As our story begins, the first Lutheran service in Oroville was conducted by Rev. Walter E. Mathwig in 1912. This circuit rider rode between Oroville and Quincy occasionally holding services.

On June 13, 1937, Rev. Oswald Meiger was installed as a mission pastor of the California and Nevada District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

On Aug. 29, 1939, Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized and a constitution was drawn up. By December of that year, the congregation numbered 29 communicants and 63 baptized souls. Services were held at the local YMCA.

During the next few years, church services were held in a variety of buildings. Finally, the congregation believed the time was right to purchase property and build a church of our own. The property on the corner of Ashley Ave. and Canyon Highlands Blvd. was purchased in 1953 and dedicated on Jan.31, 1954.

In July 1960, Rev. William Faust was installed as Calvary’s first full time pastor. Over the next seventeen years, the church grew and served the community of Oroville faithfully, even establishing a local Lutheran Social Service Office in Oroville in 1967.

During the years of the building of Oroville dam, many new residents came to Oroville and decided to stay. In 1973, Calvary called Pastor Michael Benke who was called as a “Worker Priest”, but Calvary stepped out in faith and supported him as our full time Pastor who guided us through the 1970s. During this time, we started Calvary Lutheran Pre-school through which we served the children of Oroville for almost four decades.

In 1981, Calvary called Pastor Mick Ista.

The church grew to the point that a new church facility was necessary. In March of 1987, ground was broken at our 23-acre site on the corner of Edgewood and Foothill Blvd. The new facility was dedicated to God on June 5,1988. Several years later Calvary donated 17 acres to help form the Country Crest Assisted Living Center and Skilled nursing facility.

Under the guidance of Pastor Ista, Calvary began a Stephen’s Ministry program which trained members to become caregivers who helped members and others to cope with the everyday struggles in life, such as those dealing with a death in the family, loneliness, or even changes in family relationships. Pastor Ista earned a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and was licensed by the state. Soon the Calvary Counseling Center was formed in which he and other Christian counselors served the people of the Oroville community.

In 2001, Calvary called Pastor Mark Rabe. During this time, Calvary continued to participate in many outreach events such as the Community Easter Egg Hunt, Vacation Bible School, a booth at the Annual Feather Fiesta Days, Bibles to Jails and the Calvary Women’s Guild. Pastor Rabe and several church members took missionary trips to Kenya. He eventually decided to make it his mission to live in Kenya with his family to work with a few Lutheran churches there.

In 2011, Calvary called Pastor Douglas Williams who gave us a great sense of community and a vision for the future. Sadly, Pastor Doug was called home to the Lord, having succumbed to cancer.

Currently, Calvary Lutheran is being served by Vicar Jeff Tuft, under the guidance of Pastor Emeritus Mick Ista. Jeff is in a special program called the Specific Ministry Pastor program, and will soon be our full time Pastor.

God has blessed our congregation through its many circumstances and challenges.