Like the AME Zion church, the national Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Church), founded in Utica, New York, in 1843, supported the abolition of slavery. In 1903, after several meetings, the Ithaca Chapel’s members decided to change the name and affiliation of their church to Calvary Baptist.

The Calvary Baptist Church Choir is a central part of worship services and has also sung at interdenominational and interfaith events, including the Third Annual Festival of Black Gospel held at Cornell University’s Sage Chapel in 1979 at which the Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. preached a sermon.

Calvary Baptist maintains a close connection between its spiritual mission and community activism, according to Pastor Nathaniel Wright, who has been connected to the church for more than two decades. In 2002, church Deacon and choir member Cal Walker co-founded and served as first director of the Village at Ithaca, an organization that mentors and advocates for students and promotes equity and inclusion in the Ithaca City School District. In recent years young people have been drawn to the church through its Youth Ministry and Young Adult and College Ministry programs.

According to information compiled by Historic Ithaca, the Calvary Baptist Church building was constructed in 1917 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. Between 1965 and 1974, the exterior and exterior were transformed to accommodate increased services and outreach to students at local colleges.