Year-End Pastoral Letter
Dear Calvary Family,
My recent bicycle accident reminded me of how much our church is a family. We need each other. We care for each other. We pray deeply for each other. And even coming from different generations, different cultures, different ethnicities, different socio-economic groups, we are all one — one family, one congregation, one church. This is all because we are united under the authority of Christ, who is head over all things.
As Paul writes, “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.” (Ephesians 4:3-6 NLT)
Calvary's leadership has been in prayer and discussion over what God would have us focus on in this next season. Our heart for Calvary as we are celebrating 90 years together is that we would grow and be challenged in our unity and in our life of prayer. We believe that God has led us in this direction — oneness and dependence.
May we pursue Christ together in prayer. May we be renewed and restored to our first love in Jesus. May we love one another according to the way that Christ has commanded for us and modeled to us. May we completely be dependent on God for all things. And may that fill us with great joy!
I invite you to join us each Sunday of our Advent Series “Good News of Great Joy!” Together we will celebrate the good news of Jesus’ birth and discover how we can live with more of God’s hope, peace, joy, and love. Prayerfully consider who you can reach out to and invite to join you for a Sunday morning service or special event this Christmas at Calvary. Discover more about all that’s happening at SantaAnaChristmas.com.
As we wrap up this year, I also want to update you about the amazing provision of God through the faithfulness of our church family. Coming into December, our main funds for general church ministry and reach global missions were both on target! The goal set in the budget for this month is $625,000 for General and $113,000 for Missions. Will you join me in praying for Calvary Church and consider making a year-end contribution to help further our ministries locally and globally into 2022 and beyond? You can visit our website to set up a recurring gift or one-time donation at CalvaryLife.org/Give or bring your offering to any of our worship services in December.
I am deeply grateful for all of you. I am thankful for your generosity in both time and money. And, I am so thankful for your constant prayers for God to use our church to make an impact for the gospel in our community and around the world.
May the Lord bless you and keep you,
Eric Wakeling