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March 14, 2010
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Calvary Church was established at the Evangelical Children's Home in 1929 and later moved to a store front location on St. Charles Rock Road.  Our present structure was built on the corner of Graceland and Hartland avenues in 1939, with the large educational building added in 1959.  We celebrated our 75th Anniversary as a church in 2004.

Our members are active in denominational work through the St. Louis Association, the Missouri Confernece and General Synod of the United Church of Christ.  In addition, we support the work of the National Council of Churches.  Locally, we are a member of the Ritenour Miniterial Association which seeks to address local needs and issues.

At Calvary

 

We accept each person as a unique creation of God and respond to God's loving commission revealed through Jesus Christ by worshipping, learning, reaching out, growing and working together.  In this way, we proclaim the Word of God, teach the Good News of Jesus Christ, and with the power of the Holy Spirit, advance God's rule throughout the world.

 We practice OPEN COMMUNION.  All who love Jesus, who desire peace with their neighbors and seek the mercy of God are invited to come to the Lord's table.  The Sacrament of Holy Communion is celebrated at appropriate times during the Church year, usually the first Sunday of each month.

We strive for a learned laity who share fully in ministry to each other and the world.

Calvary strongly emphasizes Christianstewardship of our time, talents, and financial resources.

 Our church priority is mission.  Our weekly offering is distributed to outreach projects before taking care of our internal needs.

We understand "family"to have many meanings today:  traditional, non traditional, single parent, singles, residents of the Evangelical Children's Home, intergenerational and "church family". 

We are committed to justice for the poor and oppressed, equality for all persons regardless of race, creed, gender or orientation and to shalom, peace between all peoples of the earth.

We are a diverse congregation representing many different viewpoints, but we encourage everyone to be a minister in ways appropriate to their personal views.
 

Origins:  The United Church of Christ came into being in 1957 with the union of two Protestant denominations:  the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church.  The roots of the Congregational side of our UCC family go back to the Pilgrims and Puritans of New England, while the E&R side owes its heritage to two groups of German Christians who settled in Pennsylvania during the mid-1700s and here in Missouri in the mid-1800s.   

From the beginning of our history, we were a church that affirmed the ideal that Christians did not always have to agree to live together in communion. Our motto-"that they may all be one"-is Jesus' prayer for the unity of the church. The UCC is one of the most diverse Christian churches in the United States.

Beliefs:  We affirm:

Jesus Christ as the sole head of the church and welcome  all who accept him as Lord and Savior.

The primacy of the Bible as a sosurce for understanding the good news.  We study and learn from God's Holy Word using modern tools of interpretation.

Two sacraments:  Baptism and the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion. 

The priesthood of all believers while recognizing those who have received special training.

 Responsible freedom of each member and each congregation while living in covenant with other Christians and other UCC congregations.

In essentials unity, in non-essentials diversity, in all things charity.

Relationships:  The UCC has over 5,700 congregations in 50 states; and there are 59 congregations here in St. Louis.  Calvary UCC is a member of the St. Louis Association of the Missouri Conference of the United Church of Christ
Copyright (c) 2010 Calvary United Church of Christ