To Know Christ And to Make Him Known
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Rise Up And Build

For the first 14 weeks our congregation met in a vacant store a few hundred feet north of our present buildings. The store was rent free but was available only for the summer months. We moved into our chapel though it was unfinished. There was no electricity for the first month. For many months there was no telephone. No municipal water was available. Calvary had to dig a well, as did local homeowners. There were no sidewalks, and the streets in the neighborhood were not paved until more than a year later.

Chapel

Calvary has been blessed through the church at large. When our church was started, the Atlantic District of The Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod gave us the pastor, a parsonage, the land and the chapel. This money came from the mission offerings that the people of the District had put into the Church Extension Fund. The white frame chapel -- where the opening service was held on September 17, 1950 -- had a capacity of 160. St. Andrew's Lutheran Church of Union City, NJ gave us an altar, pulpit, lectern, and hymnals. We had 50 chairs given us by our congregation in St. Albans. Redeemer Lutheran Church of Old Westbury gave us a second-hand electric organ. A Kentile floor was laid in the basement (now the teen lounge) by the East Meadow School District. This was done in return for the use of the basement space for parts of the 7th and 8th grade classes because a fire had destroyed the Front St. School (located where the East Meadow Library now stands). The chapel cost $22,000. To pay for it the Atlantic District advanced a generous loan. The District paid $11,000 for the parsonage on Fifth St., East Meadow. It is still occupied by Pastor and Mrs. Kern.

Church Building

Overcrowding soon became a serious problem. More space for Sunday School and church was needed. The Missouri Synod granted us a loan of $40,000 at 1% interest from its nation-wide "Conquest for Christ" offering to help construct our present church building. It was the largest loan given from this fund to any congregation in the United States. We also received an advance of $31,500 from the Atlantic District and got a $50,000 bank mortgage. The building cost $105,000 and the furnishings $10,000. The sanctuary provided seating for 260 including the choir. The tower features a 20-foot cross. It has been painted twice by the East Meadow Fire Department. The first service in our church building took place on September 12, 1954.

Education Building

To provide better learning and recreational facilities for our youth, Calvary built a Christian Education Building that was dedicated on September 13, 1964. The cost of the gymnasium and six classrooms was $245,000. Much of the interior painting was done by a faithful core of volunteers

Expansion of Church

In 1965 the church entrance was moved from the Taylor Ave. side to Bush St. The nave was enlarged by making the former narthex and coatroom part of the nave. This provided room for six additional pews. The final phase of the expansion took place the following spring. The former chapel was converted into the present narthex and four offices. This was a 100% do-it-ourselves project. Fifty of our men worked several nights each week and all day Saturday. Some of them worked six nights a week until midnight to complete the job. Their spirit of determination has never been equaled in our history.