Attention all High Schoolers, 8th graders and Adults interested in leading! You are invited to be part of Calvary’s Workcamp trip this year in Nashville, Tennessee from July 5–July 11, 2026.

An informational meeting to learn more will be held on Sunday, March 29 between services (approx 10:05-10:25am) in Room 113/115.

Calvary will join Group Mission Trips “Week of Hope” and experience community service opportunities such as light home repairs or yard-work, serving meals, helping to lead a day camp for kids, working with kids or adults with disabilities, or possibly sharing stories with a person in an assisted-living facility. In the evenings, we’ll have fun with games, movie night, devotions, worship and much more! Housing will be provided in a Nashville church. Workcampers get to share hope in the name of Jesus, grow themselves spiritually and develop lasting friendships with others. Join the team and get ready to serve and have a ton of fun!
The total cost for each workcamper is $400. We want anyone who is interested to be able to attend, so please don’t let cost stop you from being part of Workcamp. If cost is an issue at all, please fill out this form so Calvary can help.
For more information about this mission trip, please email Vince Rohn.
Go here for more information on Group Mission Trips.

Registration & Payment:
To register, please fill out this Registration Form by Monday, Apr 27, 2026
After completing the Registration Form, the confirmation email you receive will include a link to a form for Group Mission Trips. Please complete that as soon as possible.
If you have already registered and want to make another payment go to this form.

We are going to assemble rice packs that will be distributed by Midwest Food Bank in Calvary's gym on April 7. At 5:30, there will be a light dinner served and at 6:00, the work begins! We've always had a lot of fun in the past (while providing nutritious meals for so many people)! Come join us!
If you plan to join for the meal beforehand, please be sure to sign up so we have enough food for everyone! 

We will be adding a youth choir to our 9 a.m. service on Palm Sunday! Any student preschool through high school is welcome. This ensemble will be singing an Introit (beginning of the service) with the adult choir. If you have a student who is interested please contact Leah Megli, Leslie Gully, or Lori Short so we can have an accurate number count. Practice materials are available here and we will have one rehearsal between services on Sunday, March 22. Hope to see you there!

Join us for Holy Week!

March 29 at 9 or 10:30 a.m. for Palm Sunday Services
April 2 at 6:30 p.m. for Maundy Thursday Service
April 3 at 6:30 p.m. for Good Friday Service
April 5 at 9 or 10:30 a.m. for Easter Sunday Services

The United Methodist Church recognizes that all Christians have a role in the work of the Church. Lay Servant ministries is one way to do that as a United Methodist Church. If you are interested in serving in this way, here is some information about how you can start that journey: About Lay Servant Ministries.

This Wednesday morning Bible Study is led by Sharyl Jennings in room 111 from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays, starting February 25. You can purchase your own copy of the book on Amazon or Christian Books. Reach out to Sharyl if you have any questions. Everyone is welcome!
About the study:
Lysa TerKeurst knows what it’s like to consider God just another thing on her to-do list. For years she went through the motions of a Christian life: Go to church. Pray. Be nice. She longed for a deeper connection between what she knew in her head and her everyday reality, and she wanted to personally experience God’s presence. Drawing from her own remarkable story of step-by-step faith, Lysa invites you to uncover the spiritually exciting life for which we all yearn.

During the season of Lent this year, Calvary UMC will be joining in an All-Church Study of the book "Why Did Jesus Have to Die" by author and pastor Adam Hamilton. This book, and its connecting study, asks us to consider some of the spiritual practices that we can include in our lives to help us draw closer to God.
Our Sunday morning worship services will be focusing on themes connected to the book from March 1 to April 5. We will also be offering a variety of Small Group and Sunday School classes offering a group study connected to this worship series, and we are encouraging everyone to find a class or group to connect with during the season of Lent (either one you already are part of or one you might join). We will have copies of the book for sale at the Welcome Center on Sunday mornings (beginning February 8) for $17. Everyone is encouraged to pick up a copy and read a chapter a week through Lent.

From Pastor Vince

The end of 2025 brought a couple of reminders of the generosity of those who call Calvary UMC our church home. In early December, I shared an email that the church was running behind our expected financial goals and was likely to end 2025 with a significant financial deficit. Many people responded to that call, the spirit of generosity that is common at the holidays, and traditional end of the year giving; and I am pleased to say that we ended the 2025 at a virtual breakeven point from a financial perspective. Our year-end financial report shows a loss of $2,132 for 2025, but given the size of our budget and expenses that loss is less than .02% of our expenses. Thank you to all who responded so faithfully, and as we move into 2026 please remember that Calvary UMC continues to have financial needs if we are going to fully live into the call of God and live out all of the ministries that we can in Jesus's name. I remain convinced that there is no better place to invest our giving than in the life changing work of God through Calvary UMC.

I also want to share that our Christmas Eve offering at our three services totaled $11,883. We had pledged half of that offering to go to Home Sweet Home Ministries to support their Bridge project to help provide shelter to our unhoused neighbors. We have sent that check, and the Bridge will be welcoming its first residents anytime now.

We need your help to prepare and serve meals at Safe Harbor! Please contact Tammy Carlson (309) 533-6663 or tk.carlson@yahoo.com

We have several opportunities available to serve our neighbors for 2026:

• May 1 & 15

• June 5

• July 17

• August 1 & 14

• September 4

• October 2 & 16

• November 6 & 20

• December 18

Pastor Vince Rohn and staff of Calvary visited The Bridge and prayed over the buildings and grounds along with other local churches. We learned about the ways Home Sweet Home Ministries will be breaking barriers to help those who are experiencing homelessness in ways other shelters haven’t been able to do so before. Please continue to pray over the 56 individuals who have moved in, as well as the staff working there. Calvary is blessed to be able to support this ministry and those in our community. If you are interested in learning more about Home Sweet Home Ministries or their needs, please check out their website.

Everyone - we need volunteers! If you are interested in helping our community reach out to our liaison Jan Kibler.
Volunteer orientations are the first Tuesday of the month at 2:30 p.m. at the ARC Community Room. Sign up to volunteer here. 

Updates from Faith in Action:
There is a wait list for care receivers (except cancer and dialysis patients).
Fannie May Sale (Shop to Donate to FIA) 307 Veterans Parkway Suite 512 is on March 19, 2026 from noon-4:00pm. Find more information here.  
The Spring Bus Trip to Mackinaw Island scheduled for May 18-22, 2026 is currently full.
The Fall Bus Trip to Boston, Salem & the North Shore scheduled for September 22-30, 2026 is currently full.
A Volunteer Blessing and Dinner will be held at St. John’s Lutheran Church on April 30, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.

Our next day to meet for the Backpack Ministry is April 15 at 10:45 a.m. on the lower level of the Preschool wing.  We will assemble food bags for the students of Parkside Elementary School to provide food for the weekends.  All ages and abilities are welcome to come and help. Please contact Brenda Leopard, leopardhouse5@gmail.com if you have any questions.

47% of area students qualify for free and reduced lunch through their school. With grocery prices on the rise it is getting harder for families to afford food for meals.  Midwest Food Bank tries to fill that gap for families by providing food for students that qualify for free and reduced lunch over their weekends when students are at home and not in school. Calvary has been a partner with Parkside Elementary School for many years now and this year we will be partnering with them again to provide bags of food for the children to take home for the weekend. Each month we receive a pallet of food from Midwest Food Bank and we meet as a group and unload the truck, organize the food and pack grocery bags that are delivered to Parkside Elementary School and given to the students on Friday to take home for the weekend. We are in need of volunteers to help once a month to unload the truck, organize the food and pack the bags. We meet at 10:45 a.m. in the lower level (North wing of church basement) classrooms on April 15, and May 13.
All ages and abilities are welcome to help. If you have any questions please contact Brenda Leopard.

It’s Habitat for Humanity Season! 
Calvary is proud to announce our sponsorship of the Faith House for the 2025–2026 building season — Habitat for Humanity of McLean County's 201st house!
Build Dates: Third Saturday of each month
Location: 701 West Market Street, Bloomington
Time: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Who Can Volunteer: No experience required! Volunteers must be 16 years or older
Snacks Needed: Calvary is also looking for people to provide snacks for volunteers
If you're looking for a meaningful way to give back, Habitat for Humanity volunteering is a great place to be. Let’s make this another incredible season of service and community!

In Matthew 25:35, Jesus says, “For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger, and you invited me in.” This verse captures the heart of our mission. Through the distribution of food and drinks, Midwest Food Bank supplies partner agencies with the resources they need to reach the lost, lonely, and hungry in our community. 
As food insecurity continues to rise, so does the need for dedicated volunteers to help distribute these vital supplies. We’re reaching out to local churches to come together in faith and service—living out Matthew 25:35 in a tangible, impactful way. 
Our greatest volunteer need is during our Distribution days, when partner agencies pick up food to share with their clients. Volunteers help load cases of food onto carts and into vehicles. If you can lift 30 pounds, you can be a part of this important work! 
To support this effort, we’re forming a Servant Squad—a group of volunteers willing to step in when extra hands are needed. Servant Squad members will receive an email with a sign-up link and can choose the dates and times that work best for them. It’s simple, flexible, and incredibly meaningful. 
Anyone interested in joining the Servant Squad just needs to fill out the sign-up form to get started. 

Do you have college students in your household? Let Calvary college care send your students encouraging inspirations and blessings by mail, email or text. It will be a reminder that their Calvary family will continue to pray for them and continue to be an important part of their faith journey. Click on this link to sign up. In order for us to have the current information, the form needs to be completed each year.

Dream Weavers uses plastic grocery bags to weave mats for those in situations where a simple sleeping mat is needed. We meet in Room 4 on the lower level on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays (10 a.m.- noon), and the 2nd and 4th Sundays (2-4 p.m.) of each month. Come join us - no experience necessary! For more information, contact Larry or Lurinda Venezia or Sandy Dickson.

Our Calvary Garden Team with the help of Larry Gamblin has donated 1409 pounds of fresh produce to Midwest Food Bank, and various other food pantries in Bloomington Normal during this 2025 growing season. We have a great team, but never turn away anyone who would like to help. We usually pick and wash vegetables on Saturday mornings, and then deliver later that morning. If you would like to get involved please reach out to the church office and we will add you to our text group. 

Thanks to the generosity of the people of Calvary UMC, and the leading and blessing of God, we have already exceeded our goal of $8,000 for classroom furnishings, school supplies, restrooms, and a septic system at the school we have helped to build in Fev, Haiti! We will be in conversation with our friends in Fev to make sure that 100% of the money we receive through this appeal will go to the school and church in Fev, used for cost overruns on construction, additional supplies, or other needs at the school and church. Thank you to everyone who has given to allow the children of Fev to receive the gift of an education and all of the people of Fev the gift of hope.

Calvary serves meals at Safe Harbor ever first and third Friday of the month. If you are interested in serving, please contact Tammy Carlson. If you are new or have questions, please feel free to reach out! 

Our food pantry has been getting a lot of use the last few weeks, which is a wonderful thing. If you ar considering bringing items, the following have been flying off the shelves:

• canned meats (tuna, chicken, beef, spam)

• dried and canned fruits, roasted and salted nuts, and /or trail mixes of all varieties

• boxed macaroni and cheese

• baby necessities (wipes, formula, diapers of all sizes)

Thank you, Calvary, for your continued generosity! Let’s keep it up!

Calvary’s food pantry is a great lifeline for those in our community who need food assistance. Your contributions are welcome at any time. Here is a list of suggested items to bring in:

Protein Sources 

• Canned: tuna, chicken, salmon, or other meat

• Dried: or canned beans (black beans, chickpeas, pinto beans)

• Peanut butter: or other nut butters

Grains 

• Pasta

• Rice: and rice mixes

• Oatmeal: and other hot cereals

• Whole-grain: bread, crackers, and cereal

Fruits & Vegetables 

• Canned: or dried fruits (peaches, pears, raisins), canned or dried vegetables (corn, tomatoes, peas), fruit in juice or water (not syrup)

• Low-sodium: canned vegetables

Soups, Sauces & Condiments 

• Canned: soups and chili

• Spaghetti: and tomato sauces

• Salsa

• Oils: (vegetable, olive, canola)

• Condiments: like ketchup, mustard, and spices

Other 

• Nuts: and seeds

• Shelf-stable: milk

• Baking staples: such as flour, sugar, and corn starch

• Personal care items: and cleaning supplies

  Questions? Contact Susan Sopek.
  If you are hoping to receive items from the pantry, it is located in our entryway and available at any time of the day to anyone.