Calvary Presbyterian
The News-Examiner, 6 August 2014. page 15
FROM BEGINNING AREA RELIGIOUSLY DIVERSE
Presbyterians purchased a lot in Montpelier in 1883 and in 1884,
the Home Missionary School of the Presbyterian Church opened its doors. It
was a two-room building with classes held in the front and the two female
teachers living in the back. The first day's enrollment was 11 students;
seven Mormons and four Gentiles.
As more railroad workers came to the valley, there was more demand for these other denominations. Beginning in 1885 the Rev Robert Boyd held several tent meetings in the valley for Presbyterians, holding services wherever he could set up a tent. Enrollment in the Home Missionary School drew every year. However, once tow "public" schools opened in Montpelier in 1893, the fate of the Presbyterian school was sealed. The school was officially closed in 1896 due to lack of enrollment.
Rev Boyd Tent Meeting 1885
The Presbyterian Church of Montpelier was organized on April 21, 1889. The chapel was a small wooden structure built on the corner of Lincoln and Fifth Street. In 1893 the Calvary Presbyterian Church was dedicated on Ninth and Grants Street, but it did not have a belfry in either 1898 or 1899. The church added a belfry and a new bell was brought in by train. Once the belfry was in place and the bell installed, it would ring every Sunday promptly at 10 minutes to 10 am calling the faithful Presbyterians to worship. It was said that if a person left home on the first bell, he would be on time for the service. The bell would ring again at 10 am when services began. The ringing was so sweet, it was described by some as a call from heaven.
In August of 1930 the congregations of the Calvary Presbyterian and the Montpelier Methodist Church met to discuss the possibility of combining the two congregations. The Montpelier Community Church was officially organized on May 1, 1931. It was decided the church would remain under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church but all denominations were welcome.
In 1965 a new church was built in the center of Hillside Drive. The new church was dedicated on Dec 11,1966. Several items from the old church were built into the new one, including stained glass and the bell which was placed on a cinderblock tower on the front lawn. As other denominations diminished in the valley their members attended the Presbyterian church and in the summer of 1999, the name of the church was officially changed to the Bear Lake Community Church to reflect its ecumenical nature.