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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Christ Lutheran Church celebrates 140th anniversary
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
The Christ Lutheran Church is
celebrating its 140th anniversary this
year. The small congregation traces its
roots to some of the earliest Palatine
settlers to arrive to the Hudson Valley.
“The history books will say they were
Palatine refugees,” said church Pastor
Ernst A. Mossl. “They were Lutherans.”
The pastor recounted how the 54
Germans from the Palatinate region of
Germany traveled up the Hudson River in
1709 - a full century before Henry Hudson
- landing onshore at Quassaick Creek.
Queen Anne of England had taken pity on
them, gifting them with more than 2,000
acres of land in Orange County, Mossl
said. “Their first gathering place was a
hut,” he said.
Despite the clamor of traffic outside,
the inside of the church was quiet and
serene on Saturday. Soft afternoon light
streamed in through colorful, stainedglass windows, imbuing the oak-wood
furnishings with a golden-yellow hue.
About a dozen congregation members
were out volunteering at Shepherd’s
Kitchen at the Church of the Good
Shepherd on Broadway that day. Kerry
Donovan was on-duty as the church’s
social-media coordinator. “We were
charged by Jesus to take care of the
community,” he said.
Donovan explained the