Atonement Lutheran Church
Stony Point, NY
"Membership, ministry, fellowship, and outreach have improved after the COVID crisis of 2020-21. Our congregation has gained six new members as well as five baptisms, three confirmands, and three for first communion. Our average attendance has improved from 33 in 2022, to 36 in 2024 and does not include our zoom attendance which would add an average of six online per week. Zoom has been beneficial for inclement services as well as those who want to attend from other regions of the country (Florida being one example).
We have an active Sunday school with 16 children and have an adult class of six members that meet nearly every Sunday throughout the academic year.
We continue to have important ministries that contribute to the community and the life of the church. Our ladies guild meets monthly and takes care of the altar needs for special services, weddings, funerals, baptisms, International Luncheon, Easter breakfast, fundraising activities, coffee hours for communion, confirmation, Christmas Party, and Father’s Day lunch. Our Men’s alliance group was formed and does the annual Mother’s Day breakfast as well as an annual rummage sale in the parking lot of the church. Lastly, they also sponsor a night out for the local minor league baseball team. The mission group delivers care packages to shut-ins and college students and offers food drives and supplies to the local homeless shelter, providing comfort and services to those in need within the community.
We sponsor two scout troops and a Girl Scout troop, and both are actively involved in supporting the congregation."
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
Delmar, NY
Bethlehem Lutheran Church remains steadfastly committed to our mission to:
Connect with Jesus
Connect with Others
Connect Others with Jesus
We continually seek opportunities to engage with our church family and the broader community.
Over the past triennium, we have experienced significant changes to our staffing and ministry priorities. These changes were initiated by a visioning process undertaken in 2022 following the departure of Rev. Mark Mueller. This process helped us identify our key ministry priorities: worship, outreach, youth, and family ministry. In response, we have developed a staffing plan to align with these priorities:
- To enhance worship, we welcomed two retired pastors, Rev. Dave Dietsche and Rev. Russ Craig, to our staff in part-time roles.
- For outreach, we hired Atlantic District Lay Deacon Melissa Derenches as our full-time Coordinator of Outreach and Ministry Support.
- In August 2024, we called Hannah “Annie” Ryan, Director of Church Ministries from Concordia University Wisconsin, to support youth and family ministry.
As we look ahead to 2025, we are excited about the positive impacts these staffing changes have had on our congregation and the larger community. We are witnessing a gradual increase in membership and weekly attendance. Thanks to Melissa Derenches, we are more actively involved in our surrounding community, partnering with local organizations to address the needs of both Bethlehem and South Albany. With Annie Ryan's assistance, we successfully held our most impactful VBS since the onset of COVID-19.
We are also thrilled to announce significant investments in our facilities. In March, we successfully launched and completed a $1.1 million capital campaign. These funds will enable us to repave our parking lot, enhance parking lot lighting, add a covered entrance, and upgrade the audio-visual systems in our traditional sanctuary. We will also tackle numerous deferred maintenance projects, ensuring our facility remains safe and welcoming for years to come.
In 2024, we mourned the loss of our long-time member, Dr. Ralph Schultz, President Emeritus of Concordia College in Bronxville. While we grieve the loss of a dear friend and ministry partner, we take comfort in knowing that Ralph is now with his Savior, Jesus Christ.
Guided by our mission to Connect with Jesus, Connect with Others, and Connect Others with Jesus, we look forward to the future with optimism, confident in the Lord and excited for the opportunities He will provide."
Ev. Lutheran Church of Christ the King
Pawling, NY
"The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Christ the King in Pawling has served Pawling and the surrounding communities for more than sixty years. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of our church building, which we are observing with a celebration on September 21st and the beginning of an organ project to better support our congregation’s robust musical life under the direction of Kantor Stephen R. Johnson.
Christ the King has seen an influx of young individuals and families in the past few years, due in large part to the reverent, beautiful liturgical worship and the warm, friendly welcome that both characterize our congregation. We continue to be very active in community organizations, including the Pawling Resource Center, Rotary, and the Chamber of Commerce. Members of the congregation continue to give their time and money to support relief and social service organizations both locally and globally. We have also begun hosting a produce distribution twice a month in partnership with the Pawling Resource Center and the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, which sees more than 150 families from Pawling and the surrounding communities enter our doors every month, where they are welcomed and served by the pastor and volunteers from the congregation.
The past few months have also seen an increased emphasis on outreach and digital presence, with a new website and a revitalized social media presence to help us as we engage our community with the Gospel of hope."
Family of Faith Lutheran Church
Middletown, NY
Family of Faith Lutheran Church in Middletown, NY installed the Rev. Dr. Doka as Pastor on June 8, 2025, as part of dual parish arrangement with St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Pine Island, part of the Town of Warwick, NY. Family of Faith has developed a brochure for evangelism, welcoming guests and inviting others to church. Family of Faith has tried to reach out to the larger community. This past December, Family of Faith sponsored a Blue Christmas service that was well attended and designed for people coping with loss and grief during the holiday season. Dan Harrison serves as an Atlantic District Lay Deacon.
Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church
Hurley, NY
"Good Shepherd, located in the Mid-Hudson Valley, is a small congregation that faces challenges as do other small congregations in our District and Synod.
Good Shepherd had been in a dual parish arrangement with All Saints Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lagrangeville. That association ended in August of 2024, however, when Pastor Henry Albrechtsen accepted a Call to be the Pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Warwick. Our Lord has provided two pastors who conduct Divine Worship Services-- Pastor Stanley Webster and Pastor Christopher Grant -- while we work through the vacancy process. During this vacancy, the Christian Care of our members continues with shut-ins being regularly visited. Weekly Bible Study continues to be held. With the assistance of Pastor Victor Nelson, we held an additional Bible Study focused on reaching out to family members with the Good News of the Gospel. Atlantic District Lay Deacon Brian Martin serves in this congregation in addition to serving as the Treasurer of the LCMS Atlantic District.
During the past three years, Good Shepherd has continued to reach out to the local community in Christian Care. We continue to support the local food bank, People’s Place, with donations of food items. We conduct an annual fund drive the Bravo organization in Kingston, which supports women during pregnancy and continues to assist them and their families after the birth with infant clothing and formula. We have also collected clothing and Christmas presents for this organization as they assist families. This year, 2025, we began working with one of the local rehabilitation/nursing home facilities, visiting people living there who rarely receive visits, assembling busy aprons for residents in the Memory Care unit, and collecting items for the facility’s resident’s shop. This past fall we restarted a project that had been interrupted by Covid-19, providing nutritious snacks for needy elementary school children during their Christmas and Thanksgiving school breaks.
We give thanks to our Heavenly Father for His continued care, enabling us to gather in Worship and providing opportunities for us to share His love and Good News of the Gospel in our community."
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Warwick, NY
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Warwick, New York, has experienced many changes since during the past triennium and looks with joyful anticipation to a new era just unfolding.
Since the last Convention of the Atlantic District, The Rev. Jordan Voges received and accepted a Call to St James Lutheran Church, West St Paul, MN. As vacancy pastor, Rev. Dr. Kenneth Doka provided Good Shepherd will calm and inspiring guidance through the Call process. A Divine Call was issued and accepted by The Rev. Henry Albrechtsen III in July of this 2024. He was installed as the pastor by The Rev. Dr. Dien Ashley Taylor, Bishop and President of the Atlantic District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, on August 25, 2024.
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church suffered from declining attendance, in large part due to the COVID-19 pandemic as did other congregations. A deliberate program to welcome these once faithful members back was instituted in the fall of 2025. This included a special 60th Anniversary worship service and banquet at which The Rev. Dr. Dien Ashley Taylor shared the day’s message. Personal invitations to other congregational events were issued as well. With praise to God, several families and individuals have returned to our fellowship. As a result, our Sunday School and Youth Confirmation classes, although initially small, are thriving. For the first time in its history, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Warwick NY, is sending a contingent to the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, LA, this year. There has also been an increased attendance at worship and Sunday Adult Bible Class, as well as interest in Adult Confirmation.
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Warwick has always been a community-minded congregation, active in years past with the local ecumenical council. Beginning with the first days of the pandemic, Good Shepherd reached out to the needs of the community by providing free soup to anyone, in need or not, who stopped by to receive it each Wednesday between January and mid-April. From these humble beginnings grew “Soup for the Soul” – now a community effort with individual volunteers and local restaurants making soup, nearby orchards donating apples, a grocer providing bread, and others delivering to shut-ins. For the 2025 program, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church distributed 5,205-pint containers of homemade soup, doubling the largest amount from previous years.
Other community focused activities included a Veterans’ Day Reception and Concert, featuring Christian musician WendySue Flugge, annual Fish Fry fundraiser, and public concert by the Storm Kings Trombone Ensemble as a fundraiser for the Warwick Valley Ecumenical Food Pantry, As a further service to the community, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church hosts a bi-monthly AAA Defensive Driving Course.
The holidays are, of course, special times at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. There is a Christmas and Easter Brunch, as well as celebrating a Christ-centered Jewish Seder this past Maundy Thursday. The Christmas celebration was further enhanced this past year by Good Shepherd being the organizing congregation for the Ecumenical Warwick Christmas Caroling, held at the community creche on public property in the center of the village.
There is so much more to plan and do in our quest to be “Making Disciples for Life"" by ""Engaging the World with the Gospel of Hope” In so doing, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Warwick, continues to walk in the Light of Christ, seeking the path that He has chosen for ministry and mission in this place, fully confident in the words of the prophet, ""For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."" [Jeremiah 29:11]
Soli Deo Gloria
Immanuel Lutheran Church
Delhi, NY
"Delhi, the county seat of Delaware County, straddles the West Branch of the Delaware River in the northwestern Catskills. Our congregation’s roots date back to the 1930s, when two groups of German immigrants – one to the south of Delhi and the other to the north – came together and worked to establish a Lutheran congregation. They eventually settled in Delhi, as it was midway between the two groups. The congregation was incorporated in early 1943. Today, our members come not only from Delhi but throughout Delaware County.
The life of our church family—its worship, outreach, and ministry—continues to be centered around Christ and His gifts to us. Word and Sacrament ministry form the core of our life together and, we pray, will continue to do so. Since our last report, we have continued to expand our community outreach. We initiated a GriefShare ministry that offers care and support to those who have lost loved ones in our community. We have reached out to our Deputy Sheriffs, teachers, and soon, to our local hospital staff with care bags and cards of encouragement. We continue to offer Bible Study and midweek Lent and Advent services that are open to all.
God continues to richly bless our congregation. Our mission is to share those blessings and His love with the surrounding communities. We trust in His ongoing care and love to strengthen us for that work."
Love Lutheran Church
East Greenbush, NY
As the Atlantic District enters a new era, Love Lutheran Church, east Greenbush, remains a mission outpost dedicated to sharing the heart of love – Jesus Christ.
Love continues to receive support from St. John's Stuyvasent and a retired minister to help sustain us during the last few years. Pastor Dietsche (ret) leads services the first Sunday of each month so Holy Communion can be served and his direction and guidance is invaluable to us. We continue to maintain our membership although we have not had a fulltime minister in a number of years.
Love continues to try various outreach activities. We invite local families in to join us for meals multiple times per year and we do have some very meaningful discussions with many people. We also have a street library setup, we are prayerful that this ministry can pickup during the coming spring and summer. We continue to explore other options that a small congregation can undertake to have discussions of our Lord and Savior with others.
Most services are being led by our Deacon. We have service each Sunday, plus a number of special services like Ash Wednesday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.
We do continue to offer support group meetings at our church 4 times per week. This is a well received outreach. Members of these groups, although not attending church services, do aid in upkeep and maintenance of the facilities from time to time.
Love continues to offer regular weekly services and appreciates the ongoing support from local congregations and ministers.
Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
Glens Falls, NY
"The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd celebrated her 75th Anniversary in June of 2024. Present at our Sunday celebration were our District President, the Rev. Dr. Dien Ashley Taylor, who gave an inspiring message, as well as the Mayor of Glens Falls, who declared June 9, 2024 as ""Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd Day"" in our beautiful city. Pastor Wagner and the church were also featured in the June issue of North Country Neighbors, which relayed information about Good Shepherd's North Country ministry, as well as the preparation for the anniversary celebration.
Another major highlight was the dedication of our new Rodgers Inspire 233 Digital Organ in May 2023 with a special hymn festival featuring guest organist Jason Comet.
In addition to these highlights, the life of the church continues with baptisms, Bible study, choir, confirmations, commemorations, fellowship, a vibrant Ladies Society, Sunday School, VBS, visitations and weddings. By God's grace, may we continue our mission to Know, Love and Serve God through Christ in the seventy-five years yet to come!"
Lutheran Church of the Resurrection
Latham, NY
The Lutheran Church of the Resurrection has been sharing the Good News of Jesus in the community of Latham since 1958. During the past triennium, Rev. George Carstensen and Rev. Joel Janzow have regularly provided pulpit supply and pastoral care. Fifty-five percent of the communicant membership are at worship on any given Sunday. The congregation is looking forward to what God has planned for them next.
Our Savior Lutheran Church
Albany, NY
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church is located just outside of the city of Albany in Colonie, NY, centrally located a short distance to the beautiful Adirondack Mountains, Boston, and NYC. The congregation is comprised of wonderful, faithful servants of Christ and of one another. Our Savior’s provides numerous opportunities for spiritual growth through Sunday morning Bible Classes, Women’s Bible Studies and Men’s Bible Fellowship as well as home-based Small Groups.
Our Savior’s has been without a settled pastor since June of 2019, yet, the church has been consistently blessed by LCMS pastoral support within the area. Pastor William Wrede served as Intentional Interim Pastor in 2021 and 2022. In August of 2023, Mark Chaffee, a member of Our Savior’s for over 20 years, was accepted into the Specific Ministry Pastor pgoram through Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne and he now serves as Vicar at Our Savior’s under the mentorship of Pastor Johnson Rethinasamy. Vicar Chaffee will be completing two years of the four year SMP Program in September of this year. Pastor Patrick Singh from Trinity Lutheran, Schenectady, also provides consistent spiritual counsel and worship support to members of Our Savior’s. The congregation also is blessed by a team of dedicated elders who aid in pastoral care and visitation of the members of the parish.
Our Savior’s is a prayerful body of believers desiring to serve the church and the community, sharing the love of Jesus. The recently adopted mission statement guides the parish's work:
- Gathering in Community
- Growing in our Savior
- Going out to share His love
Our Savior's continues to pursue opportunities to reach the neighborhood through events including “Night to Shine” - a prom night experience for people with disabilities, VBS, the Our Savior’s - Launch Pad - an open play space for children ages four and under, the Daily Bread Food Pantry, Thrive Youth Group, as well as through our Pre-K through 8th grade school.
Our Savior’s Christian School continues to grow, with current year enrollment at 185 students and projections to increase to nearly 200 students in 2025-26. Under the leadership of Head of School John Richardson, the school recently received accreditation through the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI).
We are grateful for all the ways the Lord continues to bless, protect, and provide for Our Savior’s as we seek to carry out thenewly adopted Vision Statement:
In the power of the Holy Spirit, we will:
- Reach our local and global communities with the love and Good News of Jesus
- Partner with our school to grow God’s kingdom
- Unite in Christ to thrive as His disciples
Our Savior Lutheran Church
Fishkill, NY
"Our congregation, shepherded by The Rev. John M. Young since 2002, is guided by our mission statement: “Centered on God’s Word and Sacraments in Christ, we share His Truth and His Love among ourselves and with the world.” This mission shapes five areas of ministry: Worship, Discipleship, Fellowship, Evangelism, and Servanthood.
“Centered on God’s Word and Sacraments in Christ”—Worship. We continue with a Saturday evening service and three worship services on Sunday morning. The middle service on Sunday is contemporary in musical style but remains liturgical. The other services are traditional with the pipe organ. Church attendance has been increasing but has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Our German Christmas service celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024; it consistently draws about 80 people from the community.
“We share His Truth among ourselves”—Discipleship. We offer a variety of Bible studies during the week and Sunday School on Sunday mornings. We recently added a weekly Zoom Bible Study, available for live participation or later viewing on YouTube. For junior confirmation, catechism instruction is spread over a three-year cycle.
“We share His Love among ourselves”—Fellowship. Our two LWML societies continue to provide opportunities for fellowship and service: the Friendship Circle (evening) and the Early SonRisers (morning). We have also started a grief support group through GriefShare®, thanks to the Atlantic District Festival of Workshops.
“We share His Truth with the world”—Evangelism. Two main avenues of outreach are our Little Lambs Preschool and our Vacation Bible School. In addition, our “GO Team” (Growth & Outreach) sponsors various events throughout the year, including the Ladies’ Autumn Tea and the Men’s Autumn Hike. In the past triennium, we bade farewell and Godspeed to two members to enter professional church work: Ryan “Patrick” Hamilton to study at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis (along with his wife, Karin) and Abigail Young as a missionary in the Dominican Republic.
“We share His Love with the world”—Servanthood. We are one of twenty partner congregations that compose Mid-Hudson Love INC (“In the Name of Christ”), which seeks to address poverty in Dutchess County; for our part, we maintain a pantry of personal care items. Our Heart and Soul crochet group continues to craft prayer shawls for distribution in hospitals and nursing homes, as well as stocking caps for NICU babies and cancer patients. Other projects include Operation Christmas Child and our annual Coat Drive.
Supporting the Mission. To address needed maintenance and upkeep, we held several fundraisers for projects including a new roof, replacement windows, and pipe organ repair. By caring for the resources entrusted to us, we hope to continue serving the Lord in southwestern Dutchess County for years to come — by God’s grace and to His glory.
SonRise Lutheran Church
Pottersville, NY
Since the last report to our convention, SonRise Lutheran Church in Pottersville continues to benefit from the hospitality of Christ Episcopal Church and their willingness to host SonRise. This summer marks the 10th anniversary of SonRise's association with Christ Church, Pastor Bruce Rudolf’s ministry at SonRise, and most significantly the 25th anniversary of SonRise becoming a congregation of the Atlantic District. A celebration with our Bishop Dien Ashley Taylor is planned for August 10. Not enough can be said about the warmth and friendliness of our hosts. Since they worship at noon SonRise has the entire morning for worship and Bible Study. Sadly, their congregation has dwindled to a handful of worshipers . In the past two years they have ceased worshiping at their campus from January through April.
In the past it could be said that our congregation really consisted of three congregations: the year round members; snowbirds who spend from 4 to 7 months living in the area; and the summer vacationers. Very few snowbirds remain so summer attendance is not as high as it had been . On the other hand, in recent years several local families have begun to worship with at SonRise so the winter attendance is stronger. SonRise no longer has needed its “rule of 5”--the cut off number in the winter for Pastor Paul Wagner from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Glens Falls to cover worship. Pastor Bruce Rudolf serves full time from June through December, and prepares services for the remaining months of the year while he lives in Florida. Pastor Wagner (Good Shepherd, Glens Falls) and Pastor Wiegand (St. Paul Lutheran Church in Saratoga Springs) as well as Commissioned Minister Tom Roemke (Our Savior's Colonie) cover services in Pastor Rudolf's absence.
The major question in terms of SonRise's continuation is whether or not SonRise is able to receive a retired pastor who really likes snow and would have a year round ministry in Pottersville. A full time pastor dependent upon us for full salary and health insurance would not be viable.
Ministries within and beyond our congregation have continued. Bible studies are offered June through December as well as evening video programs. Proceeds from SonRise enabled North Country Ministry to start a food pantry once a week for Pottersville which, until Covid, was the poorest zip code in New York State. More than 60,000 children have been fed a meal through our change jar ministry working with Food for the Poor. Well over 600 prayer shawls have been given, mailed, and handed out at the local craft fairs. Recipients at the fair are always amazed when these are given for free and when the women offer to pray right at that moment for the person receiving the shawl. SonRise has received two grants from the LWML Atlantic District enabling the parish to provide winter coats each year to students in the local school. In recent years, vouchers for clients at the Food Pantry have been provided for them to have a meal in a local restaurant. One of the clients told us she had never eaten in a restaurant before this. Over the past 2 years more than $12,000 was given away for the pantry, other local needs, the Helpers Fund, Food for the Poor, and Lutheran Disaster Response after the hurricanes, and fires in Hawaii. Christmas gifts for local children who were in need and warm coats and sweaters,knitted caps and mittens distributed through North Country Ministry were also provided last winter. Several congregations in the Atlantic District and from Florida have assisted in this effort. To assist in keeping people aware of SonRise, the parish participated in a number of local civic events: providing hot chocolate at the winter Downhill Derby and providing refreshments at the Brant Lake Duck Race and the Pottersville Trunk or Treat. SonRise's annual Oktoberfest, which raised thousands of dollars for needy causes in the area sadly was discontinued during the Covid-19 pandemic and has not been revived. SonRise continue to offer the parsonage as a vacation opportunity for professional church workers and has had guests from New Jersey, Delaware, Ohio and as far away as Texas in addition to people from the Atlantic District. Over the past five years through Mission Central working with our LCMS SonRise has supported missionary Ben Helge and his family working in the Czech Republic. He has visited several times.
Realizing that ten years ago many of our worshipers over the course of a year regarded SonRise as their second congregation, Pastor Rudolf started an email devotional three times a week including news about SonRise. That began with a recipient list of about forty and now numbers about two hundred. Some readers who have no other association with SonRise except the email have donated to the parish's annual fund to purchase school supplies for local students each fall to ease the burden on parents who are asked by the school to provide various materials for the students. A clergy association has been meeting at Christ Church/SonRise enabling Pottersville and Chestertown clergy to become better acquainted and more supportive of one another’s ministries as well as better informed about the needs of our area. . All the congregations are, for the most part, elderly and small.
Several families travel from half an hour to one hour away from different directions to worship with SonRise, illustrating why SonRise believes that the life of SonRise, as the only congregation of the Atlantic District in the Adirondack Park, is a ministry worth saving. SonrRse prays that with God’s gracious guidance and blessing we may continue to do precisely that."
St. John Lutheran Church
Stuyvesant, NY
St. John’s Lutheran Church in Stuyvesant has definitely had a difficult end to 2024. While we were starting to see a slight increase in Sunday worship attendance, Pastor Dan Cohn accepted a Call in November to serve as the Pastor of St. Mark’s in Hudson. Unfortunately, this not only left St. John trying to find a way to continue to serve our Lord and continue worship services but also has contributed to a decrease in worshippers, both old and new. Sadly, St. John also saw two of our active congregational members being called home to be with our Lord within a week’s time.
Through God’s love and guidance from Pastor Cohn and Pastor Nelson, we have been able to continue to celebrate our Lord’s message at St. John’s, finding clergy to continue our Sunday worship service. We are totally blessed to have Atlantic District Lay Deacon Ed Kleinke graciously serve three Sundays a month and other religious events, with Pastor Stan Webster serving one Sunday a month until May.
The congregation has pulled together and continues to meet the challenges with a new sense of closeness. May God continue to bless St. John on this uncertain journey.
St. Mark's Second Ev. Lutheran Church
Hudson, NY
St. Mark’s continued to find itself in a period of having a pastoral vacancy that caused some challenges in providing the services to our congregants and community that we wanted to provide. We received God’s blessings, however, by the increased involvement of our members coming together to do the work of the church. By trying to find a “job” for everyone, we have experienced a unifying effect that has continued.
We are glad to welcome back members in attendance who have been absent for some time. God’s hand is truly at work here, and we gained several new members, despite being without a full time Pastor.
The church leadership team met weekly to discuss and plan for the tasks needed to determine our direction as a body and how we can reach out to our community. We continue to support our St. Mark’s sponsored Food Pantry which is operated by several of our members. The Pantry is a blessing to many in our area (over 1400/month) who face difficult times. It has grown exponentially over the years and is considered a staple in our community.
We were blessed by support from our friend and retired Pastor Stan Webster who served us one Sunday a month to distribute communion and provide visitation to those in need. We also had support and advice from Reverend’s Olsen, Cohn, and Nelson which we are thankful for.
On the three Sunday’s a month that we had no Pastor we have had lay people conduct the service and used available video sermons which have been widely received by those in attendance. Printed copies of the sermons and a copy of the bulletin are being sent to members who were not in attendance. We owe a great deal of thanks to the following LCMS Reverend’s for making their sermons available to us as recordings and for their messages, especially Mark Thompson of Zion Lutheran Church in Lincoln, Illinois. Our congregation enjoyed his sermons immensely.
In October of 2024, we extended a Divine Call to The Reverend Dan Cohn, which he accepted. In December of 2024, he was officially installed as our Pastor. Our congregation learned much from our period of vacancy, and are now enjoying having a shepherd to lead and guide us. He and his wife have immersed themselves into our congregation and are helping us find new ways to grow.
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned Mark 16:15-16 (ESV)
St. Paul Lutheran Church
Monroe, NY
There has been much change in St. Paul over the past few years. Since 2021, under the leadership of our Interim Pastor Marty Tyce, members of our congregation who left prior to and during Covid have returned and we have been seeing higher attendance at both of our Saturday and Sunday services. Alex Hieronymi and his media team make sure that all services are live streamed so that members of our congregation that are homebound or cannot make service can still participate. In addition to Alex running our media team, he has been working countless hours with others to make many needed improvements to the church. This year we implemented “work days” which allow members of the congregation to help “fix” items in the church that would otherwise cost us many dollars to fix. St. Paul is still operating on a complete volunteer basis and many members of council and our congregation have stepped up to keep everything running smoothly and efficiently. Ed Quintana, our Mission Trip Leader was blessed as an Atlantic District Lay Deacon in April of 2024. Jan Cawley is currently undergoing Atlantic District Lay Deacon training which will be completed later this year. Our Bible studies, preschool, Sunday School and Vacation Bible School still continue. We have strived to engage the Monroe Woodbury community with Easter Egg Hunts, car washes and 3-4 blood drives per calendar year. We utilize our website to keep members and the community informed of upcoming events. We are also incredibly fortunate to have a generous congregation which has kept us financially secure since the COVID pandemic. We look forward to continue growing in spirit and service in the upcoming months.
St. Peter Lutheran Church
Warwick, NY
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Pine Island, part of the Town of Warwick St. Peter’s is in a dual parish with Family of Faith in Middletown, NY. The Rev. Dr. Doka was installed as pastor on Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2025. This year, St. Peter’s became an active member of the Ecumenical Council in Warwick. As part of involvement, Dr. Doka preached at the well-attended annual Blue Christmas service, raising its profile within the Town of Warwick. Other outreach activities include a ministry to the migrant community within Warwick as well as offering Vacation Bible School to the children of Pine Island. St. Peter’s has also developed a brochure to assist in evangelism and outreach. St. Peter’s has two students progressing in the Atlantic District Lay Deacon Program—Christina Gust and Bill Podszus. We also have a son of our congregation, Christian Kozak, entering Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.
St. Timothy Lutheran Church
Hyde Park, NY
St. Timothy is a small but active congregation. We hold our regular Sunday morning service at 10AM and at 9AM we conduct a session we call ‘Beyond the Sermon’ covering the lessons for the day. We also hold Bible Studies on Wednesday evenings.
A certification service for Lay Deacon Robin Friesheim was held on November 27, 2022. Frequently she leads the Introit and Kyrie of the Divine Service and takes her turn as Lector. As we don’t have an organist, we use a service that gives us a download to play our organ during the liturgy and hymns and she is on the rotation list for that, which then prevents her from leading the Introit and Kyrie. Her leadership role in planning for the Divine Service is increasing as she will need to plan these services and lead the Worship Committee in hymn selection for the upcoming pastoral vacancy and she will have to work with the supply pastor and/or the person leading the Sunday worship.
The Care Bear daycare that had been renting space closed due to retirement on December 31, 2022. Fortunately, the Earlybird Village day care wanted to move from a private home to and signed a contract with us in January 2023. The Earlybird Village opened partially in late 2023, putting clients on and off the school bua and opened fully in 2024 when they were able to meet the State requirements for use of a public building vs. the private home it had been using. We are working to provide Christian Education and related church information to their clients and are hopeful that this will begin shortly.
While the congregation lacks youth which means we cannot offer a regular Sunday School we were fortunate to confirm three youth and an adult during 2020 and 2021.
St. Timothy members love to reach out to the community to the extent that our small size permits. Our LWML group is called the Mite-y Angels who continue to reach out frequently to the community and beyond. They run a soup sale during the winter months that draws people in, many coming as the sale opens, enabling them to visit with our ladies and each other. We also participate in the community Adopt a Family program so we can provide a meal and gifts to a family for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We regularly donate to the Hyde Park Food Pantry. Our strongest outreach is to be a congregation member of Love INC (In the Name of Christ) which provides needed items. This organization has approximately 19 congregations participating. Lay Deacon Robin provides volunteer services for the clearing house that certifies the need for clients calling in. We have also helped with deliveries for clients near us and transportation to clients participating in the education programs designed to get them out of the need to be a client and possibly connect them with a local congregation. We have benefited by serving with Love INC. Due to the health of my wife Linda and daughter Main, the district has recommended that I move them to where there is family while my health remains good. We plan to move to Ohio when ourcurrent house sells, and I will be looking to continue to serve God in Ohio. The date of the move has not yet been set but could well take place before this report is read at the convention.
Trinity Lutheran Church
Schenectady, NY
"Trinity has had its challenges and victories in the past year, but thanks be to our Lord Jesus Christ and with His grace and mercy the victories surpass the challenges.
We have two Divine services on Sunday mornings, Bible study prayer meeting on Thursday evening, a vibrant Women’s and Men’s fellowship, and an encouraging fortnightly youth fellowship.
The congregation is encouraged to share the Gospel with friends and loved ones in the sermons and Bible studies with and through their own personal testimonies . This has proven to be fruitful, hence their is an increase of new persons and families coming to faith in Jesus Christ. The average attendance on Sunday’s has increased to 75-90 persons. There is also a decent attendance for Bible study.
Whilst God is using us as a congregation to spread the good news to the community, we are still struggling financially. Without the faithful giving of tithes and offerings by the congregation, things could have been much more bleak. But we continue to rely on God’s grace and mercy to carry us through."
Trinity Lutheran Church
Stamford, NY
"Trinity, Stamford, is a small but loving congregation nestled in the Catskill Mountains on the banks of Lake Utsayantha. We strive to faithfully worship our Lord and witness to His love in Stamford and the surrounding communities.
We offer a midweek Bible Study on Thursday afternoons, along with midweek Advent and Lenten services. We continue to explore new ways to work with our sister church, Immanuel, Delhi to serve our members and community, confident that God will guide, sustain us and enable us to grow."
Unity Lutheran Church
Albany, NY
“We are growing as God’s disciples, compassionately connecting our neighbors to Jesus.”
Unity Lutheran Church has now been worshipping jointly in our “new” location for 4 years. We have found this transitional time to be a season of growth and new beginnings. Though we have been focusing our outward efforts towards the future and what God might do, behind the scenes our leadership team has been working hard to tie up loose ends.
In the summer of 2021, St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Albany voted officially to sell its church property and 4-unit rental house in Albany. A buyer stepped forward and we closed on that sale in March of 2024. The process was slowed by several factors on both the church's end and the buyers’ end. This included burst pipes in December of 2022. Thanks be to God, all of that is behind us. We also had been working to gain approval from NY State to legally consolidate and become Unity Lutheran Church in Albany. This was granted to us in May of 2025 and we look forward to celebrating the official act as this is being written.
While these behind-the-scenes efforts have come to a close our outward facing identity has continued to expand in our community. The after-school care program has run smoothly in its fourth year. We hired a new director in the summer of 2024 and have been pleased with his leadership and love for the students and families that attend. Our congregation has partnered with Cornerstone Campus Ministry at SUNY Albany since last convention. We periodically take dinner and lead a devotion mid-week on campus. We also use our campus to host several annual fellowship events and fundraisers for Cornerstone. Unity’s campus is walking distance from the university, which makes it very convenient for the students.
In the spring of 2024 we partnered with Wild Ones who helped us reimagine our outdoor space. Together, we received a grant to hire a landscape designer who gave us a multi-year phased plan to transform part of our unused property into a natural plant pollinator garden. Last year we were blessed to hear presentations after worship from Wild Ones representatives describing the project as well as ways individuals could make an impact in their own backyard. Phase one was completed in August of 2024 with an installed rain garden along the back wall of the church. This was accomplished with the help of the community and saw many new faces step onto our property to serve and smile as one. Phase 2 is scheduled for next summer and will include automatic watering for the existing garden and the row of service berries to be installed. This hedge will serve as a natural barrier between the future gathering area and the busy street we face. Further down the road, we hope to address the vacant field next to the church. It is a flood zone and our church regularly gets media exposure for the flooding that occurs on this field and the road immediately in front of our church. We are hopeful that transforming that landscape with a vernal pond and plants which can absorb a lot of water will help mitigate the flooding on the street.
We continue to look for ways to engage our neighbors as we host annual events like an Easter egg hunt and craft fair, along with the dart league we host. A Grief Share program has been very successful these past two years in connecting our neighbors to Jesus. All of these events are opportunities for our leadership and laity to build bridges and invite new people to our worship and Bible studies. Our Sunday morning worship attendance has slowly grown as these connections are made and the Holy Spirit moves.
As a whole, our blended core of St. Matthew, St. Paul’s, and Christ Lutheran Churches has taken great steps toward becoming one body at Unity. Thanks to God’s grace and leadership, we have largely avoided many of the challenges one might expect when selling properties and merging traditions and families together. We look forward to continuing what the Lord has already begun in us, as well as what new opportunities present themselves around the corner.
Zion Lutheran Church
Schenectady, NY
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Schenectady, NY, thank our God Almighty who bringing us thus far, acknowledging that there is more to be done in the Lord’s vineyard. We are grateful to God for the opportunity to minister to the community and beyond for giving hope, joy and peace through the Word and Sacrament as saints basks in the assurance of the resurrection of Christ, believing that because Jesus lives, we can live also.
We celebrated fifty (50) years of service of our beloved organist, Mr. Scott Trexler, who has faithfully and fervently dedicated the grace and services bestowed upon him, by God, to use his anointed fingers on those keys of the organ to lead us in praise and worship, through music to our heavenly father. We are grateful for our District President, Bishop Dien Ashley Taylor, for presiding and celebrating the Eucharist with us.
We continue to celebrate mass, three times a week with additional services as needs be. We celebrated two Christmas Eve services and a Christmas Day Service. The services were well attended; thanks be to God.
Lenten services were attended our three churches as we continue our midweek “three-church ministry” Lenten and advent services between Immanuel, Trinity and Zion Lutheran churches. It was a joyous moment as we rotated the venue that hosts the services.
We conducted a seminar and workshop on “Planting Gospel Seeds while Serving Human Needs” and it was well attended. We learned a lot from that exercise and that moved us to come up with a “Mission Statement.” Stating,
‘We aspire to serve Christ, our congregation and community, to welcome the poor, marginalized and underserved; to establish relationships in order to minister to those in need, by providing them with congregational and community resources with whom we have formed connections.’
(Adopted by the Congregational Meeting on 1/28/24)
Visitation to the sick and shut-ins continue, and we are privileged to lead a worship service at Brookdale Assisted Living center in Niskayuna, in sharing the Body and Blood of Christ to the residents, once a month.
By the grace of God, we continue to livestream our Sunday services and we do get feedback from supporters as well as members and visitors encouraging and thanking us for reaching out to them through media worship.
StreetSoldiers continue to use our premises to provide food and clothing to all who need such services with no questions asked as we partnered with them. Volunteers who serve as members of Zion Lutheran Church donate essential needs to the community and offer their services as well.
We continue to look forward to all what God has in store for us as we engage God’s people to draw near to Him and seek Him.