The sounds of worship filled Central Park Plaza in the heart of downtown Valparaiso Sunday morning for Calvary Church’s Father’s Day service. Families gathered to praise God through prayer and song on the beautiful sunny morning.
“We started this last year. We wanted our congregation to come together as a community, just to praise God,” said Chris Clute, a greeter at Calvary Church. “We only do it one day a year. We can also celebrate fathers being fathers because God is our Father.”
Over the course of the service, the themes of God as the ultimate Father and the importance of togetherness rang through the park.
“I’m able to worship with the entire church family and have fun with my dad,” said congregation member Jessica Lewis, explaining why she enjoyed the service in the park.
By holding the service in the middle of downtown, Calvary promotes togetherness of both their congregation and the community.
“We’re able, at least once a year, to get everybody together and we think that this is a great place to do it,” Lionel Young, head pastor at Calvary. “We love our city. We love our church community and this is a great time for us to all get together and enjoy the beauty of our city.”
The community certainly took notice of Calvary’s service. Local food and drink vendors including Valpo Velvet Ice Cream, Ben’s Soft Pretzels, and Valpo Vienna’s provided tasty snacks. There was also a car show featuring customized and rare vehicles. These attractions - as well as fun activities like sidewalk chalk, playing with beach balls, and t-shirt slingshots - appealed to Calvary’s youngest congregation members.
These young members grow up to become highly involved in the community.
“We have so many people involved in the community in so many different ways,” said Pastor Young. “At the university, people who work downtown, people who work at local businesses all over the place. We’re involved in serving our community in all kinds of ways. So this is a great way to celebrate what happens all year long.”
Families enjoyed the opportunity to come out and celebrate all the fathers in their lives, including fathers who have passed away, those who look forward to becoming fathers, and – of course – the heavenly Father.
“Father’s day seems like a great way to celebrate families,” said Pastor Young. “We want to see families become stronger because of our church. We believe with all of our heart that because of the church, the community ought to be a better place. That because of the church, families ought to be stronger. So many people are struggling with their families. Family life is not perfect. So we want to be a church that helps and encourages families and fathers in any way we can.”
For members of Calvary’s congregation, faith and trust in the Father serves as an inspiration to go out and serve.
“At Calvary, it’s not what we are; it’s what we can do for Him,” said Clute. “We are vessels for Him to make this world better.”