Mt. Calvary

What to Expect

You can expect to be greeted warmly when you visit Mt. Calvary. If you need directions, just ask. You are welcome to worship and to come to Sunday School or the Adult Bible Class between services on Sunday mornings.

Where do I park?

Most of the parking for Mt. Calvary is located on the east side of the building. There are a few parking spaces on the south side as well.

How do people dress? 

There is no dress code. Casual, comfortable clothing is the norm. As in everything we do, we live and dress to the glory of God.

What's a service like?

We are a liturgical church. This means that each service, we sing portions of Scripture which are filled with the richness of both Law and Gospel. Almost every part of our worship service is from Scripture. We use the ancient forms of worship like the office of Matins, Vespers, and the Divine Service for services with communion and without. We also follow the liturgical calendar which, in part, helps set the topics and sermon texts throughout the year.  Worship Service Times

What's the music like?

The music in our congregation is generally the dynamic sacred music of the church and occasionally contemporary music or hymns, e.g. 'The Lamb'. Organ and piano are used most often.  

What about children? 

We love children learning to worship the Lord with their parents. We have children's messages at every service. If needed during worship, there is a cry room with closed circuit television to hear and watch the service. There is Sunday School for preschool through the upper grades. There are family ministry classes starting in 6th grade, in preparation for the Rite of Confirmation. Kids 4 Christ on Wednesday evenings fits well with younger children.

Can I take communion?

The Lord’s Supper is celebrated among those in this congregation in the confession and glad confidence that, as He says, our Lord gives into our mouths not only bread and wine but also His very Body and Blood to eat and to drink for the forgiveness of sins. I Corinthians 10:14ff.  Our Lord invites to His table those who repent of all their sins and who trust His words, that they may show forth His death until He comes. Because those who eat and drink our Lord’s Body and Blood unworthily do so to their great harm ( I Corinthians 11: 29) and because Holy Communion is a confession of faith which is confessed at this altar, (I Corinthians 10: 15-18) any who are not yet instructed in this Christian faith, who are in doubt, or who hold a confession differing from that of this congregation and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and yet desire to receive the Sacrament, are asked to wait and speak with one of the Pastors prior to the service. Visitors who have previously spoken with one of the Pastors, and who received permission to commune, do not need to seek permission for subsequent visits to the altar.

How can I join the congregation?

There are three different ways to join the congregation. First, to transfer in from another LCMS congregation. A transfer is restricted to LCMS members in good standing. To transfer contact the congregation where your membership resides and request a transfer. Normally, that is all you have to do. When we receive that transfer you will contacted.  Second, you can join the congregation by meeting with one of the pastors to go through a profession of faith where this is appropriate. The POF is a discussion with a pastor about what you believe concerning various biblical topics. The third option is attending  the new member class. At the end of this class each individual can request membership if they agree with the teachings of the Bible, the confessional faith of the congregation and that of the LCMS. We encourage everyone new to the congregation to attend a new member class.

Regardless of the method of joining the congregation we would ask each person to fill out the application for membership available from either pastor or the church office. The procedure: Membership applications are turned into the church office, then they are presented to the Board of Elders. With the pastor’s recommendation new members are received privately at this meeting. Then normally on an appropriate Sunday following the Elders meeting each new member is given the honor to profess their faith publicly. See Romans 10:10. Once received into membership by professing the same faith as the congregation, the new member is invited to attend the Lord’s Supper and participate in all activities of the congregation.