Dear Calvary family and friends,

I hope and pray that you are having a wonderful and relaxing summer. It’s hard to believe that summer is already halfway through! It’s been awesome to see so many of you worshiping with us on Sunday mornings. And I love hearing from folks who tune into our online services while traveling or while up at the cabin.

I am super excited about what is coming this Fall as we get ready for our program year to kick off again. This year we will especially be focusing on discipleship. Following Jesus is a growing experience! Each one of us has another step of faith we can take. So, how are you growing in faith? How is God calling you to step out in faith this year? 

As we move forward in mission, there are two different opportunities that we have the privilege to embrace and affirm as a congregation: 

First, I am excited to report that the church council has unanimously recommended that we call Dagny LeMunyon to be our Pastor of Traditional Worship and Care at our Golden Valley campus. Many of you already know Dagny, who currently serves as our Guest Experience Director. She recently graduated from Bethel Seminary (St. Paul) with a Master of Divinity degree. Dagny is a lifelong Lutheran who has a great love and appreciation for traditional worship. We believe strongly that Dagny will be a great fit for this position at Calvary! 

The next step is for our congregation to vote to affirm the council’s recommendation. We want to make this an easy and convenient process. So, on Sunday, July 31, we will open a special meeting at 8:30 a.m. in the Gathering Room at our Golden Valley campus. Then voting will remain open throughout the morning, so you can come and vote when your schedule allows. At our Golden Valley campus voting will be open from 8:30-11:45 a.m. At our Minnetonka campus voting will be open from 10-11:45 a.m. You must be a Calvary member to vote. If you have questions about your membership status, contact Liz Turner at lturner@calvary.org.

You can find out much more about Dagny below. 

Secondly, when we adopted Grace Lutheran Church in Deephaven as our Minnetonka Campus (last year) we took over ownership of that property and building. And included with the property is a residential lot. As we have looked at future planning and assessment of the campus, it has been determined that we have no long term need for this residential lot. We do not plan on using it for parking, and we have no intention to build any structure on it. We also have determined many pressing capital projects that need to be completed at the campus. We need to update the HVAC system. We need to repair and replace the roof. As a church, Calvary has already invested well over $600,000 into this campus. And now by selling this lot we can raise additional funds that will solely be used to complete these important projects. Our constitution states that all land sales need to be approved by the congregation. So, at the meeting on Sunday, July 31, we will also ask you to affirm the council’s unanimous recommendation that we proceed with selling this lot.

You can find more information about this land sale below.

Calvary has such a rich and impactful history, and God is not done with us yet! There is still much to be done to share the gospel with our community and beyond. We have been called to this mission outpost for a time such as this! Let’s continue to join together in unity as we live out our mission together!

Grace + Peace,

Zach Thompson 

Lead Pastor