Calvary's 100th
Calvary is Turning 100!
We are grateful to have served as a light on the ridge for the greater Latham community throughout the past 100 years. And we are looking forward to serving our community for another 100 years!
Please see our 100th year celebration initiatives listed below, and join the celebration. Each one of our initiatives are based on our Core Values of Christian Worship, Spiritual Growth, Passionate Service, and Open to All. We hope you will join in one or several of these initiatives in 2022!
Preachers of the Past Worship Series
Join us for worship beginning on July 31st and through September 4th, as we are joined by former Pastor's of Calvary and those called into Ministry from Calvary as our guest preachers. This series will be an exciting time of worship as we welcome some of our clergy home and praise God with them, celebrating all God has done with and through our community of faith.
Preachers of the Past Schedule:
July 31st-Rev. Gordon Drake, Assistant Pastor 1978-1985, & 2017-Present
August 7th-Rev. Bob Kolvik-Campbell, Senior Pastor 2009-2014
August 14th-Rev. Kim Krause, called into ministry from Calvary 2006
August 21st-Rev. Bob Long, called into ministry from Calvary 1959
August 28th- Rev. John Phillippe, Assistant Pastor 1999-2017
September 4th- Rev. Dave Lockwood, Senior Pastor 1992-2009
Joe's 100 Year Highlights
The Annual Conference in 1941 appointed the Reverend Howard Roberts to Calvary at a salary of $1700.00. Sunday, December 7,1941 saw the Japanese attack on the Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and one of Calvary’s young men was stationed at Pearl Harbor as a navy radio operator, bringing the war directly to Calvary. In mid-summer, 1942, the church took out a “War Damage” insurance policy on church property. At the same time, an honor roll, naming ten men of the church in military service was placed on the rear wall of the sanctuary with a service flag hung above it. The service flag had additional stars added as more Calvary members joined the armed forces, until space was filled. One gold star was for Lt. Robert N. Allen, USAAF, killed in 1942 in a flying accident in England. On June 17, 1945, A large, framed print of Sallman’s “Christ” was dedicated as a memorial to Robert Allen. Calvary went into 1946 with increased optimism for the future as Latham experience new growth. Although the original honor roll has not been located, the service flag with 28 stars is hung in the gathering space. The idea of a military service roll has been restored and is placed near the service flag.
-written by, Joe Thatcher
Watch for future excerpts from the church history and some little known and interesting facts from our history.
To see previous installments, Click Here
A Gift for the Century
We are hopeful to continue being a beacon of God's grace through serving our community into the next 100 years. To help us do that we are endeavoring on a capital improvement project to repair deferred building maintenance. By so doing we are confidant Calvary will keep standing and shining for years to come. To learn more, or make a gift to this project click here.
Calvary's 100 Year Celebration Initiatives
At Calvary we are excited to be celebrating our centennial. Calvary is committed as a church to the core values of Christian Worship, Spiritual Growth, Passionate Service, that is open to all. Throughout our 100 years of ministry we have done our best to live these out in a variety of ways, in 2022 as we celebrate this milestone year we are inviting everyone to join us in one or more of our celebration initiatives focused on living out these values.
Christian Worship
Centennial Worship Service
On September 18th 2022 Calvary will celebrate its centennial year by worshiping God together. Bishop Mark Webb of the Upper New York Annual Conference will be our guest preacher. We will be joined in worship by former Calvary Pastors, and continue our celebrations with a luncheon following service.
More information coming soon.
Spiritual Growth
Reading the Bible In a Year
Starting January 16th, we will begin reading the bible over the course of 365 days. Weekly readings and reflection questions will be posted in our Midweek message to guide our Bible reading journey. You can do the reading on your own, or you can join one of our two discussion platforms to share with others. You can join a discussion group with Pastor Drew on Sunday mornings at 11:30 via Zoom or in person. Or you can join Kelly Young in a Facebook group where you can share insights with others on the message board. This spiritual practice is meant to be devotional and low key so do not fret if you can't meet on Sundays or complete all the reading. Bible 365 link
To learn more email Pastor Drew at: pastordrew.calvaryumc@gmail.com
Passionate Service
100 Hours of Service
Over the course of 2022 we invite you to participate in our 100 hours of service challenge. It is our hope that everyone connected to Calvary will commit to doing 100 hours of service, this can be through a Calvary mission program a or a service you do on your own. We hope to track and report out during the year our collective hours in service, so please keep us updated about your service hours by sending
an email to:
100hours.calvaryumc@gmail.com,
Stay tuned for service opportunities organized by Calvary throughout the year, or check out our missions page to learn about some of our mission partners whom you can volunteer with. Let's make a big impact in 2022 by serving our community together.