Calvary’s mission is to provide a community where all can receive and share God’s love. That is our North star. And, this month, I share two stories that perfectly capture how we do that so well!

Certainly one way that people share love is when they choose to respond to the call of marriage. It is a call that Ari and Michael have entered into and promised to uphold publicly in the presence of their friends and family. And while their wedding was not held at Calvary, it was absolutely a witness for Calvary in the way that they chose to bring Church to their loved ones. When we provide a community, it’s not always in our building, but it is always centered on the love of God!

One way that we’ve recently received love is in the way a group gathered to commend one of our homebound members, Paul Chmara, to God at the place he had been laid to rest. For those who knew him, Paul was a beacon of light and joy. Though he had his bad days (who among us doesn’t?), visiting him with the intent to bring the love of God often left one reflecting on the way he helped us to receive God’s love: through his smile, his jokes, his stories, and his simple routines that took on an air of humor (“Can ya get me two cups of coffee?” he’d say). So when we gathered, after he had been buried, to offer prayer and commend him to God, we did so grateful for the ways he shared God’s love with us. This, too, was a way of providing community centered on the love of Jesus out in the world.

There is plenty coming up this fall as we begin another program year with Rally Day on September 13, and I’m looking forward to seeing each of you participate and show up for this community. In all of it, the way you share of yourselves through your time, talent, treasure, and prayer—most importantly—is what allows Calvary to continue its mission. So, thank you!

Pr. Zach ☩