Mount Calvary began its life together as a Sunday School mission to the Waynedale area by Emmaus Lutheran Church. By 1928, the mission had grown into a congregation and started construction of a permanent facility on Lower Huntington Road. In the fall of 1929, Mount Calvary Lutheran Church & School opened its doors for the first time. By 1955, the congregation had outgrown its chapel and school buildings, so a new building was erected for the school and the chapel was expanded. In 1997, the congregation grew once again and relocated to its current location on Reservation Drive. A final addition, the Family Life Center includes our gymnasium. The Family Life Center was dedicated in 2002.
Pastor Herman H. Backs was called to be the first pastor of the congregation. He also took on the role of first principal and teacher when the school opened. Pastor Backs was not alone in the success of the congregation. Pastors Arthur Zschiegner, John Struve, Gerald Hartke, David Easterday, David Adams, Gary Miller, Donald Porter, Glenn Meyer, and Nathan Whittaker all served as pastors at Mount Calvary after Pastor Back’s retirement in the early 1970’s. Currently, Pastor Karl Frincke and Deaconess Jeana Moe continue to serve as coordinators of Visitation and Pastoral Care ministries.
In the fall of 1990, Mount Calvary began operating its preschool. Due to the ingenuity and creativity of the preschool’s director, Sue Doepner, the preschool added a childcare in 2008 to better serve families in the area. This ministry is led today by Dora Kurpierz, who has worked with her staff throughout the pandemic to keep the Child Care & Preschool open to working families. Dora has also worked to obtain grants for the Child Care & Preschool, which has assisted to purchase new equipment for the children. It is still available to families from 6 am to 5:30 pm, Monday through Friday for children ages 6-weeks through grade 5 (age 12).
