Stonington — A church bell rang 175 times in the borough Sunday as members of Calvary Episcopal Church, many dressed in red to represent the fire of the Holy Spirit, held a double celebration for Pentecost and the church's 175th anniversary.

Bishop Ian Douglas of the Diocese of Connecticut visited the stone church on Church Street and spoke in his sermon of how the histories of Pentecost and the church are woven together.

Pentecost, as illustrated by Sunday's second reading, refers to when the 12 disciples received the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, which the Spirit gave them the ability to do, to spread the gospel.

"With the founding of Calvary Church, what God began on Pentecost extends to this place and continues to do so to this moment," Douglas said.

In 1847, Episcopalians in New London and Westerly began a new parish in Stonington. The parish gathered in the "Band Room," where the first Stonington Band practiced, inside a house on Main Street at the time, and it celebrated Holy Communion for the first time on the same day as the feast of Pentecost. Since then, the church has marked its anniversary as the day of Pentecost every year.

Bob Callahan, 74, officially professed his faith to the Episcopal Church Sunday after being a member of the Catholic Church most of his life. Callahan, who also served as the acolyte, said the people at Calvary are loving, kind and very receptive.

"It was a spiritual thrill," Callahan said about the service. "It's always an honor having the Bishop here."

Following the worship service and the ringing of the church bell, members moved into the rear yard of the church campus for food, music and celebratory remarks.

"The Holy Spirit has been very active in the Church's history," said the Rev. Gillian Barr, who has served as the parish rector since August 2019.

Barr said she loves Calvary for its people. She said they are dedicated and hard-working in how they care about the community, with projects ranging from supporting Afghan families to resettle in the U.S. to offering a nursery school.

Three former senior wardens, or primary elected leaders of the congregation, read pieces about the church's history in the past 50 years — how it was renewed in the 1970s and strengthened by rectors such as the Rev. Mark Robinson and the Rev. Alfred Tisdale.

One of the senior wardens, Betsy Carr, lives in Dr. Lord's Hall, the very home with the "Band Room" where the Episcopal church shared its first communion as a parish. Carr said she thinks it is a wonderful church and group of people. She has been a member of the church since moving to Stonington in 1969.

As for the future, Carr said hopefully the church will continue to grow.

"We've been serving the church and community, and I hope we can continue to do that," Carr said.

j.vazquez@theday.com