Changes! Changes! Changes!
"During the summer months a student of our seminary in Springfield, IL has been assigned to assist me. He will receive his room and board at our home. Two or possibly three other students will spend the first week of July with us. If you are able to house one of these young men, will you please let me know after the service or get in touch with me this week I don't have a telephone as yet So you will have to write or visit me. " Pastor Kern made this announcement at our third service on June 25, 1950. So many new homes were being built that the phone company could not keep up with the demand.
Change upon change has taken place since then. Our first church name was The Lutheran Church of East Meadow. Later we wanted to change our name to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. But when the Lutheran Church in Levittown took that name, we became Calvary Lutheran Church. At the beginning we gave away blotters for ink pens to advertise our location and services. We mailed notices on penny postcards. When Pastor Kern and Alma came here, he was 33, and she, 28. They were older than 95% of the congregation. Pastor Kern conducted only one funeral in Calvary's first three years. In the summer of 1999 Pastor Therwanger conducted a funeral service every day three days in a row.
We had no Sunday bulletin for almost two years until Ted Redlich volunteered to do it at his print shop. The January 12, 1958 Sunday bulletin carried the item, "May women go to church without hats?" The answer was yes. Not long after that it went from hats to hot pants in church. For 20 years only men could vote. Our women now serve on the church council and at times as ushers and readers in the service.
Our stained glass windows when installed in 1970 cost $4000. It will cost about $32,000 to have them repaired and installed in new frames. Dramatic changes have taken place in the church office. The manual typewriter was replaced by the electric typewriter and later by the computer. The hand-operated mimeograph gave way to the scanner and then the copier. We went from a one-at-a-time imprinter to an addressograph. Now the computer does all the labels for our various mailings. For the last decade we have had a three-line phone system, a telephone answering machine and a fax machine.
For years the use of wine was not permitted in our social gatherings lest we offend some people. Now wine and beer are served at some functions held at the church. When our young people first gathered in what is now the teen lounge, square -- but not social -dancing was permitted. Youth now participate in Lenten dramas and serve as acolytes and crucifers. We use a new hymnal, the psalms are chanted, an eternal light is in the chancel, and worshippers receive ashes on their forehead on Ash Wednesday.
In the essentials -- thank God! -- there has been no change. Like that of the apostle Paul, our message is "Jesus Christ and Him crucified. " (I Corinthians 2:2) Our mission is to make that message known in the community and the world.
A wide variety of Bible courses and workshops for adults and young people has been offered through the years by our pastors, members and others. On a Saturday in 1985 an all-day "Walk Through the Bible" (Old Testament) was presented by Bible Ministries of Atlanta, GA. Three hundred members and guests profited from the instruction. Pastor Louis Buehheimer, a Calvary member, presented a series of lectures on Christian symbols and Pastor Victor Albers, on "Through the Eyes of Isaiah." Dr. and Mrs. Fred Trinklein delivered a talk on Christian healing followed by a healing service.
Other excellent offerings were:
"Divine Drama," an overview of the Old and New Testaments and "Bible Alive" by Pastor Whitsett
"The Master's Plan" by Pastor Nilges
"Body and Soul" (Bible study and aerobics), "Mastering Motherhood," and "Volley and Soul, (weekly evening Bible study and volleyball) by Margy Whitsett
20/20 (name derived from Acts 20:20) -- Bible-centered support groups meeting in homes Weekly classes for young adults by Barbara Williams
Bill Bruning taught courses on "The Apostles' Creed," "The Kingdom of God," "Effective Meditation," and "To Remove Mountains." He also moderated the film and discussion of Francis Schaeffer's "How Then Should We Live?"
In 1996 Pastor Therwanger started his informative Pastor's Forums held after the last service on Sunday morning. Eric Eichinger has conducted regular Bible discussions on topics of interest to our youth. A few Home Bible Study groups still meet.
Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
(Psalm 119:105)
Bible study has been one of the strengths of Calvary. It has bonded us to the Lord and to each other.