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Torah Scroll Given to Calvary University

Torah Scroll Given to Calvary University

by | Apr 18, 2019

Dr. Teddy Bitner, Chief Academic Officer of Calvary University (far left), and Dr. Gary Gromacki, Director of the PhD Program in Bible and Theology at CU (far right), holding the Torah scroll gifted to CU by Ken & Barb Larson (middle) of God’s Ancient Library, based in Minneapolis, MN. 

Pasul Torah scroll given to Calvary University by Ken and Barb Larson and God’s Ancient Library

On April 10, 2019, Dr. Teddy Bitner and Dr. Gary Gromacki from Calvary University received the gift of a pasul Torah scroll from Ken and Barb Larson and God’s Ancient Library. The word pasul means that the Torah is disqualified for use in the synagogue.

The Torah scroll is identified as written by Ashkenazi Jews which originated from Eastern Europe around 1900. It survived the Holocaust along with the Jews who brought it to Israel.

A blue stamp on the back of the last Deuteronomy panel discovered by Dr. Gromacki indicates that the Torah may have gone to Kiryat Shmonah (a town in northern Israel next to the Lebanon border). From there the Torah scroll went to the house of ben David in Jerusalem.

The scroll was purchased by Ken and Barb Larson and brought to the United States, and is now located at Calvary University in Kansas City.

Dr. Scott Carroll of the Manuscript Research Group gave several lectures about the Torah in Minneapolis, MN, during the gifting event.

Each Torah is written in unpointed Hebrew letters by a sofer on kosher animal skins (like calf or goat).  The sofer uses a quill from a kosher bird (either goose or turkey) and writes with black ink made from a special recipe.

There are 304,805 letters in a Torah. None of the Hebrew letters are permitted to touch. The words of every Torah are identical because they are copied exactly. Elongated Hebrew letters are used to justify the left margins in the columns.

Some stylistic ways of writing Hebrew in the Torah are found in the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15), the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20), the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4), the curses read from Mt. Ebal (Deuteronomy 27), and the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32).

The Torah given to CU is 97 feet long and 19 and a half inches high. It contains 52 panels with 196 columns. It was written by two individuals as indicated by a change of hand found at Leviticus 10:16b. The Torah will be used to help students learn Biblical Hebrew.

Other schools that received a gift of a Torah from the Larsons included: Cedarville University, Midwestern Seminary and Kuyper College.

The Torah scroll donated to CU last week was written by Ashkenazi Jews which originated from Eastern Europe around 1900. The Torah scroll survived the Holocaust along with the Jews who brought it to Israel.

Dr. Gary Gromacki, Director of the PhD Program in Bible and Theology at Calvary University, with Dr. Scott Carroll of the Manuscript Research Group. Dr. Carroll gave several lectures about the Torah during a Torah gifting event in Minneapolis, MN, last week. 

Drs. Teddy Bitner and Gary Gromacki, of Calvary University, examined several Torah scrolls last week when they traveled to Minneapolis, MN, to receive one of those scrolls as a gift to be housed permanently at CU. 

Calvary students got a first look at the scroll in the Bible and Theology chapel this week with Dr. Gary Gromacki, Director of the PhD Program in Bible and Theology at Calvary University. Dr. Gromacki said, “This scroll will not just sit in a glass case somewhere. It will be used to help students learn Biblical Hebrew.”

The Torah is written in unpointed Hebrew letters by a sofer on kosher animal skins (like calf or goat).  The sofer uses a quill from a kosher bird (either goose or turkey) and writes with black ink made from a special recipe.

Second Annual Feast & Fund Auction Success!

Second Annual Feast & Fund Auction Success!

by | Apr 9, 2019

“First item up: 4 tickets to the May 5 Sporting KC game! We’ll start the bidding at $150!”

And with those words, the Feast & Fund Live Auction took off like a shot! Ringmen circled the crowd of 173 people as hands shot up, bidder numbers were called, and people laughed as our beloved guests animatedly vied for the items they desired.  The familiar rhythmic auctioneer chant swirled around the Student Life Center for a little over an hour until $65,046 was raised to buy the Calvary University students the much-needed appliances and furniture for the Kansas City dorm!

The Calvary University administrative staff and business partners worked tirelessly to make the second annual Feast & Fund Auction a fun-filled evening for all and by God’s strength and grace, the night was a success! Postponing once to allow us to bid farewell to the nasty winter weather proved to be a blessing as more attendees were able to make the “snow date.”

The doors opened at 5:30 pm on Friday, March 29, to allow our attendees to look over the 49 silent auction items before dinner at 6:30 pm. The smoked BBQ brisket dinner put together by our own David Allen, with sides provided by Jack Stack’s, was a huge hit as there wasn’t a single scrap of leftovers.

Our generous gold sponsors Bill & Debi Keeney of KW Realty Southland Partners, Heritage Companies, and Pickett Insurance were recognized before the live auction began. These businesses partner with Calvary for many events,  have done so for many years, and Calvary appreciates the way they continue to support our students.

The live auction featured 22 items and included things like autographed sports memorabilia, processed meat, firearms, exotic trips, and student-made goods.  During the Fund-A-Need segment, attendees gave generously and raised $18,860 which has been matched by a generous donor!

Calvary University wants to thank everyone who came out to support this event or gave in absentia. Your heart for the students is so appreciated and treasured. Keep your eyes open for upcoming information on the 2020 Feast & Fund Auction!

CU Purchases Acreage, Buildings on the West Side of the KC Campus (Finally!)

CU Purchases Acreage, Buildings on the West Side of the KC Campus (Finally!)

by | Apr 9, 2019

Pictured are Zoraya Rowlands, the main contact for us with the Port KC, Jon Stephens, the new CEO and President of Port KC and CU Chief Operations Officer, Randy Grimm. The land purchased is indicated on the map below. 

Seventeen years may seem like a long time, but in God’s timing it was just a blink.

Seventeen years may seem like a long time, but in God’s timing it was just a blink.  On April 5, 2019, the much anticipated purchase of twenty acres of land plus Philly Hall, the gym, CABRE (old seminary building) and the Special Events building from the Port Authority of Kansas City was completed.  We no longer have lease payments or insurance bills for buildings that we are not using and that have outlived their prime. However, we are keeping the maintenance shop and the missionary duplex, leasing both of these for a dollar per year for the next five years.

This process began back in 2002 with an invitation from the Aviation Department of Kansas City to buy the campus.  The price was negotiated and a letter of intent was signed. The whole process was brought to a halt, though, because of restrictions in the law that prevented Kansas City from selling the property without a bidding process.  

In February of 2005, Calvary was approached once again about purchasing the property and we ventured down this road with great hopes that this would be the time to get something accomplished. Once again we were unsuccessful.  When the property on the east side of the street became available at no cost, Calvary went through a lengthy process starting in 2006. We filled out applications that resulted in many ups and downs, but we finally received word in 2011 that the east campus property would be donated to Calvary on December 11, 2011.

Consideration of owning the west campus was put on hold until the Port Authority of Kansas City entered the picture. Through a series of conversations and negotiations, the original price mentioned in 2002 of $362,200 was agreed upon in February 2017. Once again many setbacks and changed dates came and went, but the time finally arrived. Despite many skeptics who believed it would never happen, on Friday, April 5 at 11:00 a.m., the property was secured.

We are grateful for God’s provision through the sale of the radio station several years ago, which provided the funds to secure this piece of property for good stewardship of our resources as well as future expansion of Calvary University’s Kansas City campus.

Calvary University Reaches “A Remarkable Milestone” by Receiving Prestigious Enrollment Growth Award

Calvary University Reaches “A Remarkable Milestone” by Receiving Prestigious Enrollment Growth Award

by | Mar 12, 2019

Calling it a “remarkable milestone,” Dr. Christopher Cone, President of Calvary University, recently announced that CU has been awarded the 2017-2018 Jonathan N. Thigpen Enrollment Growth Award.

“As Calvary’s staff and faculty have been faithful to plant and water, God has been causing remarkable growth,” said Dr. Cone.

The award was granted by the Evangelical Training Association and the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) for having the largest student enrollment growth (55%) of any of ABHE’s twenty-seven largest schools.

“This Spring,” said Dr. Cone, “we are seeing our sixth consecutive semester with student enrollment growth, and we are deeply honored to receive the Thigpen Award,” which was awarded to CU because in the past year, it has moved into ABHE’s category of largest schools, and led that group in overall growth.

Along with the growth comes the need for more student scholarships. One of CU’s four distinctives is to provide high quality education at low cost. During 2018, the amount of scholarships CU granted to students outpaced donor support by roughly $450,000.

“To God be the glory, great things He has done!” said Dr. Cone, adding that even though CU has been in the black for the past two years, it will not be possible to sustain such a high level of support for students without strong donor support.

“Please join me,” said Dr. Cone, “in praying for our staff and faculty, who are laboring vigorously to serve these students well, and to make the most of the opportunity God has set before us.”

If you would like more information about how to support CU’s record growth, please visit “https://www.calvary.edu/invest/”.

Calvary University and Word of Life Bible Institute Announce Partnership

Calvary University and Word of Life Bible Institute Announce Partnership

by | Mar 4, 2019

SCHROON LAKE, NY – March 4, 2019 – Calvary University President, Dr. Christopher Cone, and Word of Life Bible Institute President, Roger Peace, announced a sweeping partnership between the two institutions, designed to strengthen both schools and provide significant benefits to students, staff and faculty, and alumni of both institutions. The partnership is crafted to provide a platform of collaboration and sharing between CU and WOLBI, as the schools move toward developing collaborative programs, shared access to campus facilities to enable both schools to broaden their reach, and cross-pollination and sharing of faculty.

The agreement includes significant tuition scholarships for Word of Life two-year program graduates who wish to continue their education through one of Calvary University’s four-year programs, and exchanges scholarships for staff and faculty of each school to attend the other. The agreement also benefits alumni of each school, allowing CU graduates scholarshipped access to Word of Life’s camp facilities, and WOLBI graduates scholarshipped access to educational programs at CU.

Peace and Cone formally announced the partnership to the student body of 370 while Cone had been teaching (the Book of Revelation) at the Word of Life campus in Schroon Lake. The announcement was met with excitement as students appreciated how the agreement would open doors for them to continue their preparation and schooling. Cone said he was “thankful to be working closely with such a likeminded and similarly-missioned group,” additionally noting that, “God continues to use Word of Life mightily in the lives of so many, and it will be a joy to see how God uses this partnership to improve how both schools serve and prepare students.” Peace, who will be speaking in the Spring at Calvary’s main campus in Kansas City, said, “the partnership builds on our commitment to prepare this generation in reaching their generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” and “as we move forward together, this partnership provides students an opportunity to prepare for future in a significant way.

Calvary University is an independent private, regionally accredited and nationally accredited university focused on “preparing Christians to live and serve in the church and in the world according to the Biblical worldview. Calvary offers a broad range of bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and a doctoral program (Ph.D in Bible and Theology). Most of Calvary’s programs can be taken on campus or online.

Word of Life Bible Institute is fully accredited, and the mission is to educate each student within a rigorous academic and structured discipleship atmosphere, preparing him or her to live a life of maximum effectiveness for the Lord. The main campus is in Schroon Lake, NY, and teaching sites are located in Hudson, FL., and additional sites internationally.

For more information about the partnership, contact [email protected] or [email protected].

To inquire about admissions to Calvary University, contact [email protected] (Kansas City), [email protected] (Fort Morgan, CO). To inquire about admissions to Word of Life, contact [email protected].

For more information go to: https://www.calvary.edu/wolbi/.

Click here for the details and to read more about the benefits of this partnership.