Are you looking for a place to serve at Calvary Lutheran Church?

Serve

Calvary’s Mission Statement

Calvary Lutheran is community grounded in God’s grace, where every person is welcomed and valued.

Our mission is:

Gathered by God to Worship
Inspired by Jesus to Love
Empowered by the Holy Spirit to Serve

Across our campus and throughout the wider community, Calvary’s ministries reflect our commitment to sharing God’s love in meaningful, practical ways. We are a congregation that truly welcomes all–come as you are, find connection, and know that you have a place here.

Make a difference in the world that God made by volunteering with us.

The ELCA dedicates a specific day each year (typically the first Sunday in September) to community service. It’s a way for Lutherans to live out our call to love and serve our neighbors, recognizing that our daily lives and vocations are extensions of God’s work. In addition to participating in this nationwide day of service, Calvary offers opportunities throughout the year to serve the church and our community such as joining the many Ministry Teams at Calvary as well as supporting community and global efforts.

Help Our Neighbors Facing Food Insecurity

Food pantries in San Diego continue to struggle to meet the increase in local residents needing food assistance. You can help! Calvary Cares collects donations for a monthly food distribution to families from our local elementary school. Our goal is to help 25 families each month; providing each family approximately $150 worth of groceries. Multiple times throughout the year, we join together as a community to make and pack Sack Lunches to support Interfaith’s efforts to help people, help themselves.

How can you help?

Make a monetary donation either by check or go here and click the “Give Now” button. Be sure to indicate in your donation is for Calvary Cares.
Volunteer to help shop, sort food, distribute, make or pack lunches

Join Calvary’s Volunteer Days at TACO

Third Avenue Charitable Organization (TACO) provides warm meals, snacks, water, mailing services, charging stations, social, medical, dental, legal services, showers and more to our neighbors in need. Calvary is committed to providing volunteers on the 4th Monday of each month to help with food prep and meal serving. Use this QR code to open up the sign-up form.

For more information, watch to learn more:

Little Free Library

Calvary supports literacy and book-sharing with our own Little Free Library located on the lower level entrance, near the front parking lot. These little libraries are free, self-serve, encouraging neighbors to share stories and foster a love of reading for all ages. Take a book or leave a book. Before you donate, please make sure your book is in good condition. Drop off your donations at the office during the week or add to the library. We rotate in new selection as needed to keep it interesting and neat.

Christmas Angels Ministry

Each year, Calvary adopts local military families who are working with Support the Enlisted Project (STEP) to achieve financial stability. We help the families stay on budget while still having a Christmas by providing their gifts and a Christmas dinner! Please contact calvaryangels@gmail.com to learn how you can support our Angel families.

Helping Eastern Europeans

Lutheran Disaster Response is accompanying our companion churches in Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia as well as such ecumenical partners as the Lutheran World Federation and Church World Service, in their humanitarian responses to the crisis. These partners provide refugees with immediate support and supplies such as food, blankets, water, and hygiene kits. For more information, go to the ELCA’s Eastern European Crisis Response page.

Church Community World Resources on Serving ELCA Advocacy

Church

Join a ministry team:

Children, Youth & Family Ministry: this team of youth and adults mobilizes people and families for spiritual growth, community, and service through age-specific ministries.
Faith Formation Ministry: teach classes or facilitate small group ministry
Lay Care Ministry: visit those who are homebound or in recovery from an illness or surgery
Parish Nurse Ministry: provides education, including CPR; health counseling, patient advocacy, help with referrals, a health screening team, emergency response team, and facilitates the development of support groups. This ministry seeks to promote understanding of the relationship between faith and help.
Prayer Shawl Ministry: learn how to knit prayer shawls and blankets to give to those in need of comfort and prayer
Worship Ministry: participate in worship services by becoming an usher, a reader, a sound board operator, an acolyte, or part of the altar preparations team
Welcome Ministry: work with others to make sure our campus and organization are a welcoming community to all
Music Ministry: modern instrumental and vocal ensemble group, women's choir, soloists, create a group
Mission Outreach Ministry: coordinates service in and with our local and global communities.

For information, contact the office.

Community

Serve our Community:

Calvary Cares: Helping to supply food to families whose children attend local Solana Beach elementary schools. Distribution events are held in January, April and September. Signups for volunteers are announced several weeks before each event. Click here for a suggested list of food items to donate. Food donations should be placed in the Mission Outreach office. Monetary donations may be made using the Give Now button on the home page and selecting Calvary Cares. Contact Marybeth Norgren with any questions and if you would be willing to shop for food.
Showers of Blessings: A mobile shower unit serving those in need by meeting one of life's most basic human dignities: cleanliness. The unit operates on a weekly basis at various churches throughout San Diego. Volunteer hosts are welcome and needed. Sign up today!
TACO: This ministry helps feed and serve the homeless at Third Avenue Charitable Organization, serving meals to anyone in need. We provide 10 volunteers on the 4th Monday of each month. The time commitment is from 3:15-5:15pm. Find upcoming dates and sign up through our SignUpGenius link. Contact Marybeth Norgren if you have questions about serving or if you would like to carpool with another volunteer.
Creation Care: Advocate for the environment based on our joint faith. See what the ELCA says about caring for creation.

World

ELCA Good Gifts https://goodgifts.elca.org/
Lutheran Border Concerns Ministry http://lutheranborderconcernsministry/org
Lutheran Disaster Response
ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission
Quilting Ministry

Forty-five Quilts Delivered to Lutheran World Relief!

In October, 45 quilts were delivered to Grace Lutheran Church, Escondido for transport to the LWR warehouse in Minneapolis, MN. In addition, a donation of $101.25 was given to LWR to cover transportation costs of sending the quilts at $2.25/quilt to destinations around the world. These quilts can be used as warm bedding, simple tents or floor coverings. Each one reflects God's loving presence in a world rife with suffering. Thank you to all of those who helped cut squares, sew pieces together and tie the quilts – you are making a difference to those in need across the globe!

Resources on Serving

ELCA Explanation of “Serve all people following the example of Jesus,” is part of the Five Gifts of Baptism resources.

DoingGoodTogether.com is a website with ideas to encourage families to serve.

Children's books:

Maybe I Can Love My Neighbor Too by Jennifer Grant is a storybook about showing kindness to our neighbors. Also “I Can Love My Neighbor” Bingo card based on the storybook.

The Ministry of Ordinary Places: Waking Up to God's Goodness Around You by Shannon Martin is a book about paying attention to those around us and discerning God’s call right where we are.

Mine! A Counting Book about Sharing by Caryn Rivadeneira is for children 3 and under. It teaches counting while at the same time develops the concepts of yours, mine, and sharing with others. Part of the Generous Kids books developed in a partnership between Beaming Books and Thrivent.

NEW! It’s Not Fair! A Book About Having Enough by Caryn Rivadeneira is for children age 4-6. Part of the Generous Kids series, this book teaches about money, choices, and generosity.

ELCA Advocacy

As members of the ELCA, we believe that we are freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor. God uses our hands, through our direct service work and our voices, through our advocacy efforts, to restore and reconcile our world. Through faithful advocacy, the ELCA lives out our Lutheran belief that governments can help advance the common good.

ELCA advocacy works for change in public policy based on the experience of Lutheran ministries, programs and projects around the world and in communities across the United States. We work through political channels on behalf of the following biblical values: peacemaking, hospitality to strangers, care for creation, and concern for people living in poverty and struggling with hunger and disease.