CLEVELAND — Two Sundays ago, News 5 brought you coverage of New Life at Calvary Church's return to its sanctuary following damage caused by an August 2023 tornado.
I’ve been following the church's recovery and reporting on how the community has supported it both before and after the storm.
In February 2024, I reported that the National Park Service awarded the Cleveland Restoration Society a federal grant to assist several churches in completing applications for consideration to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The funding specifically came from the National Park Service’s Underrepresented Communities Grant Program, which included New Life at Calvary alongside Advent Evangelical Lutheran Church, Emmanuel Baptist Church, The Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church, Greater Friendship Baptist Church, and Nazarene Baptist Church.
On Tuesday, New Life at Calvary Church’s Pastor Kellie Sullivan received a letter informing her that the church's application had been approved and it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's already a Cleveland Historic Landmark.
The latest national designation signifies that the church building is considered worthy of preservation; it helps secure the church’s story in the historical record and opens access to preservation incentives, tax credits, and grants.
In my original story, Margaret Lann from the Cleveland Restoration Society expressed the importance of assisting churches with the applicants, which can be complex and costly.
“We are a majority-minority city, and there's a lot of important history here,” Lann said. “We found that only about 4% of national register-listed buildings in the Cleveland area reflect African American cultural heritage. We really want to diversify that listing.”
At that time, Sullivan shared the church’s history, recounting how it began in the late 1800s as part of Millionaires’ Row and has withstood cultural and economic changes.
"We were part of the Civil Rights Movement. Calvary was one of the first integrated churches in all of Cleveland,” Sullivan said. “We want to be able to share and celebrate that.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Sullivan announced that the church plans to install a plaque highlighting its new designation and intends to hold a celebration soon.
