The photo, from DCBC archives, shows Rev. Dr. Clarence W. Cranford (R), then-pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and other American Baptists at the March on Washington in 1963. Their posters read: “We march for an end to police brutality” and “We march for Civil Rights + Full Employment = Freedom.”  Clarence Cranford was pastor of Calvary Baptist Church for a total of 29 years.  His was a voice that pushed… Read More

Note from Pastor Amy: Today is a big day in DC: it’s the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  The consideration of whether or not everyone in our country deserved the same civil rights was brought to the forefront of the national conversation in a big way that day, and people of faith were loud and insistent voices in… Read More

I titled this post, “Dancing in the Dark” because it’s a collection of thoughts about faith.   And faith, to me, feels most often like…dancing in the dark.   In my experience faith has been responsive movement to something bigger than myself, something I can feel and sense and even seem to really know sometimes, but never can see quite clearly or describe enough to contain.   Sometimes that response looks like… Read More

If you haven’t seen Twenty Feet from Stardom, you should.  And when you do, it will make you think about community, perhaps the most beautiful and subversive gift the church can offer this lonely world.  Read more of my thoughts about that here.

Rachel Johnson has spent her career working at the intersection of religion and politics.  She currently serves as Chair of Deacons at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, DC.  You can follow her on twitter (when she remembers to tweet) at @rachelnoelj. “Take a deep breath and be with your God.” Struck by the invitation, my eyes popped open at those words of Sister Donna.  I was at vespers at a retreat center… Read More

Tom Vanaskie is a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and a regular attendee of Theology on Draft, one of Calvary’s small groups.  He resides in the District with his soon to be wife, Sabrina, and their cat, Layla.  In his free time, he enjoys brewing beer, playing golf, and serenading Sabrina and Layla on his guitar. I have a confession to make.  I’ve never blogged before.  In fact, I… Read More

I shared these thoughts with the Calvary congregation in worship yesterday, the ten year anniversary of our work together as pastor and congregation. You can read about some of the things I’ve learned these ten years here. The purpose of the Invitation to Give and Serve in the worship service is to help us remember why we invest in a community of faith like Calvary, to explore the many ways our church is… Read More

The Men of Judges: Ehud Judges 3: 12-25 Becky Vaughn was telling me a story the other day about her grandfather, who apparently was a bit of a wild child.  In her family, she told me, everybody loves to tell stories about him, some of which are pretty funny.  A favorite, she said, was one about when he got himself a motorcycle, against his parents’ wishes.  One day, coming home on his… Read More

Amy Sullivan is a Calvary member, and a journalist who writes about religion, politics, and culture. She is currently a correspondent for National Journal, and was previously a senior editor at TIME. Her first book, The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats are Closing the God Gap, was published by Scribner in 2008. Clergy types have been buzzing recently about a Christianity Today article called “Rethinking the $3,000 Missions Trip.” The piece,… Read More