Gift Given to the Youth Ministries Department

DALLAS – Dorcas Mildred Peterson Calvert was born April 25, 1925, and joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church as an adult in Los Angeles, Calif. In the early 1950s, Calvert, her husband and their five children relocated to the Austin area and united with the Alpha Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Calvert loved her family, the church and the Lord! She served the church faithfully as a community service leader, Sabbath school teacher, deaconess, investment leader, Ingathering band leader and Bible worker. Her Smithville, Tex., Bible School was a visionary project to which she dedicated her time, energy and funds. Given her evangelistic efforts, many accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and were baptized.

In the early 1970s, Calvert decided to help the church reach a wider audience. To facilitate this, she began taking television broadcasting classes with the goal of broadcasting Bible lessons. Her goal was realized when she began funding and broadcasting the program “An Hour With Your Bible.” Continuing well into the 1980s, Austin–area viewers were greeted every Sunday morning by Dorcas Calvert preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ!

In addition to serving her church, and engaging in television ministry, Calvert was an avid supporter of Adventist education and youth ministries. Supporting and sponsoring youth to attend Adventist schools, summer camp and youth federations were focal points of her ministry. Many youth today attribute their membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church and, most importantly, their relationship with the Lord to Calvert’s influence.

Although Dorcas Calvert has fallen asleep in Jesus and is awaiting the voice of the Savior at the first resurrection, her influence still lives on, particularly in young people. To help solidify this legacy, her children and grandchildren shared proceeds from her estate to continue to fund youth initiatives in the Southwest Region Conference with specificity to young people.

Most recently, her family presented a tangible monetary gift to the Southwest Region Conference Youth Department for the purchase of jet skis at the conference campground, Lone Star Camp, enabling youth to benefit by engaging in this fun, recreational activity for camp meeting, summer camp and other events. On Friday, June 17, 2022, for “Youth Night” at the Southwest Region Conference Camp Meeting, Conference President Carlton P. Byrd, D.Min. and Carl Ming, Southwest Region Conference Youth Ministries director, recognized and acknowledged the Calvert family for their gift, presented them with a plaque and also shared that a commemorative plaque had been affixed to the office building of the aquatic area of the campground identifying the gift made by the Calvert family in honor of the life, legacy and ministry of Dorcas Mildred Peterson Calvert.

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By Communications Team