From its beginnings under a tent on the corner of 20th and Blake in Denver, what was dubbed The Potter Mission grew to become Calvary Baptist Church of Denver, organized on Nov. 15, 1881. The 50-year history was recorded by Ida May Dennison in 1931 and the 100-year centennial by Wallace D. Turner in 1981. Kathy Smiley, a fifth-generation member of the Calvary community, has taken the last 35 years to create a fascinating and delightfully detailed story of the Calvary congregation over its full 135-year history.

Reviewing thousands of pages of minutes, records, newsletters and church bulletins, Smiley does a masterful job of dusting off history and making it vibrant and alive with anecdotes and humor.

Setting the congregation's growth against the economic and social realities of the times, Smiley helps the reader see the church's decisions and changes in context.

Today, the church confronts the heart of the Christian challenge: open to all, closed to none. Calvary welcomes and affirms all people as children of God from every cultural and religious background, sexual orientation, family composition, physical and mental ability, economic means, race, age and gender.

Candid photographs round out the Calvary story, and a series of appendices includes senior pastors, missionaries in residence and ordinations.