piccata, herbed wild rice pilaf, creamed spinach, fried zucchini, balsamic-basil tomatoes.

Condolences to: Former Wilshire member Connie Trevino on the death of her husband, Art Trevino, Jan. 21; and to Brian and Michele Stinecipher on the death of Brian’s sister, Amy Scott, Jan. 25.

New members: Jerry McElveen, Sue McElveen, Pete Alfaro, Liston “Lee” Morris, Travis Underwood, Lindsey Underwood

February Affinity Groups

Sunday, Feb. 11, is the next day for Affinity Group Luncheons in Community Hall at noon. These luncheons are provided as a means for people to gather for an informal conversation around common interests. No reservations are required, but child care is provided only by reservation with Joan Hammons. February topics and facilitators are Living with Special Needs Children, Gina Waterman; Adoption and Foster Care, Joan Hammons; One Starry Night planning, LeAnn Hampton; Immigration and Refugee Issues, Heather Mustain; Help! I Didn’t Grow Up Baptist (or Christian), Matt Dodrill and Aaron Coyle-Carr; and Help! I Grew Up Southern Baptist, Pat Cullum.

Spring break mission team

A spring break mission trip to Shaw, Miss., is open to all ages for service with Wilshire mission partner Delta Hands for Hope. The group will travel by carpool, leaving Wilshire the morning of March 10 and returning Thursday, March 15. Volunteers will host a camp for kids and youth who also will be off for spring break. Contact Heather Mustain for more information.

Adventurers to hear Jeanne Robertson

All interested senior adults are invited to join Wilshire Adventurers to hear comedienne Jeanne Robertson at the Winspear Opera House on Saturday, Feb. 10. Tickets are $35 apiece and

include roundtrip motor coach transportation from the church. The bus will depart Wilshire at 6:30 p.m. and return around 9:30 p.m. Sign up with Mark Wingfield at mwingfield@wilshirebc.org or (214) 452-3128.

Branson trip

Space is still available on the Wilshire Adventurers and New Song Choir trip to Branson, Mo., April 16-20. This trip is a senior adult camp with activities and outings each day. Sites to visit include Silver Dollar City, College of the Ozarks, downtown Branson, Top of the Rock, and a performance of Samson at the Sight and Sound Theater. Sign up in the associate pastor’s office with Kathi Lyle or call (214) 452-3130.

“Almost Valentine’s” luncheon

Wilshire Adventurers will host an “Almost Valentine’s” luncheon on Monday, Feb. 12, beginning at 11:30 a.m. A special Valentine’s meal will be served for $10 per person, followed by a seasonal music program by the husband-wife Irish folk duo Eric and Laura Rothe. This luncheon is for singles and couples alike. Sign up at the Adventurers table in the South Lobby today or in Community Hall on Wednesday.

Youth Choir auction needs items

Each summer, Wilshire’s Youth Choir travels to another city to sing and engage in mission opportunities. These trips are funded in part by the annual Spaghetti Lunch and Silent Auction. This June, the group will travel to Oregon to sing and serve in the Portland and Eugene areas. Donations of new goods and a variety of services

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Sunday, January 28• Morning worship – 8:30 a.m. • Sunday School – 9:40 a.m.• Morning worship – 11:00 a.m.• Baptism Committee – noon• New Member Committee –

noon• Library Committee – noon• Children’s Education

Committee – noon• Missions Committee – noon• Advocacy Committee – noon• Pathways to Ministry

Committee – noon• Video Ministry Team – noon• Nova – 2:30 p.m.• Carillon Ringers – 4:00 p.m.• Youth Choir – 4:00 p.m.• Paradiso – 5:00 p.m.• Shekinah – 5:30 p.m.

Monday, January 29• Game of 42 – 10:00 a.m.• Senior women’s exercise

class – 2:00 p.m. • Faith in 3D rehearsal – 5:00

p.m.

• Wilshire Winds – 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, January 30• Resident Reunion • Yoga class – 12:15 p.m.• Faith in 3D rehearsal – 5:00

p.m.

Wednesday, January 31• Resident Reunion • New Song – 9:30 a.m.• Koinonia Café – 11:00 a.m.• Bible study – noon• Companions in Christ –

1:00 p.m.• Children’s handbells – 5:00

p.m.• Koinonia Café – 5:00 p.m.• Faith in 3D rehearsal – 5:00

p.m. • Gallery Café – 6:00 p.m.• Music & Missions – 6:00

p.m.• Yoga class – 6:15 p.m.• Watershed – 6:30 p.m.• Sanctuary Choir – 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, February 1• The Bridge/Stew Pot – 11:15

a.m.• Women’s Ministry Brown

Bag Book Club – noon • Knit Unto Others – 1:30

p.m.• Senior women’s exercise

class – 2:00 p.m. • The Courage to Show

Up: A Conversation with Brené Brown and DeRay McKesson – 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, February 4• Morning worship – 8:30 a.m. • Sunday School – 9:40 a.m.• Morning worship – 11:00 a.m.• Souper Bowl of Caring – 11

a.m.• Nova – 2:30 p.m.• Carillon Ringers – 4:00 p.m.• Youth Choir – 4:00 p.m.• Companions in Christ –

4:00 p.m.

Wilshire calendar

are needed from church members for the upcoming auction. Gift cards to local restaurants, home décor, electronics, food and beverages, sign-and-go parties, and event tickets are obvious donation ideas. However, professional services also make great

donation items. If you are a musician, tutor, photographer, baker, designer, accountant or have some other professional service to provide, please consider donating a gift certificate of your time or service. Donations will be accepted through Feb. 18. Contact Lisa Butler at (214) 384-6844 or lillisa.butler@gmail.com. And mark your calendar for

Sunday, March 4, to attend the Spaghetti Lunch and Silent Auction.

This week at Wilshire

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Advocacy partnership transitionsToday we celebrate a transition point in

Wilshire’s work in Christian advocacy by recognizing Katie Murray, who has worked the past three years as Christian advocacy specialist.

Katie has been hired by the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty in Washington, D.C., as associate director for mobilization. Heather Mustain will carry on the work Katie began with the newly expanded job title of minister of missions and advocacy.

It may seem that Wilshire’s work in Christian advocacy only goes back a few years, but our roots actually reach deeper into our past.

For years Wilshire, like many Baptist churches in Texas, looked to the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission for guidance on state policy issues, engaging in letter-writing campaigns and visiting with elected officials. The late Phil Strickland, former executive director of the CLC, was a member of Wilshire during his tenure with the organization, and his knowledge and passion led many members to engage in the work of Christian-based advocacy, perhaps the most active time being during the early 1990s as Wilshire passed a resolution against the formation of the Texas Lottery.

Years later, in 2013, through the Vision 20/20 strategic visioning process involving 500 one-on-one interviews, the church discovered a desire to broaden its missional calling within the community through becoming “advocates for our community’s most vulnerable populations.” It was at this time that the church began wondering how it might build upon the foundation Phil helped lay and find its voice as an advocate within the community and greater world.

In 2014, Wilshire and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship entered into a three-year pilot project to answer the question, “What can advocacy look like within the local church context?”

Katie was hired to serve as Christian advocacy specialist with the dual role of working to create an advocacy ministry at Wilshire and develop a toolkit to provide for other CBF congregations looking to strengthen or begin their own advocacy ministries.

This work was completed at the end of 2017, and CBF will release the advocacy toolkit Katie helped to develop at this year’s General Assembly in Dallas.

Wilshire began its advocacy ministry by selecting three initiatives: (1) payday and auto-title lending reform, (2) public education and (3) hunger. Public education and hunger were chosen due to Wilshire’s historic commitment to these issues over the course of the church’s history. Payday and auto-title lending reform, on the other hand, was a new initiative for us that stemmed from partnerships with Friendship-West Baptist Church and CBF.

“Part of discovering our voice in advocacy as a congregation was discerning the connection between advocacy and missions,” Katie said. “Over the years, we came to an important discovery: advocacy is merely another tool at our disposal as we engage in mission with God. Advocacy allows us to speak to the social injustices of the day, working to fix broken systems that leave people oppressed, often through the democratic process available to us as citizens of the United States. Our work in advocacy is informed not by partisanship or the 24-hour news cycle, but by the gospel and the Spirit’s movement in our lives as individuals and as a community of faith.”

At the beginning of the 2017 Texas Legislative Session, the Christian Advocacy Committee observed the issues being addressed in the Legislature that also aligned with our mission partners and offered congregation members opportunities to advocate on these issues as they chose. Human trafficking, immigration and refugees, criminal justice, domestic violence, homelessness and prison reform (just to name a few) came quickly to the front as opportunities to use our voices to address important issues within our state and provided even more opportunities to see advocacy as a continuation of our engagement in God’s mission in the world.

Based largely on Wilshire’s experience, the CBF Advocacy Toolkit will be a resource for congregations in CBF life engaging in congregational advocacy.

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Mark your calendar, and plan to stay after Sunday School and worship on Sunday, Feb. 4, for Wilshire’s annual Souper Bowl of Caring from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Lunch is free, and the menu is a soup buffet. Diners are asked to make contributions to the Phil Strickland World Hunger Offering equal to or greater than what they would pay to eat out at a nice restaurant that day.

This year’s offering will highlight a new mission project in Tanzania. Special guest Peter Kamanda will be present from Africa to give an introduction to this initiative.