Calvary Lutheran to celebrate new addition to church

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

A week of celebration is being planned for Calvary Lutheran Church at the corner of 2^nd and Hill Street in Neillsville.

Construction of a new sanctuary and narthex began in May 2005, and the time has come to showcase all the hard work.

Sunday, April 23, the new organ will be dedicated at the 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. worship service.  Marlene Butler and Kris Herbrand will do a special performance.

On Tuesday, April 25, there will be a special concert with the Malawi Cathedral Choir performing.  Twenty-five men and women will perform and stay in the community from Monday to Wednesday.  The concert will begin at 7 p.m.

The celebration week will conclude on Sunday, April 30, with the Calvary new addition dedication.

A big day is being planned with a Holy Communion service at 10 a.m., a dinner at 11:15 a.m. and the dedication service at 1 p.m., followed by an open house from 2-4 p.m.

Source: Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI, April 19, 2006

Calvary Lutheran celebrates 50 years

Calvary Lutheran Church in Neillsville (Contributed photo)

On Sunday, Sept. 16, Calvary Lutheran Church marked its 50^th anniversary with a special service led by Pastor Gordon and Lay Minister, Terry Giles.  Pastor Greg Kaufmann, assistant to the Bishop of the NW Synod of Wisconsin in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, preached the sermon, “Cornerstone Ministry.”

Calvary held its first church service on March 10, 1957, in the Adler Theatre in downtown Neillsville, with 80 people present.  Groundbreaking ceremonies for the church building were held on June 23, 1957.  On Nov. 28, 1957, Thanksgiving Day, the first service was held in the basement of the new church, built on a four-acre tract of donated land, at the corner of Hill Street and W. Second Street.  The congregation was part of the merger to form the American Lutheran Church in 1960, which later merged with the Lutheran Church in America in 1987, to form the present Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), with nearly 5 million members in 10,549 congregations nationwide.

As the congregation grew, so did the building.  In 1985, the lower level was expanded, a Neillsville High School Capstone project.  This added additional fellowship hall, kitchen, restroom, and office space. 

A second addition, in 2005, added a new sanctuary, narthex, offices and parking lot.  The first two services in the new sanctuary were held on Christmas Eve, 2005, with 380 people in attendance.  On April 25, the week before the formal dedication, Calvary hosted the Cathedral Choir of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Malawi, Africa, with over 500 people in attendance.

The present congregation has 415 baptized members and a Sunday School enrollment of 47.  There are 30 6-9^th graders enrolled in Confirmation classes. Calvary also has an active Tuesday adult Bible study breakfast, Wednesday evening choir and Bible study classes, Thursday morning quilting, and monthly women’s meetings and Bible study.  There are summer Vacation Bible School and Bible camp opportunities offered yearly.  The youth have weekly meetings on Wednesdays after school. Calvary offers one worship service at 8:45 a.m. all year long.  Communion is celebrated the first, third, and fifth Sundays of each month.

Calvary has been served for the past 19 years by Pastor James Gordon.  Pastor Gordon said, “We are truly grateful for the blessings we have received and praise God for the growth of our congregation.  Many new families have been added since I was called here, and they have added a warmth and vitality to our fellowship that keeps us lively and growing in Christ.  This has truly become home for my wife, Jan, and me, and we love the people and community dearly.  None of this could have happened, though, without the vision of those dedicated and committed men and women who began this mission and ministry 50 years ago. They are still an inspiration to us all.”

Source: Clark Co. Press, September 19, 2007, Page 8

Related Links:

New Piano (11 June 2009)

Grand Celebration (12 July 2009)

Pastor Gordon Retires (6 Jan. 2010)

New Pastor ready to serve in Neillsville (9 Feb. 2011)