Calvary was started in May of 1963.   Pastor Kenneth Nelson was called by the Board of Missions of the Lutheran Church in America to start a Lutheran church in Hauppauge in 1962.  At that time, Motor Parkway was a two lane dirt road.  The Long Island Expressway did not exist.  There was a horse farm where the state building is now on Rt. 454.  There was a mink farm where the dump is presently. The new members met first in people’s homes and then at the old Hauppauge Town Hall (now the Knights of Columbus in the middle of Veterans Highway) and then “advanced” to worshiping at the old Smithtown movie theatre (it had a paved parking lot, no more getting stuck in the mud at the K of C) until the purchase of the current property at the corner of Townline and Blydenburgh Roads.  The first part of the existing structures was the sanctuary.  The Sunday School wing was added later, built totally by members working on weekends.  Calvary was blessed to have electricians, masons, painters and roofers as members.  Those who remember the building have fond memories of taking a breather on the half-finished roof!  Pastor Stanley Knull followed Pastor Nelson and was the pastor of Calvary for 22 years.  Under Pastor Knull’s leadership, Calvary placed an emphasis on pastoral care and counseling.  Pastor Knull’s additional degree in counseling was an asset to Calvary and to the community.  Pastor Ahlman is Calvary’s third and current pastor. 

About Our Pastor                                                                                                          

Pastor Kristina Ahlman has been at Calvary for 13 years. She was ordained in 1985. Prior to coming to Calvary, PastorAhlman served as pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, NY, associate pastor at St. Matthew’s-Trinity in  Hoboken, NJ, and as campus pastor at Steven’s Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ.  In addition, she was a chaplain for the New York office of the F.B.I. A graduate of Cornell University and the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pastor Ahlman says that her greatest challenge so far has been motherhood!  She is the mother of two teenagers, a 16 year- old son and an 18 year-old daughter, who is a student at Wittenberg University.  Her husband, Tors, is her greatest supporter.