Organizers of the Mount Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church mortgage burning service are looking forward to all the things they will be celebrating when the event is held at the church on Sunday, May 2. The event will begin at 9 a.m. with a multimedia presentation that will trace the congregation to its beginnings on East King Street in Lancaster. "It's a celebration of our history," said Nancy Marshall, who was born into the church and met her future husband there in Sunday school.

"We will focus on celebrating the generosity of the many individuals who participated in the project in the last years," added pastor Christopher Seifferlein. The 9:30 a.m. service will mirror the 1993 building dedication service, followed by burning the mortgage outside the church.

The church first formed when 17 people met in 1904, with a goal of worshipping in English rather than German. "It was Missouri Synod Lutheran from the beginning," noted Seifferlein, who explained that the local district began as an outreach to English-only congregations. Marshall added that the church, which had locations on North Ann Street and Plum and Clay streets before moving to the present location, was always focused on Christian education for children, hosting the first vacation Bible school in Lancaster in 1922.

Marshall noted that by the mid-1980s, the congregation was looking to build a new home on land at its present location, 308 Petersburg Road, Lititz. "We built it ourselves with the help of Laborers for Christ," said Marshall. Seifferlein explained that Laborers for Christ, an organization that recently ceased to exist, was associated with the Lutheran Church Extension Fund. Retired persons from around the country traveled to the church with campers and stayed in what is now the parking lot while completing the building.

Celebration organizer Farley Fry, who joined the congregation in the early 1990s, remembered that before the church drywall was completed, members and youths were invited to write Scripture verses on the walls and under the carpets. "There may be 100 or more," said Fry, who chose the last part of Isaiah 61:3 to write on one of the chancel steps.

Seifferlein, who was born in Detroit and graduated from seminary in 2003, has served congregations in Minnesota and rural Wisconsin. Seifferlein began serving Mount Calvary in November 2019. "I just got to know everyone's names before COVID hit," recalled Seifferlein. "Then we dealt with this challenge together." Seifferlein noted that one strength of the church is the congregation's sense of identity. "People care about learning about God's Word and what they believe," he stated.

Marshall and other organizers have gathered a number of artifacts to display for the service, including a replica of the first church building, baptismal certificates, a child-size Sunday school chair, and a sign that hung outside the church in 1917 advertising service times. One special item will be a commemorative dinner plate from the 1950s with a rendition of the church located at Plum and Clay drawn by former pastor Samuel Shore.

Members of the community are welcome to attend the service. Readers who would like more information may visit https://mclclititz.org.