Everyone, however, was in agreement that Rodgers and Hammerstein deservedly won the Pulitzer Prize for their entertaining play, South Pacific. But the most important prize, the prize above Nobel and Pulitzer, the prize of God's grace, which is free to all who accept it, was being fostered in a small Mennonite congregation at the Telford Town Hall.

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 The Birth

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8,9

What did Bob and Alice Nase and Bill and Miriam Anders have in common in 1950 besides their desire to grow spiritually? Between January and March, each opened their home for Bible study and prayer for a newly formed fellowship. Along with the Nases and Anders, Christian and Mabel Landes and Hiram and Mary Gross were very influential in the creation of the new church. The idea of reaching their community and the world for Christ excited them. They desired teachers "rooted and grounded in the Word" rather than preachers chosen by lot from the congregation. They wanted to apply the Bible to their everyday lives without adding man-made rules. Each one was a founding member of Calvary Church along with those who attended the home meetings.

Their former churches created rules not found in the Bible. Freedom to study doctrines like salvation by grace and the end times was prohibited. Bill Anders, one of several pastors in his former church, recalled, "Group Bible studies were suspect in the churches we came from, so the Bible was almost like a strange book to us, something holy that we didn't use. It was still a holy book, but we began to realize the Bible was God's Word. The promises and the things that were spoken in it were for our personal benefit."

Fashionable clothes and jewelry were taboo for the women. People were forbidden from taking communion for "terrible sins" such as: wearing wedding bands, owning life insurance or a television, singing in the community or other church groups, etc. As Mary Gross, one of the founders, put it, "We were taught we could be saved by grace plus do's and don'ts. In other words, it was believe, obey, and then you were saved, if you followed the traditions of the church."

By studying the Bible and hearing it taught on the radio, these men and women realized that salvation was truly through grace alone. They realized they could not work their way to righteousness. Christ's great sacrifice on the cross was enough. This teaching, however, was forbidden in their churches.

Had they prayed for change? Yes. Had they worked for change within their churches? Yes. They had, of course, met with their churches' area bishops to air their concerns. Eventually, when this proved futile, they ventured out on their own under God's guidance and started meeting in homes. Reverend Bill Anders became the first pastor, and he took no salary.

The founders were rebels in certain respects, not so much by disposition but because they were convinced by God to hold to their beliefs. Leaving their friends wasn't easy. Misunderstandings occurred. Yet, they endured this with great expectancy as they prayed and followed God's leading.

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Bill and Miriam Anders             Harim and Mary Gross

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"TV Mennonites" Reap God's Blessing

"Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways." Psalm 128:1

Within a few months the fellowship grew too large to meet in homes. On March 26, 1950, they met for the first time at Telford Town Hall with 102 people in attendance. From a child's perspective, this was a "cool place" to have church. The young boys enjoyed sneaking into the lower floor (the fire hall), which was prohibited. They climbed up on the running boards of the fire trucks and imagined themselves hanging on and racing toward a fire. Meetings that occurred during the week were held in a room above Dr. Paul Nase's garage.
      

On April 18, 1950, the previously unnamed fellowship voted to be named "Calvary Mennonite Church." Many people outside the church did not understand the reason for their leaving. Some assumed the reason was their former churches' prohibition on owning televisions. So in the community the new fellowship became known as the "TV Mennonites."
      

A Building Committee was appointed and by October 1950 they decided to purchase eight acres of land along Route 113. Ted Bradford and Irv Schlosser worked into the early morning hours, drawing the plans for the original building. After settlement in January 1951 volunteers began work to prepare the lot for construction. Volunteers did all unskilled labor and some skilled work. Donated labor totaled over $10,000 at that time. When banks were hesitant to loan money to finance the construction, the congregation sold bonds. One individual purchased about one-third of the issue.
      

The first service in the new church was held in the basement on Thanksgiving Day 1951. The men spent the day in the main auditorium nailing down the sub-flooring before putting down the linoleum. Following that they headed downstairs to enjoy the meal the women had prepared prior to the first service. The main auditorium was dedicated in April 1952 with Lehman Strauss, William Detweiler, and John Hiestand as featured speakers.

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First Church Building                                              Irv Schlosser

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The Early Days

"They all joined together constantly in prayer. . ." Acts 1:14A

The focus of the new church was to reach the community for Christ - to be a place where the unchurched could come and learn without being turned off. Corporate prayer was frequent, and God answered in amazing ways. Special meetings and mission conferences received around-the-clock prayer. People took different time slots to totally cover these events with prayer.
      

Alice Nase recalls the mid-week evening prayer services, "We would have a devotional period first and then go to prayer. I remember sometimes our prayer meeting would last until 10:00 or 11:00 at night."
      

Missions were a primary focus. Kay Clemens, one of the youngest founders, recalled that in the early days an entire bus load of people traveled to New York to see missionaries as they departed on their boats. Later, when travel by plane became more common, the bus would take people from the church to the Philadelphia Airport. Young children and teenagers were encouraged to pray for the missionaries. Dennis Schlosser, whose parents were founders, remembers reciting the missionary list as a young boy every night during his bedtime prayers. He still recalls some of that alphabetical list: Becks, Bradleys, Brodishes. . .
      

From its beginning, Calvary partnered with other evangelical churches in the area. Limerick Chapel, Grace Bible Church, and a Presbyterian church in Norristown joined to offer tent meetings sponsored by the Christian Businessmen's Committee. Calvary used an ordination committee comprised of pastors from other area churches to review and pass judgment on its ordination candidates. Bible speakers from outside the church frequently taught at Calvary to help its members grow spiritually. Before it had its own baptistery, Calvary Church baptized its members at Grace Bible Church. Kay Clemens said all of her boys were baptized there. Sunday evening meetings were held at Lederach Chapel every other week while Calvary Church worshiped at the Telford Town Hall.
      

Volunteerism was high. Families took turns cleaning the church. Each family was responsible for one week. Later Ike Detweiler served faithfully as custodian for a number of years without remuneration. Committees were appointed to mow grass and trim shrubbery.

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What Attracted People to Calvary Church (1951 - 1959) "Teaching"

"Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding." Proverbs 3:13
      

Good biblical teaching abounded. Kay and Les Clemens remarked how everyone was encouraged to attend Bible camps, conferences, and biblical courses. They took a four-year correspondence course under Moody Bible Institute at Grace Bible Church in Souderton. Kay recalls around 100 people took the class, many of them from Calvary Mennonite Church.
      

Outstanding preachers taught in Calvary's pulpit as well. Reverend Bill Anders was eager to get the best teachers available for his congregation. Members grew spiritually from the preaching of Dr. Walter Wilson, Lehman Strauss, Stuart Briscoe, G. Christian Weiss, and Ian Thomas.
      

Dennis Schlosser recalled the Bible Conferences. He went almost every night to hear great teachers. "They taught the Word in great depth and didn't apologize for something being complicated. I began to develop a great sense of what this Book is all about. . . I have notes today yet that I took as a teenager at Bible Conferences put together by the leaders of Calvary Church."
      

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Les and Kay Clemens                        Moody Bible Institute at Grace Bible Church 

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MUSIC

"Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts." 1 Chronicles 16:41

Dolly Ott joined the church three years after it was founded. She commented on the music, "The acoustics were good and when we sang the hymns the rafters would just ring. I could understand their enthusiasm because they had come through so much. It was an act of courage to leave their families and friends and to start this church. There was such a joy there, and that was very contagious."
      

Ted Bradford, the architect of the original church building, was labeled "Mr. Contemporary" because he gradually introduced Ralph Carmichael's music while he was the music leader under Rev. Anders. The young people reacted very favorably to the new music. Ted said, "I think we were blessed by the fact that we compromised in certain things but didn't compromise in the truth of the gospel. We were faithful to that."

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Calvary Choir 

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FELLOWSHIP / GODLY EXAMPLES
     

"We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ." 1 John 1:3

Twice a year the members of Calvary Church would get together to give the church a thorough cleaning. Dolly Ott described how the women scrubbed the asphalt tiles on their hands and knees. Everyone worked hard and then enjoyed a feast prepared by the great cooks in the church.
   

Dolly commented, "I found that extremely enjoyable. . .a great chance for everyone to get to know others they didn't normally have close contact with. . .such a good spirit there."
      

Dennis Schlosser recalls how the boys' Sunday School class took outings with its teachers, Harry Moyer, Henry Godshall, Charles Hackman, and others. They took the boys camping and let them stay up all night. Even throwing peanuts at each other was not off limits. As a teenager Dennis enjoyed the strong sense of community.
      

Dennis also mentioned the powerful examples he had at the church. Alphaeus Allebach was a "quiet thinker." Doc Nase, though not a very public man in the church, was influential because "when he spoke to you, you felt like wisdom was being transferred." Two of the most influential men in Dennis' life were Harry Moyer and Chris Landes, godly men who "lived out in the real world" and conveyed the reality of living for Christ in a sinful world. Bob Moyer, who died of diabetes at an early age, also had a strong impact on Dennis. Even after having his leg amputated because of his diabetes, Bob could smile because of his love for the Lord and his assurance that God was in control. Every Friday afternoon Bob Moyer (with only one leg) and Les Clemens visited sick people. Les continues that visitation up to this time.
      

Dolly Ott mentioned what examples Mabel Landes and Myrtle Nase were to her, as wives, mothers, and women of God. Dolly also described Lovina Atkinson, one of her peers, as the most cheerful, unselfish, giving mother she knows.
      

Everyone interviewed for this history credited Bill Anders with a contagious evangelistic outlook. "People matter to God" was expressed through actions back then, long before it became the church motto. Others caught Bill's vision for outreach and his concern that children be taught the Bible and have social outlets. They appreciated not only Bill's teaching but also his desire to bring in outside biblical scholars. He encouraged the congregation to love the Word, read the Word, know the Word and use the Word, as their sole authority.
      

When asked about this, Bill commented, "I was not an efficient pastor, not a gifted pastor. We had a lot of visiting ministers in and we got the Word. There was a tremendous hunger at that time. . . After ten years, I resigned. I realized I was not able to lead the flock into the depths of the Word like I wanted to. My gifts were in another field rather than in the pulpit ministry." In fact, Bill and Miriam later spent 15 years on the mission field in Ecuador serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators. What amazing humility from the man God used to direct the congregation in its formative years!

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Seeing God at Work

 "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." 1 Corinthians 3:6-7

Alice Nase commented, "We canvassed the community to find people who were not churched. We didn't try to take people from their own churches if they were content and happy there. We would just go on to the next place. I think by doing that we got quite a number of people who started to come."
      

The tent campaigns cosponsored with other churches resulted in many people receiving Christ as Lord. Many young families came to the church as a result.
      

Charles and Betty Hackman's lives were transformed by the tent meetings. Charles recounted what led up to this, "Betty and I belonged to a Mennonite church. During the war I joined the service, which was not allowed in our church. While I was away, on Christmas morning that year, the pastor announced from the pulpit that I was kicked out of the congregation. When I returned from the service, Betty continued to attend with our two girls, but I refused to join them.
      

"About this time, Bill Anders had left his church and was pastoring a church which met at the Telford Fire House. Betty started visiting there, but I told her 'only rich people go there, look at all the big cars.' She insisted there were old cars too, so eventually I joined her. "Betty asked me to go to a tent meeting with her. I said 'no', but ultimately relented. T.W. Wilson (who later worked with Billy Graham) gave the message that night and both of us went forward and were saved. Bill Anders was the counselor who led me to the Lord.
      

"God had prepared my heart for that message for some time. I had an earlier conviction that I wasn't living right. Death always scared me too. My father died when I was 16, and I was the oldest boy to run our big farm. I had to manage this plus school. Everyone else had his father and I didn't understand why I didn't, especially because my Dad was a good man who read his Bible. I always thought good people went one place and bad people went another. T.W. Wilson gave a clear gospel presentation that I had never heard before, so I responded.
      

"The change in my life and our marriage was immediate. I used to drink a lot, and every time I came home drunk (which was frequent) my wife and I would fight. We were married 10 years before we trusted Christ. The year 2000 is our 60th anniversary and we would never have made it without Christ." Betty commented, "He could be really nasty. One time he hit me in front of my girls and threw me across a chair. When he became a Christian, all of a sudden he was kind and wasn't drunk anymore. We had no trouble getting our girls to attend Calvary Church with us; they saw such a change in their dad. In fact, when our two oldest girls talk about how their dad used to be, our 3rd daughter always exclaims, 'That can't be my dad. He would never do that.'" Isn't God's power to transform lives amazing!
      

Charles and Betty attended the biblical course at Grace Bible Church. Charles helped put the roof on the first church building and he did most of the indoor painting. After the new church opened, Charles became a Sunday School teacher for the young boys. He and Betty still attend the Friendly Gleaners class today.
      

During Reverend Anders' tenure and into Pastor Malles' era, the men of the church often went to the streets of Philadelphia to hand out tracts on a Saturday night and talk with people on their doorsteps. Once a month a group also went to the John 5:24 mission, which served men on skid row. Laymen from Calvary Church would bring the message and invitation. Many came to know the Lord. On Thanksgiving the church served a big dinner to the men at the mission, where they heard the gospel before eating. Mary Gross remembered having 500-600 men eating there one Sunday afternoon.
      

Other outreaches included occasionally running services at the Bowery Mission in New York City and holding jail services in Allentown. God used all these occasions to bring people to Himself.
      

Two hundred-fifty children attended Vacation Bible School in 1963, which was amazing for a congregation of around 300 members. Many children made decisions for Christ or dedicated their lives to the Lord. Would you believe children were asked not to invite more friends because there simply wasn't any room?

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1953 Tent Meeting 

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Initial Hopes and Plans for some Founders of New Church

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3

Alice Nase wanted to help new Christians grow. She wanted an emphasis on Bible study, reading together in groups, and united prayer. Even as a shut-in she is still involved today. Every Monday morning a group of six ladies from her Sunday School class meet with her to pray for Calvary's missionaries. They meet with missionaries when they are home on furlough, ask for special prayer requests, and make up missionary books. Each lady has a book. During the week they rotate so all of our missionaries are being prayed for every day. This routine has been going on for over 20 years.
      

Les Clemens' desire was to reach the community for Christ. He wanted to have the type of church and service to which people could invite uncommitted friends. Sound teaching and strong spiritual leadership were important and, of course, the solid missions emphasis. Miriam Anders prayed that the new church would be a light for outreach and spiritual growth in the community.


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Times of Turmoil

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

In July 1959, after nine years as Calvary Church's first pastor, Bill Anders asked the Church Council to consider searching for a new pastor. Bill wanted to step aside and "rest awhile." He felt his self-described lack of training to lead the church was preventing it from achieving the heights of spiritual achievement for which he longed. After a period of prayer, the council in September 1959 approved Rev. Anders' desire to resign as pastor. He was retained until a new pastor could be chosen. In July 1960, Rev. Arthur Malles was called to the pastorate. During his tenure a new, larger sanctuary with 700 seats was completed. Rev. Malles resigned in July 1966. Calvary Church was without a pastor for a year until Rev. Robert Smith was installed on June 18, 1967.
      

In 1967 the word "Mennonite" was dropped from the church's name and the new name became "Calvary Church". This happened peacefully during a vote at the annual congregational meeting. However, as is frequently the case, not all agreed with the change. Between 1971-1981 men were added to the staff to focus on youth ministries, evangelism, and Christian Education. With the development of those ministries, numbers increased. A new addition was added which included the current gymnasium.
      

To the regret of many in the congregation, Pastor Smith left in October 1982 to serve at Philadelphia College of Bible as Director of Church Ministries. Arnold W. McNeill was installed as senior pastor of Calvary Church in January 1984. Meredith Edward Wheeler was called as Director of Youth and Christian Education in February 1985 and later became Senior Pastor in 1989 after Arnold McNeill resigned. The early to mid 1980's were times of deep struggle and change. Dennis Schlosser commented, "I see in my mind the most problematic times came with pastoral change. Unless you are dealing with a pastoral change that includes a happily anticipated retirement, it is not to be unexpected that there will be some pain and perhaps a great deal of pain." Dennis learned lessons through some of the changes, which he credits to Harry Moyer and Chris Landes. "When you have a pulpit and pastoral change, there is bound to be serious criticism. Defending yourself will include hurting other people. I don't think Jesus allows us to do that. I can't think of any other philosophical lessons that have been so pronounced as that one."
      

Ted Bradford commented, "I think through the years as we did different things, particularly new things, we had a certain element of friction among some people who didn't agree. It was a little too radical for them. But sometimes we have to be radical, almost like when we go to the hospital and have radical surgery. . . I think Calvary experienced that in a way. I will say of those people who didn't agree with what Calvary was doing, I appreciate how they felt. And, I appreciated the fact that they left rather than cause friction or open a wound here."

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Big Changes

"I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." 1 Corinthians 9:22B
      

Mary Gross mentioned one of the first big changes in the early years was moving from prayer coverings for the women to hats, and eventually to not wearing anything on their heads. At times legalism creeps into our lives and also into churches. Over the years, Calvary Church wasn't immune to this. It is sometimes hard to separate traditions from timeless truths. Spirituality gets redefined. For some who came from an unchurched or less rigid church background, it seemed that spiritual qualifications for leadership were gauged by frequent attendance in church. This could involve heading to church four times a week. In one case where the husband also traveled out-of-town for work, the wife felt her children were deprived of quality time with their dad. The church's leadership later corrected this perception.
      

Most of the people interviewed discussed the change in musical style when asked about the biggest changes they had experienced at Calvary. Dennis Schlosser phrases his feelings in a wonderful way: "We have had a huge cultural shift here at Calvary Church under Pastor Wheeler's leadership. I love Meredith and he is one of my very best friends. He has taken us in a direction that for me is beyond the uncomfortable, bordering on the treacherous. "I remember my dad died in 1991, and dad was not pleased with the direction Meredith was taking us. He would complain to me a bit about the music and. . . go down on the first floor outside the gym and try to get out to his car after church. That wide hallway down there was so packed with kids that if you fell over you would never hit the ground. He would look at me and say, 'You know, I don't like it, but how can I argue with this?'
      

"So I guess that is where I am. I think probably we need some tweaking yet, but Meredith is just a fabulous visionary. I just hope we can hold on while he takes us for this ride. Some days I feel like I am going to fall off the horse. I would say the culture of our worship has dramatically changed. It is reaching a different segment of the population. It is now reaching those that were unreached. The way we were doing it before, they were not only unreached, they were unreachable. That is a dramatic shift and I applaud that shift, but it ain't easy."
 

View a video clip of Rod Alderfer as he shares about the early days of Calvary Church.
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