autumn caller 2012

Volume XVI, Issue 8 Autumn 2012

October Yard Sale Gretchen White, Coordinator, Yard Sale

The Mission and Christian Education Boards are sponsoring our third annual yard sale, Wednesday, October 17, through Friday, October 19, and following Worship on Sunday, October 21. We need contributions of items to sell – anything is acceptable except clothing, shoes, large appliances or computers. We also need boxes, shopping bags and tissue paper. Please bring items for the sale to Kendall Hall room 5. For more information contact Gretchen White. Proceeds from the sale will support the Shalom Scholarship Fund.

Autumn Leaves Spiritual Retreat at Camp Fraser

Join us Friday afternoon, October 26, through Saturday afternoon, October 27, for an overnight retreat at Camp Fraser! All Calvary members, friends and families are invited to participate. Take time to relax outside, enjoy the fields and trails of Camp Fraser, fellowship around an evening campfire, and experience a little peace in the busyness of autumn. We will also have time as a congregation to contemplate our shared life together as part of our 2013 theme, Re-imagine. Contact Jason Smith in the church office for details and to register.

Re-imagine

Join us on Sunday, September 9, as we begin a new sermon series, Re-imagine. We will mine the Psalms, the prayer book of the Hebrew people, to help explore our own life of faith here at Calvary. We’ll look closely at our sanctuary, structure, mission efforts, and affiliations to review where we are and think about where we might go. Then we look at the prophetic texts of the lectionary to see what the world might look like if it were transformed by the Gospel message. What is our commitment as we think about our calling as a church to be salt and light in the world.

Come re-imagine with us!

Autumn 2012 Calvary Caller

From Our Pastor Rev. Dr. Amy Butler

Senior Pastor

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and generous commitment to God through the community at Calvary Baptist Church?

You’ll see soon that our stewardship logo is built around the word “commit,” because that’s what we’re challenging you to do as we come to stewardship. As those among us in charge of budgeting do their work, it helps to know what people intend to give. But, really, that’s not the most important question confronting us. The most important question we have to ask ourselves this stewardship season is whether we are all willing to commit. Will we commit our time, our presence, our energy, our creativity, our skills, our money, our prayer to the work of God here at Calvary?

Commit. We’re not talking about occasional involvement or a last minute financial gift. We’re talking about investing our whole lives; that’s what being a member of a church means. And as we consider each of our commitments to God through

the work of our church, we can challenge each other to commit, a radical stance that challenges the status quo and calls us to deeper and more radical investment.

As we move into the fall, Calvary’s stewardship team will be working hard to help us hold each other accountable, to have frank and honest conversations about w h a t c h u r c h membership means, and to ask each of us to commit.

As we move through the end of our 150th year and into the 151st, I am looking forward to seeing

a transformed and transforming community as we make space for the work of God’s Spirit and commit to being part of God’s work in the world.

Dear Calvary Family,

As the summer winds down it’s amazing to look out over the first part of this year and see how much we have already experienced here at Calvary in 2012. I suppose that’s to be expected in this 150th year of life together! The pictures prove it; we had a wonderful celebration the first weekend in June, with many, many

dear Calvary members and former members gathered to catch up and reminisce, as well as to share in what Calvary is doing these days. Thanks to all of those who made the time to join the celebration; it was good for this pastor’s heart to see old and new, all together, celebrating the many ways in which this wonderful place has impacted each of our lives.

Now, as we look toward the fall, we’re anticipating stewardship. Stewardship is a word that has been used and abused and overused in churches everywhere, so, with the theme of Re-imagine, we are trying to think about stewardship in new ways this year. What it boils down to in the end is not so much the act of filling in a little card and bringing it up to the front of the church, as much as thoughtfully considering our own level of commitment. The real question we need to confront during stewardship is: am I willing to make a lasting

The most important question we have to ask ourselves this stewardship season is whether we, each one of us, are willing to commit. Will we commit our time, our presence, our energy, our creativity, our skills, our money, our prayer to the work of God here at Calvary? -Amy Butler


Music at Calvary, 2011-12: An Amazing Season! Cheryl Branham, Director of Music

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Thanks to everyone in the Calvary community for supporting another terrific season of Music at Calvary. Standing ovations to all these folks who made it possible; • Sanctuary Choir volunteer singers, including Clark Cooper, Kirsten Hancock, Katie

Harvey, Ryan Harvey, Virginia Sawyer, Paul Lansing, and Betty Mein. • Section Leaders Natalie Barrens-Rogers, Susan Sevier, Dwayne Pinkney, Rameen

Chaharbaghi. • Organists Matt Daley, John Dautzenberg, Wendell Phipps, and our principal sub

Keevin Lewis. • Everyone who made the commitment to sing with us for Festival Choir, both at

Christmas and at Easter. • Children’s Choir, plus all the kids of the Calvary community who participated in Music

for Kids each week, and their parents and teachers who supported our work. • All our gifted congregants who play or sing during the year, either as solo artists or in ensembles. • Friday Morning Music Club, our newest resident partners and frequent collaborators. • AND YOU!

Everyone in the Calvary community contributes to our musical life here by playing or singing out in worship, supporting our children so they can participate, attending special events, giving generously to fund our efforts, and supporting our programs with your prayers. Keep Music at Calvary in mind, and do give generously to maintain our instruments, purchase music, and support music staffing needs. Thank you, Calvary, for all the amazing music in 2011-12!

Plan now to join us as we kick off a new church year in Music at Calvary:

Sanctuary Choir, 10:00 a.m. Rehearsal in the Sanctuary Music for Kids, 12:30 – 1:00 p.m. in the Music Suite

And be sure you’re making plans for the church wide retreat at Camp Fraser in October—we’ll include some rehearsal retreat time for Sanctuary Choir, plus Music for Kids!

We’ll see you in September!

Pastoral Relations Committee Susan Sevier

Chair, Pastoral Relations Committee For a while, there has been a very special committee at Calvary that works in the background–the Pastoral Relations Committee. This committee was created to support the work of the Senior Pastor and the congregation by providing the Senior Pastor with a confidential forum in which to discuss administrative and personal issues that might affect the overall health of the congregation. For example, the Pastoral Relations Committee was instrumental in planning and managing the Senior Pastor’s sabbatical several years ago.

Last year, as we added the Associate of Congregational Life position to our pastoral staffing, we moved to make this kind of support available to all three of our pastors. Our first attempt was to create three separate committees. After a year of trying this structure and after consulting with other congregations and the materials published by the ABC, and in consultation with the Church Council, we have restructured so that there is one committee serving this function. This committee is composed of a member from each of the three leadership bodies (the Moderator, representing the Council; Trustees; and Deacons) and three additional at-large members chosen from a list of nominees presented by each pastor.

We are pleased to announce that the new committee is in the process of forming, and currently includes the following congregation members: Soren Dayton (Moderator), Leigh Mayfield, Julie LaFave, Eugenia Reyes, Amy Dale, and Chuck Andreatta.


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Letters and Snapshots

05.08.12 Dear Amy and Calvary Congregation,

On behalf of the Baptist World Alliance and the Division of Freedom and Justice, Raimundo and I would like to express our deep gratitude for Calvary’s gift in sponsoring Rev. Palacios.

We are excited at the opportunity to be able to include other individuals, who would otherwise be financially limited, to have an active presence and role in the General Council Meeting in Chile.

May the Lord bless Calvary as it prepares to celebrate 150 years of evolving commitment to the social Gospel of Christ locally and globally, in the past, present, and future.

With Sincere Thanks,

Raimundo Barreto and Ashley Coates

06.19.11 Dear Calvary Family,

Thank you so much for the thoughtful reception you held for us, June 17, in honor of our recent marriage. Thank you for your blessings, love and encouragement for us as we take this exciting new step together.

John Davis and Rev. Leah Grundset Davis

06.6.12 Dear Calvary,

The spontaneous comment, “This is not the Calvary we grew up in” keeps coming to mind. We loved her then, but you brought her into the 21st century.

Interacting with the other attendees last weekend was so revealing of the pluralism at work in your congregation. What a wonderful blend of cultures! You are each responsible for melding these together into a strong and committed body.

Sincerely, Diane White Doyle

Pastoral Intern Rich Havard talks about a “pastor’s uniform” (a robe and stoll) during the children’s sermon, Sunday July 8.

Rev. Morgan Caruthers serves communion with Pastor Amy and

Pastor Leah on the day of her ordination,

Sunday, July 8.

Youth and adults from Calvary and Shalom Baptist Church in San Salvador help build a house for Sister Ani, Thursday, August 2.

Children make arts and crafts with

Yolanda Appiah-Kubi at Vacation Bible

School, held at Camp Fraser, Saturday,

June 16.

Calvary youth and adults participate in Shalom Baptist Church’s sports ministry program in a “friendly” match, Saturday, August 4.

06.23.12 Dear Calvary Friends,

We very much enjoyed the time we spent at the 150th and seeing all the great things going on in the church. Blessings for a great rest of the summer!

Love, Kevin and Elizabeth Hagan

The late Dee Robbins shares a moment with

Vivian Nielsen at Calvary’s 150th

Anniversary Worship Service, Sunday, June

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Letters and Snapshots

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07.13.12 Calvary Baptist Church,

We can’t thank you enough for opening your doors and welcoming us into this space for the past three weeks! […] [Passport M2] Camp could not have happened without each of you. Thank you! It has been a joy to be with you!

Peace, Passport M2 Team Marilee, Josh, Elizabeth, Sara

06.15.12 Dear fellowship of Calvary, I give thanks for every time I remember your wonderful hospitality. Your Christ-likeness is inspiring to me and our other church members. […] You have set your eyes with the vision of Christ. Thank you for the revival you have put in my heart because you opened yours.

Dick Graves, Grace Haven

06.19.12

With thanks to Amy and all the staff at Calvary for providing a wonderful gala celebration of the 150th year. […] Warm and best wishes for Calvary’s present and future service to Washington, DC.

Rena Mary Jirack

Calvary members watch the Nationals

vs. the Braves game, Sunday, July 22 (the Nats won!)

Caio Cesar Barreto and Deacon Robinson share communion during VBS at Camp Fraser, Saturday, June 16.

Djuana Mitchell and Jeff Wilson are married during

morning worship, Rev. Dr. Amy Butler

presiding, Sunday, July 22.

Calvary youth and adults learn about the Massacre at El Mozote, recounted by Governor Miguel Ventura of the Morazán, El Salvador.

05.20.12 Dear [Calvary] Celebrants,

[…] I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and take some moments to revel in another pause in time when you can feel all the wonderful things that have been done, and all the wonderful things that will be done, and how the church community, as one heart in Christ, can be the rudder that steers through the waters both calm and overwhelming as we move forward in this precious life together!

Love, Carol Thomason

08.12.12 To Calvary Baptist Church,

I wanted to thank you for being my church family and being the community to ordain me! […] I can only hope to make you all proud as I continue to grow as an minister!

Love you always, Rev. Morgan Caruthers


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Wednesday Night Words Update We always do something special on Wednesday Nights (and those of you who come know that)…and this fall will be no exception. During September, we will hear about the Psalms in worship, and beginning September 26, we are going to continue that study on Wednesday nights. The Psalms are often considered the most human book of the Bible, containing a full range of human anger, sorrow, comfort, praise and love; it is a book of prayer, song and… talking to God. During our week series, we will explore different ways of approaching these texts and try to figure out just how we make these texts our own. If you are interested in learning more about this book and more about the ways in which you learn and approach the text, we hope you will join us on Wednesday nights beginning September 26, at 6:30 p.m. For more information, feel free to email Susan Sevier at [email protected] or Pastor Amy.

Calvary’s Denominational Affiliations Soren Dayton, Moderator

At the July Quarterly Business Meeting, Calvary took a step that had been coming for many years. It formally left the Southern Baptist Convention. I want to quickly run through why and dwell a little bit more on how.

As many of you know, there was a shift, starting in the 1970s, in the Southern Baptist Convention. The idea of “biblical inerrancy” was held up as a prop as part of a populist takeover that led to restrictions on the role of women in leadership in the Southern Baptist tradition and a breakdown of the traditional strong support for the separation of church and state that had been a Baptist idea back to the 1700s. In fact, the entire debate around separation in our country is cast in Baptist terms, with the founding documents coming from a Baptist inspired Virginia Declaration of Human Rights, to the Baptist inspired establishment provision of the first Amendment, to Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists.

Over time, many at Calvary viewed that the SBC diverged from its historic roots. When restrictions were placed on women in ministry in the early 80s, Calvary dissented sharply. Increasingly strong political statements taken by SBC funded and affiliated organizations were a bridge too far. Calvary’s long-standing association with the SBC had been weakened already by the SBC refusing to seat delegates from churches with female ministers and delegates who would not sign a very specific Statement of Faith. By these actions, the SBC had indicated that our participation in their polity was not welcome.

At the January Annual Business Meeting, the congregation unanimously authorized a letter to the SBC signed by the Chairs of our boards of Trustees, the Diaconate, and Missions to the SBC explaining our concerns.

At the April Quarterly Business Meeting, we discussed the SBC’s response, which we believed to be insufficient. The Chairs of the Boards gave notice of an amendment at the next business meeting to remove the SBC from the constitution. The proposed text of that amendment was distributed several weeks later in the Caller.

After hearing no concerns about the text of the amendment, we unanimously adopted the amendment at the July Quarterly Business Meeting. In addition, we reaffirmed our affiliation with the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, American Baptist Churches USA, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and the Alliance of Baptists. This had been the recommendation of the Church Council.

Let me explain briefly why we had to implement this as a constitutional amendment and why and how it was done. Our Constitution listed the particular affiliations, DCBC, ABC and SBC, and gave additional requirements for actions that had to be taken to end those affiliations, thus the letter described above.

The new process will require a recommendation of the Church Council and a vote of the Congregation to affiliate with a new Baptist group. Some have raised concerns that this process is too simple for such an important step for our church. I, for one, have some sympathies with that and would welcome further discussion for how to guarantee that we give proper consideration to changes like this.

I hope that this clarifies why, what, and how we went down this path. As always, I welcome further discussion and comment. Please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] with questions or concerns

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Ever think about a pilgrimage? Last spring, the Wednesday Words small group spent time studying the work of the Iona Group (www.iona.org.uk/iona_community.php) and particularly their work in the field of revitalizing community and worship as carried throughout the world by one of their more famous members, Rev. John Bell. And at the time, some of us thought it might be quite an experience to visit Iona.

During the summer months, Iona hosts a worship festival/retreat and here is our question to you…anyone interest in a pilgrimage? The proposed date of the Wild Goose Resource Group Worship week is July 13-19, 2013, and group bookings will begin in September. During this week, participants have a chance to explore art and music and prayer and nature at the amazing Iona Abbey in Scotland. We already have a group of 6 that are interested in attending, the more the merrier (and the more, the better the travel rates we can negotiate).

If you are interested, please contact Susan Sevier at [email protected] to join the planning group and to keep up-to-date on the information for this pilgrimage.

Pillars of Calvary Baptist Church: Al Nielsen and Bill Harward

Amy Butler, Senior Pastor Ken Butler, Chairman, Board of Trustees

Aldon (Al) Nielsen and William (Bill) Harward, Jr. deserve a great deal of thanks from all of us at Calvary Baptist Church for their dedication and generosity to our church. Until recently, they were the trustees of the Kendall Mission Fund established by one of the first members of Calvary, Amos Kendall. Before he passed away in 1869, Mr. Kendall endowed a fund to help establish new Sunday schools in the District of Columbia that would grow into new self-sustaining Baptist churches. Over the years, the Kendal Mission Fund supported many worthwhile efforts including funding the start of the Calvary Burmese Church. In recent years, the use of the funds for the intended purpose of Amos Kendall was very limited.

Therefore, in honor of Calvary’s 150th anniversary, Al and Bill decided that the best use of the $250,000 in remaining funds was to transfer those funds to a donor restricted account where the monies would be used solely for extraordinary maintenance and major replacements for the Calvary sanctuary building. Few people realize that Mr. Kendall largely financed the building that now houses our sanctuary. A very appropriate and very generous gift indeed!

We have just celebrated in glorious style our 150th anniversary and Al Nielsen and Bill Harward, Jr. have played a huge role in getting Calvary to where we are today. Through this generous act they lay the foundation for our church moving forward for the next 150 years, and on behalf of the entire congregation we say a BIG THANK YOU!

To close, we pass on to you a quote contained in a book edited in 1872 by William Stickney, the son-in-law of Amos Kendall about his father-in-law: Mr. Kendall said “I would say to the Calvary Baptist church, it is my strong desire that they should all live in unity and brotherly love; that they all perform their duties to themselves and their God, so as to prove the sincerity of their faith; that they should be examples of true Christian faith; that they should be examples of that spirit which belongs to unselfishness;…”

There is no doubt in our minds that Aldon Nielsen and William Harward, Jr. have lived up to those wonderful words of Amos Kendall.

Thanks to Rich Havard!

T h i s s u m m e r , Calvary had the oppor tun i ty to welcome a pastoral intern from McAfee School of Theology, Rich Havard. Rich jumped right in his first week as part of the Calvary staff during a whirlwind 150th celebration week. Rich spent the rest of the summer working on several important Calvary projects, including organizing the fall stewardship campaign and undertaking an extensive study of church structure, such as interviews with numerous Calvary members and a study of the structures of other congregations. Rich’s summer ended with his role as chaperone on the youth trip to El Salvador. He returns to Atlanta for his second year of Divinity School and we will miss him. Many thanks, Rich!

150th Gala, June 2 Autumn 2012 Calvary Caller

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Photos taken bv Scott Henrichsen, Henrichsen Photography, 2012.


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Worship and Luncheon, June 3

Prints of all photos taken are available at http://scottfoto.zenfolio.com/calvarybaptist/150th


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For the Glory of God

By Rev. Edgar Palacios, Associate Pastor of Christian Education

On July 6, 2012, at noon in Santiago, Chile, I received the Denton & Janice Lotz Human Rights Award from the Baptist World Alliance. It was a great honor to be recognized by the larger organization as a representative of Baptists in the world. I received this award for activism in defense of human rights, for my participation in the termination of the war in El Salvador and the achievement of the Peace Accords. I received this award with humility and gratitude to the Lord who saw fit to place me in the leadership of the social forces that fought peacefully for peace.

The war lasted 12 years and has its origin in economic and political issues. The economic system and structural injustice created an untenable situation in El Salvador. Poverty, unemployment, lack of economic resources and agricultural assistance were rampant problems. The democratic means of governing had been blocked. Faced with protests and demonstrations from the people, the government responded with indiscriminate repression leading to massacres, and assassinations of community leaders from all sectors of Salvadoran society. The war left more than 75,000 dead, thousands missing and about a million migrants who were forced to leave their country to escape the violence.

Achieving the Peace Accords and end of the war was the product and work of many internal and external stakeholders. The socio-political struggle was led by the Standing Committee of the National Debate for Peace (SCNDP) which brought together all the social forces of all sectors of society. This organization was an independent, self funded Christian inspiration. Along with other social heroic leaders, I had the privilege of being the coordinator and then the CEO of this great peace movement in El Salvador.

I served as Pastor of the Shalom Baptist Church of San Salvador when I organized the SCNDP. Shalom participated in the achievement of peace and I put my whole being, consciousness, efforts and practice into this process. We also had access to strategically lobby the U.S. Congress. My beloved wife Amparo Palacios, who is now with the Lord, took the valuable work of running our office at the Methodist Building on Capitol Hill so the Salvadoran people could strongly express their voices from El Salvador and urge with conviction U.S. peacekeeping.

The result of all our efforts was palpable when Amparo and I were invited to be present at the signing ceremony of the Peace Accords in Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City on January 16, 1992. This moment was the result of various collective efforts nationally and internationally. As Baptist ministers, my wife and I could feel our hearts swell with joy. We had contributed to peace. All that was left was to begin the implementation of the peace agreements, aiding democracy to overcome the problem of economic injustice.

Twenty years later, as one of the pastors here at Calvary, I am honored to be recognized by the Baptist World Alliance with the Denton & Janice Lotz Human Rights Award. I receive this award while holding dear my professional colleagues, my friends in the cause of peace, and on behalf of my beloved wife Amparo.

The God of history simply anointed me to work for peace. Glory be to the Lord.

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Caller Available by Email

Do you have access to email? Would you like to receive the Caller as soon as it is available, in color and save paper and postage at the same time? For more information send an email to [email protected].

Over the Summer -- Myra Houser coordinates Calvary’s English as a Second Language program. If you can volunteer, speak to Myra Houser. Classes can be arranged anytime to fit your schedule. Vacation Bible School was a wonderful time again for our children and youth at Camp Fraser with thanks to Danyelle Robinson, Eugenia Reyes and Pastor Edgar for their leadership. The Youth Immersion Mission Trip to El Salvador was a meaningful and fun experience for our youth. Learn more about their trip at the Shalom Scholarship Luncheon on September 16.

Several Calvary volunteers again staffed a booth at the CAPITAL PRIDE festival under the able organization of Courtney Rice. Meals were prepared and served to women at the Calvary Women’s Shelter in May, July and September. During Church school hours, our combined adult classes studied the book, Speaking Christian: Redeeming Christian Language by Marcus Borg. Lively and informative discussions followed a presentation each week.

Rick Goodman organized a special study on Justice in Palestine/Israel. We were delighted to welcome GJ Tarazi, a Palestinian-American member of Ravensworth Baptist Church; Ambassador Warren Clark, Executive Director of Churches for Middle East Peace; and two young Palestinians, Amani and Deena who talked about their experiences living in Palestine under the Israeli occupation and in the US as part of the Palestinian diaspora. This group plans to meet again in September, to respond to the Kairos document, a communication from Palestinian Christians asking Christians around the world to respond to their situation peacefully and non-violently.

Looking ahead to the fall, Calvary members will help enroll DC residents as Washington Interfaith Network voters and participate in efforts with their sister group, Action in Montgomery (AIM), to support the Maryland DREAM Act which will be a ballot initiative in the November election. Edith Miller Scholarship Committee awarded scholarships to Calvary members attending college for the fall semester, 2012. A donation from the prison ministry fund at Calvary (which lay dormant for about 20 years) was sent to Circle of Mercy Church in Asheville, NC to assist Chaplain Nancy Sehested in her prison ministry. A very nice thank you note was received from the church.

Plans continue to develop for an El Salvador Mentorship Program. Attendees on the fall 2011 mission trip to El Salvador felt it would be wise to complement the Shalom Scholarship program with some kind of mentorship or post-graduate fellowship program to deepen the experience of the existing students. Do plan to attend the Shalom Scholarship Dinner on September 16, where you will hear more about our Shalom scholars and this mentorship program – and enjoy the always delicious meal prepared by Roberto Reyes and his team of chefs and bakers!

Calvary Baptist Yard Sale will be October 17, 18 and 19, and after church on Sunday, October 22. Bring your good but extraneous “stuff” to Kendall 5 anytime in the next few weeks.

Future Fair, a gathering where high school students can learn about apprenticeship programs, trade schools and other alternatives to college, will be held February 2, 2013.

Thanks, and please contact the church office for any questions!

Mission and Christian Education Boards

By Carol Blythe, Chair, Mission Board

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New Member Spotlight!

Amy Sullivan is a journalist who writes about religion and politics, most recently as a senior editor at TIME magazine. A Michigan native, Amy moved to DC over 17 years ago, around the same time she gave up on the idea of finding a Baptist church that was involved in social justice and valued women in leadership. After making the rounds of nearly every mainline denomination in DC, Amy is thrilled to have found Calvary and to stop calling herself a "former Baptist." She and her not-quite-two-year-old daughter Finoula look forward to being an active part of the Calvary community.

Lu Shan was born and raised in China. Daniel Alcazar-Roman was born and raised in Peru. After high school, they both decided to go to Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. They first met in the college cafeteria with Lu looking puzzled about Daniel's ethnicity. Since then, they have lived and breathed culture diversity. They got married 12 years ago and have lived in the San Francisco bay area and Houston and recently moved to the DC area. Lu has a PhD in biochemistry and works for a pharmaceutical company in research and drug development. Daniel is a science curriculum specialist for Alexandria City Public Schools. They live in Potomac, MD with their two lovely daughters, Rachel (5.5 years old) and Ruthie (2). They enjoy good food and company. They have attended churches with different affiliations over the years and were members of South Main Baptist Church in Houston. They are happy to have found a home in Calvary and look forward to living out God's vision with the new family.

Sabrina Jawed and Tom Vanaskie originally hail from Pakistan and Pennsylvania, respectively. They both moved to the area in 2006 and met in law school in 2009. Currently, Sabrina and Tom work as attorneys for the federal government. Sabrina and Tom enjoy biking and can often be seen with their bike helmets in tow at service! Tom plays the guitar, is learning the banjo, and brews his own beer. Sabrina enjoys singing, cooking, and the theater. Both are very excited about their decision to join Calvary, and are looking forward to getting more involved with Calvary.


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Summer Facilities By the Numbers

Check out how the Calvary facilities have been used during the summer months:

• The Theatre Lab welcomed 410 enrollees ages 5-19; 42 % of enrollees received financial aid from The Theatre Lab $6,000 raised in scholarship funds through Send a Kid to Camp campaign ($73,000 distributed so far in 2012); • 15 performances given for the public, for a combined attendance of over 1,000; • 64 musical numbers learned; • 51 summer staffers (including counselors, directors, designers and interns);

• 1 very special performance by Co-Executive Directors Deb Gottesman and Buzz Mauro at Calvary's 150th anniversary gala.

• Passport Missions 2 Camp welcomed 4 staffers and 190 campers (youth & adults) from VA, NC, SC, FL, TN, GA, AL, & MD attended camps over 3 weeks time;

• campers performed about 4,188 hours of mission service with various DC-area agencies, including Christ House, Seabury Resources for the Aging, Martha's Table, Luther Rice Memorial Baptist Church, Community Family Life Services, The Steinbruck Center, Food & Friends, and various City Gate locations;

• Theresa Beaton & Betty Crudup served 2,626 meals to the staff and campers; • Campers slept in Kendall Hall and used Shallenberger hall for meals, Bible study, and worship services; • In addition to eating a

lot and serving on mission sites, campers participated in Bible studies, worship, fellowship, and fun!

• Brainfood Summer Institute participants had a fun filled 5 weeks of cooking, eating, building leadership and communication skills, learning how to work in teams and making new friends; Over 20 high school aged youth from 7 different DC PS high schools and 2 Maryland area schools attended the program. Over 35 recipes were made by participants, 2 classes were taught by guest chefs; • 4 lasagnas were made and donated to Thrive DC; At the end of the 5 weeks,

participants prepared food for 50 friends and family members for our Open Kitchen Celebration in Shallenberger Hall;

• Some of the dishes we made include: ratatouille, Mediterranean millet burgers, hummus and pita chips, mini quiches, peach and blueberry galettes and more!!

• Our Community MVPs program of second year Brainfood students is slated to lead 5 healthy cooking demos at farmers’ markets in DC. They’ve already led 3 demos using their human-powered bike blender to make tofu berry smoothies this summer!


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September 1-3 Latino Fellowship Retreat 5 Labor Day, Offices Closed 9 Sanctuary Worship and

Sunday School Resumes 13 Church Council Meeting

Brian McLaren Book Tour 14 Shalom Scholarship

Luncheon, Report from El Salvador Mission Team

October 5 Friday Morning Music Club

(FMMC) Concert

7 Ordination of Rachel Johnson during morning worship

8 Columbus Day, Offices Closed 12 FMMC Concert 19 FMMC Concert 21 Stewardship Sunday 26 Autumn Leaves, Fall Retreat FMMC Concert 28 Quarterly Business Meeting

November 4 All Saints Day 5 Daylight Savings time ends,

(fall back)

11 Veteran’s Day, Offices Closed 22 Thanksgiving Day, Offices

Closed

December 1 Hanging of the Green 2 Advent Conspiracy: Give More 9 Advent Conspiracy: Spend

Less 16 Advent Conspiracy: Worship

Fully 23 Advent Conspiracy: Love All 24 Christmas Eve Worship 25 Christmas Day, Offices Closed

On the Calvary Calendar

Autumn Birthdays

For current information and additional details regarding Calvary programs and events, visit Calvary’s website, calvarydc.org or Calvary’s facebook page for our Google Calendar. “Offices” refers to the Church Offices.

September 1 Paul Rice Sarah Salazar Floyd Smith 3 Eric Bebber Ronald Mortzfeldt Alejandra Rodriguez 4 Cailin Dyer 6 Min Cen Francisco Pereira- Decorado 8 John Duffell 9 Lois Lansing 10 Judy Mein 11 Natalie Barrens- Rogers Jessica Bergfalk 12 Luis Canales 14 Meara Dietrick 15 Clayton Burneston Brenda Canales Finoula Sullivan 16 Joy Angdisen Linda Mitchell 17 Edna Burneston 18 Mary Altman Jane Huie Paul Lansing 19 Jay Mayfield 20 Jackie Brown Djuna Mitchell Jason Smith 21 Lori McDonald 22 Judie Adams Ever Galindo- Escobar 23 Carol Blythe 25 Nina Malega

26 Ruth Burness George Burneston 27 Sandra Eusebio Jeff Wilson 28 Abbey Ammerman Becky Huncosky Abby Lew 29 Amy Ward-Meier October 1 Isaac Bergfalk Xander Dyer Janet Grove 2 Ella White 3 Lucy Beltran 4 Chuck Andreatta Julie Greene Cary Mayo Gene Saupp 5 Jo Jo Angdisen Zayda Lopez-Arias 7 Kathy Clark Taylor Neely 8 Elisabeth Frost 9 Mark Thayer 10 Hunter Pritchard 11 Ashley Dalton Chip Pritchard 12 Matt Butler Tanya Coble Rosella Duarte 13 Elia Santos Barreto 14 Venus Baucom Meredith Mathis 15 Ricky Clark Adolph Cody 16 Eloise Nielsen 17 Mary Susan Boxer 19 Jose Luis Eusebio

20 Catherine Neely 21 Andi Sullivan 22 Haven Bergfalk Janis Bunch Kimberley Edwards Aldon L. Nielsen 23 Rachel Alcazar Gabe Lee- Villanueva Rick Teller 24 José Durán Bill Fahey Kevin Hagan 25 Barbara Bicchieri 26 Ted Shaw Sui Thang 27 Charles Davis William Harward, III Marjorie Lew Matthew Ripley- Moffitt Jenny Smith 28 Kenneth Harward 29 Jenny Goon 30 Alicia Wise 31 Ruth Speyer November 1 Esther Wray 3 Josh Keller Zoe Malega 5 Amparo Palacios- Lopez John Taylor 7 Nancy Fellman Will Short 8 Eugenia Reyes 9 Monica Swinney 10 Robert Harward

11 Aaron Frederick Wesley Hanford Lorna Harrison Myra Houser Francisco Pereira- Escobar 14 Merv Hoffer Carter Vaughn 15 Yolanda Appiah- Kubi 16 Allen Dalton Lis Greene 17 Haven Baucom Earl Drescher Steven Waters 18 Claudia Moore Helen M. Neill 19 Bryan Edwards Emerald Frierson Jay Lansing Emma Whitmer 21 Irma Robertson 22 Chris Bergfalk Ric Clark Christian Vang 23 Stanford Pritchard 25 William Baucom Rodney Bolton Jessica Lynd 28 Jerry James Angdisen Gina Underwood 29 Isabel Noelia Docampo DaMarcus Hart Colin James 30 Virginia Aquino

Terry Arima


15


Re-imagining our Stewardship By Rich Havard, Summer Pastoral Intern and Michelle Harris-Love, Stewardship Committee Chair

We live in a culture of consumerism, which teaches us that no matter how much we have, it’s never enough. The only antidote to the bondage of consumerism is generosity. This year’s campaign theme, Re-imagine, is based on Ephesians 3:20–Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by God’s power at work within us.

It is time to Re-imagine what stewardship means for us, individually and as a community – and how it can help us stand against the prevailing winds of consumerism. This year, we are claiming God’s promise from Ephesians as we faithfully answer the call to be good and generous stewards of all that God has given us. As we boldly give with free and generous hearts, we believe that God will do far more than we can imagine with what we offer.

Make Us One, Lord Jason Smith, Director of Youth Activities

Our Mission Immersion to El Salvador July 30 to August 6 was a wonderful opportunity for Calvary Youth to come together with Shalom Baptist Church. We hauled dirt and gravel for the construction of a house for a family in distress, learned about Salvadoran history and culture, played soccer, and worshipped together.

Our deacon Rachel Johnson summed up our week very well. “As we shared about our week on our final night, a common hope among all of us is that we would continue to strengthen the bonds and relationships formed this week. In the eyes of Shalom, and of all of us, we are truly one church family and we hope to con-tinue to grow together in the years ahead. “

Thank you Calvary, for sharing in our adventures with us and supporting us along the way!

Rev. Dr. Amy K. Butler, Senior Pastor Harold L. Ritchie, Editor Emeritus Paul Rosstead, Church Administrator Jason Smith, Ministry Assistant 202-347-8355; Fax: 202-347-6360 www.calvarydc.org Published Quarterly POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Calvary Caller Calvary Baptist Church & Congregation 755 8th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001

Calvary Caller

Autumn 2012

Calvary Baptist Church

NONPROFIT AUTO

U.S. POSTAGE PAID WASHINGTON, DC PERMIT No. 2482

Brian McLaren’s National Book Tour

Calvary Baptist Church Thursday, September 13, 6:30 p.m.

We are excited to host the DC stop for Brian McLaren’s national book tour entitled, Why did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Muhammad Cross the Road?” When four religious leaders walk across the road in McLaren’s book, it’s not the beginning of a joke. It’s the start of one of the most important conversations in today’s, post-9/11 world.

Since 9/11 the question has become more and more urgent: How should Christians—members of the world’s largest religion—treat members of other religions? If we maintain an “Us vs. Them” attitude or make conversion the price of love and fellowship, we fuel mutual misunderstanding and hostility. But if we buy tolerance for other faiths at the cost of commitment to our own, we undermine our own faith.

In his best book yet, widely acclaimed author and speaker Brian McLaren proposes a third alternative to these unsatisfactory options, one built on “benevolence and solidarity rather than rivalry and hostility.” This way of being Christian is strong but it doesn’t strong-arm anyone. It goes far beyond mere tolerance to vigorous hospitality toward, interest in, and collaboration with the other. It is more necessary than ever before.

Advance tickets are available at www.lifeinthetrinityministry.com/mclarenbooktour/locations for $15 or $20 at the door.

autumn caller 2012

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