Archive for month: June, 2016

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Building Project Update

June 22, 2016
22 Jun 2016

Calvary Easter 2013On Sunday, June 19th, the Voters’ Assembly of Calvary Lutheran Church met to approve expenditures for improvement work to be done on the Sanctuary portion of the building. In recent months a team from Calvary has been in ongoing meetings with Miche Booz, Calvary’s architect, and A.R. Marani Inc., a general contractor, to develop a plan for this work and to get an estimate of total costs.

The work outlined in this plan includes:

  • Replacement of the cedar shake roof covering the A-Frame;
  • replacement of the low-slope roof covering the Sanctuary;
  • rewiring and modernizing all lighting in the Sanctuary (rewiring the chandeliers but also adding additional lighting as needed);
  • painting the exterior walls and eaves of the Sanctuary;
  • and re-pointing the stone walls to fix cracks and degradation.

The handout presented at the Voters’ Assembly can be found here for your reference. Including all components, the total estimated costs for this project is $586,400. This number has been presented as a high-end estimate based upon meetings of the general contractor with subcontractors.

In response to this information, and after time for questions and answers, the Voters’ Assembly unanimously approved moving forward with the project as outlined. Funds for this work will be taken from savings Calvary has on hand. The church has asked that this work be completed no later than end of September in time for the 75th Anniversary events scheduled for this fall.

Here is the specific motion approved by the Voters on Sunday:

That Calvary approve and enter into a contract with Marani Construction Company to construct the improvements outlined on the included plan dated June 17, 2016 and that Calvary commit to an expenditure of  $600,000.00 for these improvements and related costs and that Calvary further approve up to $50,000.00 for yet to be defined additional improvements that may be identified as a result of the above mentioned planned improvements or determined to be beneficial for preparation for the upcoming anniversary celebration the  under taking of which may benefit from the presence of the contractor being on site. These funds will be taken from savings Calvary Lutheran Church currently has on hand with Thrivent.

Please contact Steve Frank, Robyn Frank, or Pastor Mike with questions about the scope of this work or associated costs.

in General /by

What Baylor Teaches US

June 1, 2016
01 Jun 2016

~by Pastor Mike Middaugh


Sadly, my alma mater, and the place where Sandi and I met and began dating, has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons.

Maybe you have seen the reports: multiple cover-ups involving Baylor football players accused of sexual assault; and Baylor president demoted, football coach fired amid sexual assaults scandal.

Recent findings have revealed that for at least seven years there have been major issues in dealing with sexual assault allegations against Baylor football players. The coaching staff and university administrators have looked the other way as multiple women have come forward to report sexual assaults by athletes. The University has been unacceptably slow in complying with Title IX requirements which would have created a safe space for reporting harassment issues and sexual misconduct. Even the Waco police seem to have been complicit in sweeping things under the rug.

How has all of this happened? And at the worlds largest Baptist university, a school which I was told in my time there, was an especially safe place for young men and women to learn, grow, and thrive?

I believe that somehow the school has convinced itself over the years that these sorts of things do not happen at a “good Christian university” like Baylor. And then, faculty, administrators, and coaches all did whatever was necessary to keep that facade intact.

Photo by Jerry Larson

Where is our apology?  (Photo by Jerry Larson)

One of the saddest parts for me of this whole business is that it took a successful football program, star athletes, and ESPN reporting to bring this to light. The reality is that there have been many, many Baylor women who have reported sexual assaults over the years and been ignored, but because those cases did not involve football players they were not picked up in the media. I know because I have multiple female friends who lived through these experiences while at Baylor. Sandi and I have both felt for some years that Baylor (along with perhaps, many other universities) has not been honest or judicious in the ways it has responded to sexual assault issues on campus. In recent months, Sandi has written about a growing movement of students and alumni demanding change.

Thankfully, with the recent reports, that change is finally coming. It seems that Baylor and its board of regents are taking the steps necessary to enter a new era of transparency, responsiveness, and concern for its students – especially its women. Let’s hope.

Because of the Christian principles to which the university claims to adhere, Baylor should be a place at the forefront of fighting to protect its students, all of them, and create an environment where sexual assault, or any other misconduct, is responded to swiftly, thoroughly and carefully so that there is no question as to what is most important.

Whereas in the past, it has seemed that Baylor’s reputation has been most important, even if that meant shrouding the truth, I hope that in the future, Baylor’s quest for mercy, justice, and a humble walk with God is most important, because surely that will be the pathway to true success.

Every Christian university, school, and church should take a lesson from what has happened at Baylor. Our call as witnesses to the gospel is not to uphold an outward appearance of being good, but to actually work hard to do good for all entrusted to our care.

in General /by