About Us

Calvary Lutheran Church is located at

2415 S. 320th St.
Federal Way, WA 98003

You'll find the church one block east of the Commons at Federal Way mall, right near

Exit # 143 of Interstate 5

Our Vision

Calvary Lutheran Church in Federal WayCalvary will be a faith community - full of enthusiastic and diverse people - trained to meet a changing culture, by

  • believing that Jesus is for all,
  • practicing our faith: supporting each other, learning together, and sharing intimate and authentic relationships,
  • expecting to serve the community and world,
  • doing the unique work of telling others that God saves by his grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.

Our Mission

Calvary Lutheran exists to


* Invite you into life in Christ,


* Inspire you for a deep faith relationship,


* Equip you to use your gifts in service,


* Engage you in ministry.
 


Our Guiding Principles

Everyone is God’s child and is welcome here. Jesus makes no distinctions between people; neither do we.

Our focus is on the one Lord, Jesus. Jesus calls us to follow him. We strive to be faithful to that call in all we do as a congregation.

God saves by grace through faith. Forgiving sins, putting things right, and promising eternal life are God’s work, not ours. We don’t have to do anything because, in Jesus, God has done it all.

Jesus brings us to the Father and each other. Because of Jesus, we don’t need to fear God but we are free to love God. We love one another as God has loved us.

Jesus calls us to love, serve, share the good news, and enjoy life together.
Every day marks a new life in Christ. Jesus sends us into each day to be his servants and ambassadors with our hearts full of gratitude and joy.


A Note from Pastor DougRev. Douglas B. Chamberlain

REACH OUT FEDERAL WAY

The men gathered at the door, waiting to be let in. As we strode past them, our guide greeted each one by name and they were glad to see him, but they appeared uneasy about us. Perhaps they felt like they were on display. In a way, they were. We were there to see how they were cared for.



Homelessness
Homelessness has been a part of larger communities long before this turn of the 21st century. Think of hobos riding the rails and Hoovervilles and Okies during the Depression era. Just as long as there has been homelessness and poverty, however, there has also been our deep desire for people to have a home.

As a pastor I experience the effects of an appalling lack of options for someone living on the streets. I have been on the phone negotiating a tangled web of social services, pleading for space just for one cold night for a single woman or a couple living in their car. When I have finally exhausted my efforts, I have been faced with either paying for a room at a local low-cost motel or sending the person off to fend for him– or herself.

We have few places for women and children and no space for men in Federal Way, and precious little in the South Sound area.

Community leaders, concerned citizens, and members of nonprofit agencies and churches in Federal Way have noticed the number of homeless people in our area, and are not satisfied with the lack of facility to care for our own. So, they have developed Reach Out.

Reach Out
Reach Out provides a way for churches to turn space into shelter.

A congregation offers a portion of its facility for a month during the year. This is known as the host church.

Or, a congregation agrees to provide meals for a week, or a couple of weeks, or a month. This is the support church.

Twenty-five men arrive at the host church each night after the committee meetings and Bible studies and choir rehearsals have ended. Members of the support church bring a hot meal and serve the men that night. They leave behind packed lunches and items for a simple breakfast for the next day.

The men retrieve their sleeping mats and bedding from a trailer outside, and in the same trailer stow personal items in a cubby assigned to them.

A staff member spends the night with the men, keeping watch like a shepherd over his sheep. He arrives in the evening before they do to get ready for the night. He monitors their arrival and will see to their security and good behavior during the night. In the morning, he’ll send them on their way.

In the morning the men put their bedding and mats away, eat breakfast, clean up the space they have used, and pick up a lunch before they leave. Some go to work, others go to appointments at employment agencies, social service providers, and the program’s own case management office.

The staff member secures the building, and all of them are gone long before the church staff arrive to start the day.

That night, the whole process begins again.

A Tested Design
Reach Out hasn’t been fully formed yet, but it also doesn’t exist only in the minds of organizers, either. The process I just described to you happens every night, right now. In fact, Reach Out would draw from the experience of two successful shelter programs in nearby cities.

In Kent and in Renton, churches, in cooperation with local government, police departments, fire districts, and social service agencies developed this tightly-run program. A board of directors oversees the operations and coordinates with area churches. Catholic Community Services, under contract, provides the evening supervisors and daytime case management staff.

Will We?
Our location makes Calvary Lutheran Church a logical site as a host church. We are on major mass transit routes and have perfect space to feed and shelter 25 men.

We also have the will, having set as a goal in our strategic plan better service to the community.

I encourage you to ask questions about the program. Discuss it with others. Look for opportunities to go along on a visit to current sites. Attend a meeting to meet some of the people involved and find out more.

Then find a way to get involved.

In Christ,

Pastor Chamberlain


Calvary Lutheran Staff

Rev. Doug Chamberlain
Rev. Doug Chamberlain
Pastor

Rev. Lori Cornell
Rev. Lori Cornell
Pastor

Liz Caley
Liz Caley
Office Coordinator

Dawn Clinton
Dawn Clinton
Publications Coordinator


Dr. James Brown
Calvary Choir/Bell Choir Director

Tony Willing
Tony Willing
Church Musician


Hannah Vu

Nursery Attendant


Karin Johnson
Equipping Ministries


Julia Corbett

Youth & Family Ministries

 

 

 

 

Emilie Thoreson
Nursery Attendant


Ministry Directory

Take a look at this directory of the ministries at Calvary and the contact people. The directory is in PDF format. You may rotate it to view it on your screen or print it nicely on legal-sized paper. If you would like further information from any of the contact people, send us an email and we will respond to you promptly.

 


We are an Equipping Church. Find out more..

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Prayer Requests

We would be glad to include your prayer request on our Prayer Chain and in our weekly worship bulletin.

Your name:

Please pray for (name):

Specific prayer need:

Please tell us if you would like us to pray but not print your request.


Forms

Here are some of our forms which are in PDF format. Simply click on the form name and print out the form. Complete the form and mail or FAX  it to the office:

 

Calvary Lutheran Church

2415 S. 320th St.

Federal Way, WA 98003

FAX: (253) 839-0345

 

Forms:

Child Baptism Information Form

Ministry Directory

Adult Baptism Information Form

Learning In Motion Registration Form

Membership Information Form

Building Use Request Form

Youth Medical Release Form

Stewardship Survey

Time & Talent Sheet

Calvary's Strategic Plan

Prison Ministry Newsletter

Women's Retreat Registration

Vacation Bible School Registration

 

Calvary Lutheran Church
2415 S. 320th St.
Federal Way, WA 98003
(253) 839-0344

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