May 7, 2025
One Wartburg Place
Mount Vernon, NY 10552
P (914) 699-0800
wartburg.org
Greetings!
To our sisters and brothers in Christ
of the Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
from your partners in ministry
at the Wartburg Campus in Mount Vernon, NY.
We remember you in our prayers as you gather for your 62nd District Convention in Albany, New York for the purpose of conducting business with your sibling congregations and proclaiming with St. Paul in the eighth chapter of his Letter to the Church in Rome, “In this hope we are saved!” Grace and peace be with you and your President, The Rev. Dr. Dien Ashley Taylor.
While the whole creation groans in uncertain times, we, like St. Paul, put our hope in the risen Christ and give thanks for partners who believe in the transcendent yet present Spirit who guides our mission to bring well-being to the lives of those we serve. Partnering with you as we keep the faith and endeavor to act with justice and mercy in a world that needs kindness and care, we find strength in our bond.
Wartburg is changing, as the world around our 159-year-old campus changes. Our physical structures which shelter values held for sixteen decades--refuge, care, safety, and well-being— are shifting from a graduated continuum of senior health care to a senior housing neighborhood where residents can age in place with services available to them right here.
This past year Wartburg celebrated the opening of the Berkemeier Living Center, a new Alzheimer’s and dementia care facility named in honor of Wartburg’s second President, Reverend Dr. Gottlieb C. Berkemeier, who served for thirty-six years. The building was financed by the Lutheran Church Extension Fund. In two years, we will have new affordable apartments in what was our former long-term care building. And, not long after, market rate apartment homes will rise on the northeast corner of the campus. As the world evolves, we plan to move with it, keeping the faith and treasuring what gives life and hope to our residents, volunteers, and staff.
We encourage you to stay strong in Spirit as you meet in your convention, and we look forward to the creative ways we will work together to enliven the Wartburg campus and the New York community we call home in the years to come.
In Service Together,
David J. Gentner, Ed.D.
