CLEVELAND — New Life at Calvary Church is still recovering from an August 2023 tornado that caused millions of dollars in damage to the 143-year-old church.
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The EF-1 tornado blew off a section of the church’s roof. Members still don’t have access to the sanctuary and have been holding services in the church gym.
Construction crews are continuing to remove lead, asbestos, and mold. A significant amount of structural work is still needed to get the building back to its original character.
“We're trusting the process, and we know that God has us in his hands,” said Pastor Kellie Sullivan.
The church, already a Cleveland Historic Landmark, was in the midst of a capital improvement campaign before the tornado.
Sullivan said it was also working to get into the National Register of Historic Places.
“Our church pretty much began as a part of Millionaire's Row. We were part of the Civil Rights Movement,” Sullivan said. “Calvary was one of the first integrated churches in all of Cleveland. We want to be able to share that and celebrate it.”
Getting into the National Register of Historic Places is lengthy, complicated and costly.
Thursday, it was announced that the National Park Service awarded the Cleveland Restoration Society a $52,149 federal grant to help complete nominations to the National Register of Historic Places for New Life at Calvary Church, Advent Evangelical Lutheran Church, Emmanuel Baptist Church, The Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church, Greater Friendship Baptist Church and Nazarene Baptist Church.
The funding specifically comes from the National Park Service’s Underrepresented Communities Grant Program.
“We are a majority minority city, and there's a lot of important history here,” said Margaret Lann with the Cleveland Restoration Society. “We were looking at how many national register listed buildings in the Cleveland area spoke to African American cultural heritage and we came back with about 4%. So, we really want to diversify that listing."
Lann said the national designation can open up access to funding.
“It does open some doors to certain grant applications most of which are offered at a national level either through places like The National Park Service… the National Trust for Historic Preservation,” Lann said.
Sullivan is optimistic about the future and all the projects on the to-do list.
“What do you think your first sermon will be when you're back in your sanctuary? News 5’s Damon Maloney asked Sullivan.
“I would hope that our first sermon back would just be a praise and thanksgiving to God,” Sullivan said.
The Cleveland Restoration Society said it hopes to get two churches through the entire process each year over the next three years.
Lann said the Ohio Historic Preservation Office has to approve the nominations before the National Park Service gets its say.
“It’s the highest honor that we can have in terms of designation in our country,” Lann said.
To learn more about New Life at Calvary Church visit their website.
