Church – Calvary Lutheran

In the fall of 1954, a group of Lutheran families met together to discuss the possibility of starting a congregation in Allendale. The Allendale Borough Council was approached, and it gave permission for the use of the Allendale firehouse as a meeting space. The first service was held on December 5, 1954, with 61 people in attendance and the Reverend C.O. Pedersen as the speaker. In 1955, about five acres of property on West Crescent Avenue and Ivers Place was purchased, and in December 1956, ground was broken for a new church building. On January 13,
1957, the cornerstone of the Calvary Lutheran Church was laid, and on June 16, 1957, the church was dedicated. It consisted of an auditorium seating 200, a pastor’s study, a secretary’s office, a kitchen, and a fellowship room. On November 8, 1959, the Lutheran church broke ground for a five-classroom Sunday school addition and a two-story, eight-room parsonage. The Sunday school and the parsonage cost $25,000 and $23,000, respectively. The new Sunday school was dedicated on May 8, 1960.