Our History

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Christ the King began as a mission plant by the Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in 1962. Missionary Harry W. Marks was called to survey the area in May 1962, and he arrived on July 17, 1962. Once he arrived, he began a house-to-house canvass of Pawling, Patterson, Holmes, Whaley Lake, Poughquag and Wingdale, and eventually secured a lease for the basement of the Pawling Grange Hall as a place of worship. In the midst of all this, he was ordained on October 19, 1962 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Danbury, CT. Volunteers spent six weeks of evenings cleaning and remodeling the basement of the Pawling Grange Hall, preparing for the first worship service that was held on December 23, 1962 with 62 in attendance. The first Sunday School classes soon followed on March 10, 1963 with 9 children in attendance. Rev. Marks would serve in Pawling for just over two years, concluding his work in Pawling on July 31, 1964 and accepting a call to Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Villa Park, IL.

The Reverend Arthur F. Gronbach was called to Christ the King and installed as the first Pastor on Invocavit Sunday, March 7, 1965 by the Rev. Karl A. Graesser. Rev. Gronbach graduated from Concordia Collegiate Institute, Bronxville in 1952, and subsequently attended Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO, graduating in 1957. After a year of post graduate work at Concordia Seminary, he was ordained on August 10th, 1958 in his home congregation, St. John's Evangelical Lutheran in Glendale, NY, by the Rev. Martin T. Steege. Before arriving in Pawling, Pastor Gronbach began Christ the King Lutheran Church in Muscle Shoals, AL in 1958 and saw the dedication of their new building in June 1962 before accepting a call to St. John Lutheran in Hattiesburg, MS in January 1963, serving there until his call to Christ the King, Pawling in 1965. Pastor Gronbach would serve for at Christ the King for 28 years.

The congregation was officially established on May 22, 1966 and chartered as a mission congregation of the Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The present property at the corner of NY-22 and Pine Drive was purchased that same year. In October 1967, the Constitution and Bylaws of the congregation were adopted, allowing it to become a voting member of the Atlantic District. Also in 1967, an additional 2.5 acres of adjacent land was purchased, which was the former site of Campbell Pines, a twenty room nursing home in a large old Victorian house. This parcel of land included the carriage house where the caretaker now lives.

In 1968, Nancy Ettinger, a parishioner who was a nurse, was commissioned by Rev. Gronbach and served as a medical missionary in Papua New Guinea until 1970.

The congregation was received into membership in the Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod on June 14, 1970 at its convention in Bronxville.

The groundbreaking of the church took place on July 21, 1974, and the new church was dedicated on September 21, 1975.

After nearly 30 years at Christ the King, Rev. Gronbach accepted a call to St. Paul-on-the-Shore Lutheran Church in Hallwood, VA in August of 1993. During the vacancy that followed, Rev. Edward Grant served as interim pastor.

On July 10, 1994, the Rev. David Nuss was installed as Pastor. In September 1996, five acres of the church property were sold to Wartburg Senior Housing (now the Lutheran Care Network) to build the King's Apartments, a senior apartment facility for independent living. The sale of this property allowed the church to pay off the remainder of the mortgage. As a result, 1996 also saw the burning of the mortgage and Christ the King's transition from a mission congregation to a self-supporting congregation.

On February 25, 2001, the Rev. David Nuss accepted a call to St. Matthew's in Albany, NY, after which the Rev. Ronald Erbe of Greenwich, CT served as interim pastor.

After the departure of Rev. Nuss, the Rev. John M. Ellingworth was called to serve Christ the King. After graduating from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN in May 2002, Pastor Ellingworth was ordained and installed at Christ the King on July 7, 2002 by the Rev. Deric Taylor.

Christ the King hosted a fiftieth anniversary celebration on August 18, 2012. The anniversary year also saw some major renovations, including the addition of six windows to the nave, new siding, and new exterior doors.

On July 25, 2017, Rev. Ellingworth accepted a call to St. John Evangelical Lutheran in Waverly, IA. Following Rev. Ellingworth's departure, the Rev. Kenneth Doka of Poughkeepsie and the Rev. Gregory Dwyer of Bantam, CT served as interim pastors. In the intervening months, the parsonage was also renovated.

During the months of pastoral vacancy that followed, Christ the King was served by the Rev. Kenneth Doka and the Rev. Gregory Dwyer, as well as several within the congregation who led Matins or other prayer offices on days when no Pastor was available.

The Rev. Stefan M. Gramenz was ordained and installed at Christ the King on June 24, 2018 after graduating from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN in May 2018.

More information to come (Updated 21 April 2023)