In Celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation: John Calvin
On October 31, 1517, an event happened that would change the world. Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic priest in Wittenberg, Germany, went to the local church and nailed to the door a list of 95 theses, or issues, that he believed needed to be reformed in the church. He was later excommunicated from the church for his boldness as the church then considered it heresy. But he didn’t stop preaching and teaching and studying, and soon he had a large group of followers—the Reformation had begun.
On October 31, 2017 we will celebrate the 500th anniversary of that day! We’ll celebrate what Luther did, of course. Our own tradition came about shortly afterward with the work of John Calvin and others. Calvin was 25 years younger than Luther, and gave full credit to him for beginning the reformation, though they had serious theological disagreements which led them in different directions. Calvin’s followers became known as the Reformed tradition, and that’s where the Presbyterians came from. Calvin’s ideas, and those of his colleagues, have had an undeniable and profound influence on our society, through government, the arts, architecture, civil service, and industry, to say nothing of the church itself.
So this summer, in celebration of our 500th anniversary, you have the opportunity to take John Calvin with you wherever you go! Flat Calvin loves to travel, eat supper with people, have picnics, go to the beach, enjoy a movie—he’ll go anywhere! FUN FACT—Although Calvin observed the Sabbath carefully, he did like to go bowling then. He did not consider this work. So if you go bowling, he would be right at home. Just make sure you take pictures of him doing all the things you do this summer, and send them back to the church. On Reformation Sunday, October 29, we’ll have a display of Calvin’s adventures with the John Knox congregation. I’ll keep sharing Calvin FUN FACTS occasionally so we can all learn more about our ancestor in faith.
To print your own "Flat Calvin" to take photos with, go to our "Current" page above and click on the pdf at the bottom of the page.
On October 31, 2017 we will celebrate the 500th anniversary of that day! We’ll celebrate what Luther did, of course. Our own tradition came about shortly afterward with the work of John Calvin and others. Calvin was 25 years younger than Luther, and gave full credit to him for beginning the reformation, though they had serious theological disagreements which led them in different directions. Calvin’s followers became known as the Reformed tradition, and that’s where the Presbyterians came from. Calvin’s ideas, and those of his colleagues, have had an undeniable and profound influence on our society, through government, the arts, architecture, civil service, and industry, to say nothing of the church itself.
So this summer, in celebration of our 500th anniversary, you have the opportunity to take John Calvin with you wherever you go! Flat Calvin loves to travel, eat supper with people, have picnics, go to the beach, enjoy a movie—he’ll go anywhere! FUN FACT—Although Calvin observed the Sabbath carefully, he did like to go bowling then. He did not consider this work. So if you go bowling, he would be right at home. Just make sure you take pictures of him doing all the things you do this summer, and send them back to the church. On Reformation Sunday, October 29, we’ll have a display of Calvin’s adventures with the John Knox congregation. I’ll keep sharing Calvin FUN FACTS occasionally so we can all learn more about our ancestor in faith.
To print your own "Flat Calvin" to take photos with, go to our "Current" page above and click on the pdf at the bottom of the page.
