An infusion of youth at Calvary Lutheran

In its 65th year, church installs its youngest pastor

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The Calvary Lutheran Church in East Meadow installed the youngest pastor in its 65-year-history last Sunday, a shift in leadership that congregation officials hope will help the church make a successful transition into a time of great cultural change while invigorating its rapidly declining membership.

Mark Budenholzer, 25, who grew up in Queens and graduated from the Concordia Seminary, in St. Louis, less than two months ago, was also ordained at the ceremony.

It was the first time, according to congregation President Pat Schneider, that a pastor has been ordained at Calvary Lutheran, which sits at the intersection of Taylor Avenue and Bush Street, just south of Hempstead Turnpike and near East Meadow’s border with Levittown.

Calvary Lutheran hosted its first service on June 11, 1950, in a temporary location on Hempstead Turnpike, near the intersection with Taylor Avenue. It was founded by the Rev. Herbert Kern, who is now 98 and still lives in East Meadow. Its current building opened in 1954. More than 400 people attended weekly services in the late 1970s, but attendance has dropped to below 100 in recent years, according to Schneider, a drop that officials said reflects a worldwide trend in Christianity.

Budenholzer is the sixth pastor to lead Calvary Lutheran. “We’ve never had someone right out of the seminary,” said Schneider, who was married in the church in 1985. “We’re pretty excited.”

While still getting settled in his new office two days before his ordainment, Budenholzer expressed his excitement to learn more about a community that is new to him. He moved into a home just blocks from the church with his wife, Naomi, earlier this month.

“The people are really nice and welcoming,” said Budenholzer, who delivered his first sermons the previous two Sundays while serving as acting pastor. “Every time you’re coming into new places, you want to make a good first impression. I think it all went over well. It’s encouraging to look at the future from what I’ve seen in the past two weeks.”

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