Calvary Church

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.

- John 10:9 (The Book of Common Prayer).

We welcome you to Calvary Parish and invite you to worship with us and share in the fellowship of our community of faith. We hope this webpage will help you to become more familiar with Calvary, our parish activities, and our mission to serve Christ in the world.

Calvary is a parish within the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, the Episcopal Church (TEC), and the worldwide Anglican Communion. The parish of Calvary dates back to Pentecost, May 23, 1847, with the celebration of its first communion in the Brass Band Room of Dr. Lord’s Hall (32 Main Street). The present church building, designed by architect Richard Upjohn, was consecrated on May 31, 1849. Calvary’s Sesquicentennial in 1997 coincided with the completion of an extensive restoration campaign for the church.

Calvary warmly welcomes all of God’s people, young and adult, without regard to physical restrictions, wealth or standing, education or professional activities, the color of their skin or the language that they speak, where they live, or what their heritage or ancestry may be. While physically located in Stonington Borough, our parishioners come from many surrounding towns, from Groton Long Point to Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Our Episcopal Church is a broad church in the Anglo-Catholic tradition and the love and worship of Jesus Christ is the common bond, which unites us all. Our Parish and our two schools, Calvary Nursery School and Calvary Music School, attract a vital and enthusiastic mixture of people, and we hope that you will join us in our community of worship and worthwhile activities.

Our new Rector, The Rev. Dr. W. Alfred Tisdale, Jr., came to us after serving as “Associate Dean/Director of Anglican Studies and Formation” at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and also serving as part-time staff at Christ Church (Episcopal) in New Haven.  He has over 25 years of parish ministry, originally in the Presbyterian Church and more recently in the Episcopal Church.  His experience is vast.  He has enjoyed working with seminarians but he “has a pastor’s heart and has been longing to return to parish ministry”.   Alfred is married to The Rev. Dr. Nora Tubbs Tisdale, who is a Presbyterian minister serving as Professor of Preaching at Yale Divinity School.  She continues to serve in that capacity.  They have two grown children and one granddaughter.