The Only ELCA Congregation in York County
On a corner lot at 2 Lord Street in Kennebunk, Maine, Holy Cross Lutheran Church has been the only ELCA congregation in York County for decades. Members drive in from Arundel, Biddeford, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Kittery, Lyman, Old Orchard Beach, Saco, Scarborough, Wells, York Harbor, and across Southern Maine to take part in a congregation that prides itself on being a true community of faith. Holy Cross is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the New England Synod, and the people who call it home are as varied as the towns they come from: members, friends, families, and visitors who worship, pray, sing, dine, and share coffee together. The church's mission statement is direct and rooted in everyday practice: the congregation is committed to living out the gospel of Jesus Christ in daily life through worship, prayer, and community outreach.
Sunday Mornings at Ten
Worship is the heart of the week at Holy Cross. Each Sunday at 10:00 am, the congregation gathers in the sanctuary for a service that includes Holy Communion. Following the service, the people spill into Luther Hall for a coffee hour that doubles as the social glue of the parish, and the Church Life and Hospitality Committee makes sure that no one leaves without conversation and a cup of something warm.
Inside the sanctuary, the liturgy follows the Lutheran pattern of hymns, prayers, readings, a sermon, and the sacrament. The worship bulletin is given out each Sunday, and the worship committee works to keep the experience fresh by weaving special music, dramatic readings, and visual aids into festival services. The service is also streamed online through the congregation's YouTube channel, and recordings of past services stay available for those who cannot be there in person.
At 10:15 am, after the Pastor's Children's Sermon, children between 4 and 13 leave the sanctuary and cross into Luther Hall for their own program. Children's Ministry gives parents and other adults quiet time to focus on the readings and the sermon while the children learn at their own level.
Lutheran Liturgy with Both Traditional and Contemporary Touches
Music has a long history at Holy Cross. The adult choir sings on most Sundays and during the church year, and the music program is woven into nearly every service. The liturgy is traditional Lutheran, but the music draws from both traditional and contemporary sources. A weekly prelude and postlude set the tone before and after worship, and special services on Ash Wednesday, mid-week in Lent, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas Eve give the choir and musicians a chance to shape the season. Weddings and funerals held at Holy Cross draw on the same musical resources.
The instrument that anchors it all is an Ahlborn-Galanti Chronicler IIIB electronic organ. The Music Director position is currently open, and the congregation is looking for a part-time director with organ, piano, and choir-directing skills to keep the program moving forward.
The Sanctuary, the Hall, and the House
Holy Cross is actually three buildings. The Church Sanctuary, with its Alpha and Omega stained-glass window, a memorial gift from two church members that watches over the worship space, is at the heart of the property. Luther Hall sits across the narthex from the sanctuary and serves as the parish's social and ministry hub. Children's Ministry meets there, the Quilters set up their sewing machines, Scouts gather for their meetings, Bible Study convenes around the tables, and the coffee hour unfolds after worship each Sunday. The Lord Street House is the third piece of the property, and the Trustees oversee the upkeep of all three buildings.
Children and Youth
The Children's Ministry is built around a simple rhythm. After the Children's Sermon, children ages 4 through 13 walk across the narthex into Luther Hall, where the director and one or two adult helpers have a snack ready, a Bible verse to learn, and a craft or game prepared. The age range is wide, so older children often help younger ones with crafts and games, and the program always closes with a prayer to refocus the children before they return to the sanctuary just before Holy Communion.
Over the years, the children have made stained-glass crosses from contact paper and tissue paper confetti, played Bible bingo, matched church symbols, planted flowers in containers, and made handprint cards for Mother's Day. Vacation Bible School rounds out the summer calendar.
For older youth, Holy Cross partners with Scouting. A boy Scout troop meets in Luther Hall most Monday evenings, and Cub Scouts gather on the first and third Wednesday evenings. The building has long been a home for these programs, and the relationship between the church and the Scouts is one of the parish's longer-running community ties.
Adults Growing in Faith
Education for adults happens in two regular settings. On Thursday mornings at 10:00 am, Pastor Amy Dunckelmann leads a Bible Study in Luther Hall that focuses on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel reading. The group runs from 10:00 to 11:00 am and is open to anyone who wants to dig a little deeper into the texts they will hear the next morning.
On Sunday mornings, Adult Sunday School meets at 8:30 am, an hour before worship begins. The study is built around a series called Theology for Daily Living, a survey of foundational Christian beliefs (what members believe about God, humankind, the church, and the world) and how those beliefs shape everyday decisions about money, suffering, freedom, independence, and other practical matters.
Reaching Out to Neighbors
Outreach is built into the rhythm of the parish. The most visible local partnership is with Community Outreach Services (COS), the food pantry and neighbor-helping-neighbor nonprofit that Holy Cross helped to found along with nine other area churches. COS marks thirty-five years as a Maine nonprofit, and its mission, "Neighbors Helping Neighbors," still shapes how Holy Cross thinks about local ministry. The congregation collects food and personal-care items in the narthex for COS year-round, with special food drives that focus on items in short supply, including pasta sauces, instant potatoes, mayonnaise, pancake syrup, coffee, shampoo, and kitchen garbage bags.
Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center in Biddeford is the parish's newest food ministry. Led by church member Mary Keating, Holy Cross provides lunch on the third Tuesday of each month for more than 50 people at the Seeds of Hope day program, which grew out of Biddeford's Episcopal Church and now partners with the city and surrounding communities to provide a daytime program against food insecurity, isolation, and despair, and an overnight shelter for people without a safe place to sleep.
Beyond food, Holy Cross supports a long list of local partners: Caring Unlimited, Family Promise, Maine Needs, the Scouts, York County Community Action Corp, and many more. The Social Concerns Committee researches local and global needs and makes recommendations for how benevolence funds should be spent. The congregation also takes part in Dress A Girl Around the World, sewing dresses for girls in developing countries through workshops held in Luther Hall. On the Saturday in early October each year, the lawn at the corner of Lord and Storer Streets fills with families and their pets for the Blessing of the Animals, with a pet food donation drive to benefit COS. Holiday traditions include a Cookie Walk fundraiser and Christmas caroling, both sponsored by the Shepherds ministry.
Welcoming in Christ
Holy Cross is a Reconciling in Christ congregation. The Reconciling in Christ program, a public affirmation within the ELCA, marks the parish as a place that welcomes and affirms LGBTQ+ people in the life of the church. The congregation's openness is also visible in the Greeters, who meet visitors at the sanctuary door, invite them to sign the guest book, and follow up after a first visit.
The Shepherds extend that welcome to people who cannot attend services. This visitation ministry cares for members who are homebound or otherwise unable to take part in weekly worship, brings Holy Communion to those who cannot come to the altar, and hosts seasonal events that keep the wider parish together throughout the year. Prayer Partners pray for members, family, and friends in times of need.
The Hands Behind the Work
What makes Holy Cross run is a wide network of committees and teams. The Altar Guild prepares the sanctuary with vestments, flowers, and the bread and wine for communion each week. The Choir rehearses with the Music Director and provides music on holidays and many regular Sundays. The Trustees care for the Sanctuary, Luther Hall, and Lord Street House. The Finance Committee manages the budget, tracks weekly giving, and presents the annual budget to the congregation. The Stewardship Committee helps members think through their time, talent, and financial giving each year.
Worship Assistants lead the prayers of the people and distribute Holy Communion during the service. Lectors read the Scripture lessons. Ushers collect the offering, present the plates at the altar during the Offertory, and direct the congregation forward for communion. The Communications Committee keeps the bulletins (called Holy Cross Happenings) and the monthly newsletter (The Crier) moving, and posts information on social media and bulletin boards. The Technology Team manages the audio and video for the worship service, runs the slide presentations, and handles the YouTube livestream and recorded services.
The Quilters meet most Tuesdays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm in Luther Hall. The Parish Education Committee recruits and trains teachers, develops curriculum, and supervises the educational programs of the congregation. The Memorial and Trust Committee tracks gifts made in memory of loved ones and makes sure they are used as the donors directed.
Pastor Amy and a Growing Parish
Pastor Amy Dunckelmann was called to Holy Cross in October 2025 after graduating from Luther Seminary the previous August. As a second-career pastor, she brings a particular perspective to her ministry: she knows what it means to search for a spiritual home and to figure out how to live as a Christian in a complicated world. Her office hours in Luther Hall are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Wednesdays as needed, and she is the central pastoral contact for the congregation.
The church sits at the corner of Lord and Storer Streets in Kennebunk, and the lawn and the property are part of the life of the town. In summer, concerts and fundraisers bring the community onto the grounds. In the colder months, the parish gathers indoors around the same rhythms that have shaped Lutheran worship for centuries.
Stepping In
For a first-time visitor, the easiest way to find Holy Cross is to show up on a Sunday morning. Worship begins at 10:00 am in the sanctuary at 2 Lord Street, and the coffee hour in Luther Hall that follows is the place where most newcomers end up meeting the people who keep the parish going. Children's Ministry runs alongside worship for children ages 4 through 13. Bible Study on Thursday mornings at 10:00 am and Adult Sunday School at 8:30 am on Sundays are the two regular adult education offerings. The Quilters welcome new hands on Tuesdays, the Scouts and Cub Scouts welcome new members through their own registration process, and the committee network is always looking for people willing to lend an hour or two. Online giving supports the Memorial and Trust Fund and the Pastor's Discretionary Fund alongside regular giving, and the congregation's YouTube channel carries the livestream each Sunday morning for those who cannot be in the sanctuary in person.