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Calvary congregation marches forward
(by K. Darius Amos - January 02, 2008)
Jose Torres ascended toward the heavens, or how ever high the spiral staircase led him and his visitors. Emerging inside Calvary Church’s steeple, Torres admits the lights there don’t work but offered the remaining late afternoon sunlight to illuminate a path.
“Isn’t this great up here? Take a look outside,” Torres said, pointing in the direction of the church’s second steeple.
“You can see the guys working over there.”
It was the evening before Thanksgiving, already dark and chilly, but the carpenters and engineers continued to work, as did Torres. They soak up every minute of their experience at the church.
A history buff and president of the ushers at Hackensack’s Calvary Church, Torres can hardly contain his excitement about the ongoing renovations to the 107-year-old building. He guides his visitors back to Earth and shows off the rest of the church – classrooms, computer rooms, kitchen and back to the main sanctuary.
“The building is bigger than one would think just by looking at the outside,” said Torres. “You can get lost inside here.”
Surrounded by century-old artifacts and relics, along with his unwavering faith, Torres often does lose himself inside the church, naturally, because it is indeed his home.
Calvary Church, located at the corner of Union and Central avenues, is one of the oldest in Hackensack and Bergen County. The congregation this year celebrated the church’s 111th anniversary to fanfare that included its six or seven dozen members.
“We take pride that the lord has blessed us in so many ways for 111 years,” said Torres.
“We’ll be here another 100 or 200 years, or as long as the lord lets us.”
The Calvary congregation, in fact, is noted for its faith and pride. Its membership is entirely Latin American, and the Baptist Church services are conducted solely in Spanish. A bilingual sign greets visitors in English and Spanish.
“We’re all Dominican, Venezuelan, Puerto Rican. It’s like the United Nations here,” said Bronx-born Torres, a Puerto Rican who is one of the church’s newer members when compared with others.
The church is led by Pastor Abel Castaneda, a Hackensack native who grew up in the Calvary family. According to Torres, the church could not have been left in better hands.
“We thank the lord for blessing us, by letting one of our own lead our church,” he said.
Under his leadership, the church is undergoing a major exterior face lift. Carrying a price tag of approximately $130,000, the project includes renovation of the outdoor stairs and ramp, along with the replacement of wooden shingles with vinyl siding.
The church’s stone base, along with the original corner stone, will remain, however, the old-fashioned wood work will be eliminated.
“We can’t knock this down; this is history,” said Torres as he knocked on the stone. “The church will still have an old rustic look. The vinyl will help stop some of the leaks and other problems.”
“We are renovating the outside of the church so that we may stand by our commitment for years to come.
The renovation project should be completed in December.
Changing physically, the spirit inside Calvary Church has remained constant since it was founded by J.K. Folwell in 1896. Membership since Torres joined less than five years ago has skyrocketed.
“In two years, the church has really grown. We don’t do anything differently here than what other churches do. It’s just the word of God that changes people,” Torres said.
“We make the commitment to continue providing spiritual and social help to our neighbors, remembering always that true religion includes helping those in need.”
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