About Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church

Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church is a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synond (WELS).

Our Mission

Our mission at Mt. Calvary is to teach the absolute truth of God's Word, baptize in the name of the Triune God, and share our faith in Jesus with our community and the world.

Worship Times

Effective July 1, 2010 during the pastorate vacancy:
Sunday at 7:30 and 10:30am.  
No Thursday evening worship. If you would like to attend a weeknight service, we encourage you to visit either Bethel Lutheran on Monday evening at 7:00 or St. Luke Lutheran on Wednesday evening at 6:30.

Our Past

It was June, 1937 when a young seminary graduate received a call to serve as pastor of a Lutheran mission in the Village of Kimberly. Wilmar Wichmann began by knocking on doors in search of Lutheran families looking for a church home. as well as any unchurched residents in the area. In September of that year, the congregation was organized with 19 families as members. During that first year they worshiped in the Kimberly Village Hall. Membership grew steadily in those early years with many of the baptisms being adults. On New Years Day in 1940, the footings were poured for a church and two-room basement schoolhouse on the corner of First and Pine St. in Kimberly. (seen above) Many had their doubts in those early years, wondering how it could be possible to build a church, a school, and support a pastor and teacher with 110 members? It was not only possible, but it flourished! “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His mercy endures forever.” In 1954 the parsonage was added, and three years later the construction of our school building was complete. In 1965, through the gift of a bequest, an additional two rooms were added to the school.

In January of 2005, Mt. Calvary dedicated its new facility in the Town of Harrison.

Our Present

We currently serve over 500 members with eight full time called workers, a part-time church/school secretary and part-time staff minister. Mt. Calvary offers many opportunities for service and involvement for the entire family through several boards, committees and organizations. Here are a few of the groups we currently support:

• Christian Women’s Society…meetings, trips and dinners to enjoy fellowship
• LWMS… Lutheran Women's Mission Society. A support group that meets to learn more about our missions and how we can help
• Lutheran Boy and Girl Pioneers
• Mother/Toddler group
• Music ministry… Senior Choir, Praise Team, Handbell Choir, Voices for Jesus Junior Choir and instrumentalists
• Youth group
• Senior breakfast group
• Many family activities -including summer picnic, church camping, cookouts and potluck dinners, bowling, golf outing, Christian Parent Teacher Association gatherings and more...

In Our Future

Our mission as a congregation and a group of believers is to make full use of the gifts God has blessed us with, putting all our efforts into spreading the good news of the gospel messages. In partnership with St. Luke Lutheran and Bethel Lutheran, we are committed to supporting a Christian Day School, providing a quality education for our children while enriching their daily lives with the Word of God. We are intent on reaching out to those in our community, while continuing to nurture the faith of those who have already heard the message and believed. Keeping families in the Word builds strong relationships and an even stronger trust in God. We hope to continue to welcome new families into the fold, sharing the comfort and peace we have through Jesus!

A time to grow…
The Lord has richly blessed and sustained our congregation for over 69 years. He has also laid before us a tremendous opportunity. Returning to God what is His through our gifts of thanks will help enable us to realize our goal of adding a worship sanctuary in the near future. Information is available at church regarding our capital campaign and how members can join us in this commitment by making a pledge or by contributing on an individual basis.

Our Pastor

On November 7th 1999, Pastor Virgil E. Hanson, Jr. was installed as the tenth pastor in Mt. Calvary's history. Pastor Hanson is originally from Waukesha, WI. As part of his seminary training, he served one year at Bethlehem Ev. Lutheran Church in Hortonville, WI. Pastor Hanson recieved a call to Living Hope Ev. Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE after graduating from the Seminary in May of 1991. Pastor Hanson served this new mission church with the good news of Jesus our Savior until the fall of 1994, when he accepted a call to Our Savior's Ev. Lutheran Church in Daytona, FL. In October of 1999, the Lord led Pastor Hanson to accept the call to Mt. Calvary.

Pastor Hanson is married to Ann, and they have three children, Aaron, Grace, and Mariam.

Pastor Hanson's office hours are 8:00-11:30 A.M. Monday through Friday. He can be reached at info@mtcalvary.net.