New Life At Calvary

For the first time in recorded history, a F-1 Tornada touched down in midtown Cleveland, OH. The tornada was a 150 yards wide and traveled for .79 miles. In its path lay New Life At Calvary, a church that has sat of the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 79th Street for 141 years. New Life At Calvary is known for its service to the community, its love for its youth, and its outreach to other parts of the world. The impact of the tornado litterally tore the roof off of the building landing it on East 79th Street. The education wing which houses the children's area, the nursery area, and the music room was completely destroyed. The enclosed entrance into the building was demolished by the force of the wind and the crashing of stones and bricks which fell as the roof was torn from its structure. The main sanctuary has a very large tree, that was uprooted by the force of the wind, leaning against the roof and side of the building. Until the tree is removed and the sanctuary can be checked for structural damage, the city will not allow it to be used by the congregation.

New Life At Calvary is a community serving church. It serves both hot meals and food bags each month to members of a very diverse community. It has worked in conjuction with other churches and synagogues in the past to prepare hot meals the last week of the month. The church has established, "Calvary's Closet" to provide free clothing to members of the community. In response to the violence in the community, New Life At Calvary opens its doors to families who have lost family members to violence and they can use the building, kitchen, and fellowship hall for free for funerals, memorial services and repasts. The roof of the building that was torn off houses several of these programs. The church provides bus tickets and other assistance to members of the community. Is has offered tutoring programs to assist youth with reading and homework assisgnments.

New Life At Calvary is a church committed to the youth in the church and the community. The church offers summer camp on site for youth for six weeks in the summer and then sends youth away for overnight camp in Pennsylvania at Pine Valley Camp. There are special activities for youth in the parking lot at Halloween with our trunk or treat program to keep the kids safe off the streets. The congregation sponsors community and church kids with gifts at Christmas time. There are Easter egg hunts for the young youth. Graduating seniors are provided small scholarships to help pay for books at College. The youth are very involved in the media ministry, the music ministry, and the dance minstry of the church. We have provided free piano lessons for both community and church youth. Unfortunately, our music room with about 12 keyboards was directly underneath a section of the roof torn off and those keyboards were all destroyed and need to be replaced before those lessons can continue.

New Life at Calvary is a church with a heart for the people beyond our borders. The church suppports an orphanage in Nigeria called Rotolu Home and has done so for the past 35 years. Many of those orphans grew up to work in all areas of Nigerian society including education, ministry, and medicine. The church has a partnership with a church in India. We partnered with that congregation about 20 years ago to assist with the payment of a home for the pastor so that when he and his wife retired, they would have their own home. In March of 2023 we celebrated with them the final payment on that home. We continue to assist the church with the payment of the pastor's salary. We provide a stipend each month for the pastor's wife medical bills. The church has supported and continues to support ministries in Haiti. The Church's Christmas offering has often gone to purchase the freedom of slaves in Sudan.