August 16 at 9 & 10:30 am is Calvary's Back to School Blessing Day!
Students and all school faculty and staff members are welcome to be part of a special time in worship, receiving a blessing and also a special tag to hang on your backpack, laptop bag, etc. Feel free to bring backpacks/bags with you to church that day! The blessing time will take place near the end of both worship hours. We will have regular KidVenture and Jr High programs on Sunday. For kids attending programs, our leaders will bring them into Worship for the Back to School Blessing. Come start the school year in prayer and be reminded that God loves you and that your Calvary family is praying for you and cheering you on.

On August 16, kids will move to their new grade levels and classrooms.

Sunday KidVenture & Jr High Programs:
9 a.m. –Room 107: Infants, Toddlers, Twos
9 a.m. – Room 106: Preschool & Kindergarten (age 3 by Sept 1, 2026)
9 a.m. – Room L2/L4: 1st through 5th grades
9 a.m. – Room 113/115: 6th through 8th grades 
10:30 a.m. – Room 106: 1st grade and younger--If you would like your older kids to attend this hour, please let me know. We are working on plans to open an Elementary room and a Nursery for this hour. We’d love to have multiple rooms if we have kids and consistent leaders. We can also make adjustments as the school year progresses.

Calvary will be visiting with our neighbors at Evergreen (1701 Evergreen Boulevard, Normal) on Tuesday, August 4. The party starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Dining Room. Wear your favorite baseball jersey and get ready to root for the home team! Help lead games, serve food and engage in conversation about your favorite baseball memories. Contact Erin Scott if you have any questions or to confirm your participation. We look forward to seeing you there!

Calvary has 2 upcoming dates to help at the Midwest Food Bank: Wednesday, July 15 from 9-11 a.m. and Wednesday, September 9 from 6-8 p.m. Ages 5-105 are welcome! Reservations for are for 20 people and we can make room for more. 
Sign up for our July event by July 9!

Some helpful information about who can volunteer and how to do so: Closed toe shoes are required. Children between the ages of 5-9 must be accompanied by their legal guardian. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. When minors are registered, it will ask for the name and email of the parent/guardian. The Golden Volunteer program will autogenerate an email to the parent/guardian with a link to complete the process. Minors and guardians are not able to share the same email. If the minor doesn’t have an email, they can use this email format: golden+firstnamelastname@midwestfoodbank.org (example: golden+donnahaas@midwestfoodbank.org) The minor’s reservation is not complete (or their spot reserved) until the waiver has been signed. For safety and insurance purposes, any minor who has not been registered or received parental consent for an opportunity will not be able to participate in volunteer activities. If we have fewer than 20 participants, the sign up will be opened to the community.

Medical supplies collected are then distributed to other countries for those in need.  Please contact Susan Sopek if you have any of the following to donate:

• Walkers

• Crutches

• Canes

• Misc Orthopedic Supplies (walking boots, slings, braces)

Greetings, all. We have once again heard that emails are circulating from people alleging to be staff members of our church. If you receive an email claiming to be from Pastor Vince or any other staff member that is not from an official church email (@connectwithcalvary.org), it should be treated with great suspicion, if not completely disregarded. Please be safe and vigilant to protect yourself from scammers.

Men’s Faith and Fellowship will return on September 9 with a new study.
We meet at 7 a.m. on Wednesday mornings in Room 111, and begin with refreshments and coffee, share joys and concerns, have a video study, and discussion among the group. There is plenty of room or any man that would like to seek to follow Christ more fully by engaging in this study together. We benefit by gaining a deeper understanding of God’s word and what he wants us to do with our lives.
If you would like to participate, please contact Gil Dorsey or Jim Brown for us to make certain we can provide the study materials needed.

Calvary serves meals for those who are food insecure in our community on the first and third Fridays of the month. We urgently need leaders to help serve a meal at Safe Harbor on August 7. In the near future, you can sign up to serve on Oct 2, 16, and Nov 6. Please contact Tammy Carlson if interested. 309-533-6663, Tk.carlson@yahoo.com. 

Volunteer orientations are the first Tuesday of the month at 2:30 p.m. at the ARC Community Room. https://bnfia.org/i-want-to-volunteer/ FIA is seeking volunteers drivers to transport seniors to needed medical appointments. Get behind your community by getting behind the wheel for Faith in Action!
There is a wait list for FIA care receivers (except cancer and dialysis patients). The wait list is about 6-8 weeks long.
There is another “Become a Dementia Friend” educational event on Wednesday, August 19th from 10-11 a.m. at the ARC.
The FIA fundraising Take Action luncheon is scheduled for August 27th. I am hosting a table. It will be at the DoubleTree in Bloomington with registration starting at 11 a.m., with the program and lunch following from 11:30-12:30. The theme will be "Honoring the 250th Birthday of America Celebrating Veterans Serving Veterans. Compassion in Action.”
Faith in Action Mum sale - Starting now! Mums must be ordered by August 28th and picked up on September 10th from 9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church. You can get 9" or 12" mums or large 13" tri-mums. I've ordered mums the last several years. They are beautiful. http://www.bnfia.org/mums
We are asking volunteers to let us know if they notice care receiver physical or cognitive declines. Our plan is to connect them with needed services.

A big thank you to everyone that has helped in anyway with the Backpack Ministry this school year. Your help is what makes this program a success and helps those students that have food insecurities have some nourishment over the weekend. Your help is greatly appreciated. We look forward to seeing everyone in September.

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.

Come join us as we build the Faith House for the 2026-2027 Habitat for Humanity Season.

Build dates: Third Saturday of the month
Location: 16 Trailside Court, Bloomington 
Time: 8 a.m. to noon
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. Contact Jon Eric Fujimoto if you are interested in participating this way. 

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!

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.

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! 

The word must be getting out about our little food pantry - it has been utilized much more in the past few months! Thank you, Calvary Family, for keeping it stocked so well!
Due to current inventory, we'd like to focus on stocking breakfast items for the next few weeks:

• cereal (all kinds, all sizes)

• pancake mix & syrup

• granola bars

• anything else that you might eat in the morning

• soups and single meals are still flying off the shelves, as well

Calvary’s food pantry is a great lifeline for those in our community who need food assistance. If you are hoping to receive items from the pantry, it is located in our entryway and available at any time of the day, any week, to anyone.

Your contributions are welcome at any time. Here is a list of suggested items to bring in any time:

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.

The Prayer Shawl Ministry will begin meeting Tuesday, February 11. We will be working on shawls as well as hats, scarves, and mittens of all sizes. Join us as we work and pray every 2nd and 4th Tuesday from 9:30-11am in L7.  No experience is required. All materials are provided, including yarn, patterns, and needles/hooks. We also have shawls available to be given to individuals in need of warmth and comfort. For more information, contact Linda Ferrence.

Are you a caregiver, family member, or friend of someone with dementia? If so, you are invited – and encouraged – to attend the Alzheimer’s support group. The mission of this group is to provide education and support to caregivers and loved ones. Please note that it is not designed for those with dementia. Meetings are held in Calvary’s conference room on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.

Facilitators are Mary Sanko and Lurinda Venezia.

Prayer is a fundamental part of the Christian faith and is a strength of Calvary. Calvary’s prayer team invites you to join us in the chapel between services for a focused time of prayer for:

• Our church

• Our staff

• Specific prayer requests that have been submitted to Calvary

• Any other needs.

You may come for the full 30 minutes or join us for just a few minutes.  You can come every week or just when you are moved to do so.  Also, if you feel called to join the Prayer Team on a regular basis, please contact Nancy Behrens nbehrens7@gmail.com, as we would like to grow this ministry.

Calvary’s Prayer Team

In his sermon "Living Beyond: Beyond Me," Pastor Vince spoke of the importance of knowing our Spiritual Gifts so we can be the person God created us to be. God desires us to live as a part of something bigger than us and beyond ourselves, equipping us for ministry and service to the church and the world. 
If you haven't completed one before (or it's been a while), a Spiritual Gifts Inventory is a great place to start.

A single place to explore and connect with serving and volunteering at Calvary. Check out the opportunities and connect with Amanda Nesby if you need some advice about where to serve.