ABOUT US
Hey! So glad you're here...
Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church is a congregation affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We are an open-minded, open-door community, centered in God's good news of love and care for all people and creation. We are Christians believing that Jesus' life, death, and rising from the dead promises us the same. We are Lutherans, which means we live in the promise that there's nothing we have to do to earn God's grace. We believe our salvation is secure in what God has already done on the cross through Jesus Christ. We welcome all people! You’re welcome to worship with us and engage with our community if you’ve attended church most of your life, never attended church, don’t know what you believe, or feel like you are questioning everything. You’re welcome here if you’re divorced, single, never married, happily married, or unhappily married. You’re welcome here if you’re LGBTQIA+ or straight. You’re welcome here if you’re a loner or part of the crowd. You’re welcome here whether you’re a great singer or can barely carry a tune in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re in a good mood or not. Whether you are excited to come to church or not. Whether you read the Bible every day or you’ve never cracked the binding. No matter if you’re rich or poor, black, white, brown, or a mix of the three, terminally ill or incredibly healthy, fat or skinny, 5 months old or ninety-five years old. You are welcome here!
We believe in the Triune God — Father/Mother, Son, and Holy Spirit. We proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In our preaching and teaching, we trust the Gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. Teaching or theology prepares members to be witnesses in speech and in action of God’s rich mercy in Jesus Christ.
Scriptures, Creeds, and Confessions
Our Confession of Faith identifies the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called the Bible); the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds; and the Lutheran confessional writings in the Book of Concord as the basis for our teaching. This Confession of Faith is more than just words in an official document. Every Sunday in worship we hear God’s word from the Scriptures, pray as Jesus taught, and come to the Lord’s Table expecting to receive the mercies that the Triune God promises. Throughout the week our members continue to live by faith, serving others freely and generously in all that they do because they trust God’s promise in the Gospel. In small groups and at sick beds, in private devotions and in daily work, this faith saturates all of life.
Teaching for a life of faith
This connection to all of life is the clearest demonstration of the authority that the canonical Scriptures, the ecumenical Creeds and the Lutheran Confessions have in our community. The Holy Spirit uses these witnesses to create, strengthen and sustain faith in Jesus Christ and the life we have in him. That life-giving work continues every day, as Martin Luther explained in the Small Catechism: the Holy Spirit “calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.”
