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.

Calvary is hosting a blood drive in partnership with the American Red Cross. You can schedule an appointment ahead of time or arrive for a walk-in. The drive takes place in Calvary’s Gym (1700 N. Towanda Ave., Normal) on Monday, July 20 from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. When you donate blood between July 13-31 you can receive a Fandango Movie Reward. For more details, visit rcblood.org/july and sign up to donate at the same time.

We have decided to cancel the Heart and Soul program scheduled for Saturday, July 11, due to low turnout. Thank you to those of you who showed interest. We look forward to seeing you in the fall at our next event. 

Do you love Jesus? Do you love kids? Be part of the team that helps lead and care for the youngest kids in our Calvary family. We can use more helpers on Sundays at both 9 and 10:30 a.m. in our nursery and in our Preschool/Kindergarten rooms. Leaders serve together with another helper and all curriculum and supplies are provided--as is some basic training. You can choose to serve at either 9 or 10:30 once or twice a month or more frequently. If rocking a baby or playing with preschoolers sounds like a fun way to spend part of your Sunday morning, please let Lori Short know. And, if summer is busy and you can't imagine fitting that in your schedule right now, let Lori know that too and we can wait until fall to get you on the schedule.

The Staff Parish Relations Committee of Calvary UMC is pleased to announce the hiring of Wyatt Lenhart as our new Director of Student Ministries. Wyatt is originally from Georgetown, Illinois (near Danville) and graduated from Lincoln Christian University with a Bachelor of Arts in Youth and Family Ministry. Wyatt has most recently worked at O'Fallon (Illinois) First United Methodist Church for three years as their Youth and Hospitality Minister. To allow him to complete his commitments at O'Fallon First UMC, Wyatt will begin his time on staff at Calvary on August 1.

Wyatt has shared these words of greetings with us:

I am excited to join the staff here at Calvary and become part of the church family! Student ministry has been a passion of mine ever since I was a student in high school. It is a joy walking through life with students as they grow. 

I met my wife (Katelyn) in college and we have been married for six years. We have two daughters. One puppy girl who is three and one baby girl who will be two in August. I am happily outnumbered in a house full of girls. 

Outside of church I have a mix of both nerdy and non nerdy hobbies. I love playing soccer, other sports, video games and recently picked up Dungeons and Dragons. I also enjoy watching movies, tv shows, sports, and too much TikTok. I am excited to get to know everyone at Calvary and look forward to serving and growing alongside the students and families of the church. 

Blessings,
Wyatt Lenhart

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.

We saved a seat for you. Join others who are grieving the loss of a loved one. This 13 week study starts on April 7, meetings happen every Tuesday 6-8 p.m. at Calvary United Methodist Church (1700 N Towanda Ave., Normal) in room 111. Contact Sharyl Jennings for more information.

A support group to help you move through the grief process

A GriefShare support group is a safe, welcoming place where people understand the difficult emotions of grief. Through this 13-week group, you’ll discover what to expect in the days ahead and what’s “normal” in grief. Since there are no neat, orderly stages of grief, you’ll learn helpful ways of coping with grief, in all its unpredictability—and gain solid support each step of the way.

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.

Have you signed yourself, your kids or grandkids up yet? Be part of Kingdom Quest, Calvary's VBS taking place July 20-23 from 6-8 p.m. each evening! We'll play games, do amazing projects, have a snack, and sing worship songs all based around a special Bible Adventure of the day.
Register today to be part of one of the greatest weeks of the year! Kids who are 4 by September 1, 2026 through kids who just finished 5th grade can be student participants. Anyone older can be a volunteer! There is still space available! Sign up today! If you're not sure you or your kids can be there each night, simply note that on your registration. Questions or concerns? Reach out to Lori Short and she would be happy to chat with you! Come be part of Kingdom Quest: An Epic Journey to Discover God's Kingdom!

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 still have open spots available. Please consider requesting a day to serve.
May 1, June 5, July 17, Aug 1 & 14, Oct 2 & 16, Nov 6
Contact Tammy Carlson to see if the date you want is still open at 309-533-6663 or Tk.carlson@yahoo.com.

Volunteer orientations are the first Tuesday of the month at 2:30 p.m. at the ARC Community Room. 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! Sign up as a volunteer here. 
Currently we have 571 Care Receivers and 371 have received a service in the past 12 months. We have 351 volunteers that have been active in some of the services (rides, friendly visitors, grocery shopping, newsletters, etc.) totaling 14,000 hours of help and 131,900 miles of driving.
Fund Raiser at Rob Dob’s on July 15 for all meals, all day. No flyer is needed, but you need to mention FIA when ordering. This includes gift cards, too.
The fundraising Take Action luncheon is scheduled for August 27. I will be hosting a table. It will be at the DoubleTree in Bloomington with registration starting at 11am, the Program and Lunch 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 28 and picked up on September 10 from 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church.

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.