Mr. Engert and the Reverend E. C. Kreider of the Mission Committee organized the first Worship Service, which was held on November 9th, 1947 at the Liberty Hall on Ocean Avenue, Lake Ronkonkoma. There were 58 people in attendance. Mr. Engert constructed the first altar and pulpit and Mrs. Engert sewed the altar cloths and a dossal used for that first service. Charles Goetz, a seminary student at Mount Airy Seminary in Philadelphia, was engaged to conduct services. At the Synodical Convention in May of 1948, Holy Cross was received as a member congregation of the United Lutheran Synod of New York and New England.

The Church’s Service of Organization was held on June 20, 1948 and Charles Goetz was installed as the first Pastor of Holy Cross. Also that June, land was purchased at the corner of Hawkins Avenue and Lakewood Avenue, and in October 1948 groundbreaking for the building of the First Unit was done during a special service.

A house and property adjacent to Holy Cross was purchased in 1949 enabling us to have a convenient Parsonage. That same year eleven members of our first Confirmation class were confirmed on Palm Sunday. By the end of the year, membership rose to 238 people. The Choir presented a concert in December wearing vestments they sewed themselves.

The Fifties brought a surge in new membership along with increased attendance in the Sunday Church School. Our rapid growth required more room, and a New Building Drive was kicked off with a Seventh Anniversary Dinner Dance held in the Grand Ballroom of the Patchogue Hotel. By this point we had become self-supporting and were graduated from Mission Status. Pastor Goetz accepted another Call, and Pastors Harold Anderson and Chester E. Strohl became our second and third Pastors, respectively. By the end of the decade we are worshipping in the new Church building.

During the Sixties, Pastors William Gotwald and Carl Weaver became our fourth and fifth Pastors. The Congregation, still growing, enjoys many opportunities for fellowship while beautifying the exterior of the Church with new sidewalks, memorial plantings, and landscaping donated by members. An outstanding wooden cross is built and erected on the front lawn. A speaker system is installed inside the Church, and we have a new Parsonage. We learn new hymns in a "Hymn of the Month" program, and we have our first deacons to assist us during Worship Services. In 1968 we celebrated our Twentieth Anniversary and Pastor Weaver urged us to pick a "Family of the Week" from the new membership directory and then try to spot and greet them on Sundays.

The Seventies began with Pastor Harry Pfunke as our new Assistant Pastor. Many different ministries began to flourish such as the Lutheran Church Women (today known as W.E.L.C.A.), Active Confirmed Teens, the Road Runners (a family camping group), the Free Spirits (a craft workshop that donated items to the Fall Fair), and the Socialites. Holy Cross also became the meeting place for community groups such as AA, T.O.P.S., and Senior Citizens groups as well as renting space to the Lake Ronkonkoma Pre-School. Our expanding membership is evidenced by the Sunday Church School children as they are given seed packets as a symbol of our growth. We are again blessed with an Assistant Pastor, The Reverend Stephen Hirzel.

The Eighties held a continued dedication to the community with a toy collection for the children at Ronald McDonald House, W.E.L.C.A. expanding their Food Bank Program and the Congregation collecting Campbell’s product labels to assist a Navajo Lutheran Mission School in Arizona. Pastor Charles J. Glandorf became our sixth Pastor, and with him, he brought Bible Studies, a Montessori style Confirmation Program, various youth programs, and a Junior Choir. It is shortly after Pastor Glandorf comes to us, that we are blessed with Pastor Robert Rodriguez as our Assistant Pastor.

As the Nineties begin, Pastor Glandorf urges us to "build the fellowship of this Congregation on the Lord’s unending Love and eternal Grace". As God calls him to another church, we are blessed with The Reverend John C. Hinsch as our Guest Pastor and later with The Reverend Richard J. Harvey as our Interim Pastor. On March 1, 1992, The Reverend Gerald M. Gundersen became our seventh Pastor. We developed and adopted a new Church Constitution and dedicated our new stained glass windows entitled "Seasons of the Church Year". We developed our Mission Statement, and reviewed demographic studies to help determine the needs of our community, and we computerized our church records. We run seminars on issues concerning AIDS, breast cancer, elder care, and children with learning disabilities. We now reach out to the community through another ministry – our own Noah’s Ark Pre-School. We have developed a prayer ministry, run a "Vegetable of the Month" program to support the local food pantries, and bring Thanksgiving baskets to community and Church members. Pastor Gundersen reminded us "…the Spirit has been given to us, through Word and Sacrament and this power penetrates us, drawing us closer to Christ". Pastor Gundersen retires in April of 1996 and we have a huge retirement party for him and his wife Ellie at the Bavarian Inn.

On November 10, 1996, we were blessed with the installation of our eighth Pastor, The Reverend Claudia D. Raggie. Pastor Raggie, guiding us on our faith journey, has zapped us with a renewed spirituality that must have been evidenced in our Mission Church over 50 years ago. We have seen increased membership unlike any growth witnessed in the last 15 years. On June 14, 1998 over eighty new members were officially brought into the Holy Cross Family. Our financial giving has increased and we have seen more members volunteering to serve. We have been given expanded worship opportunities during Advent and Lent with the addition of midweek Services. The community was invited to be with Jesus during His final days when Creative Ministries brought us "The Journey, the Cross, and the Crucifixion". At Christmas we proclaimed Jesus’ birth by inviting the Community to worship at Holy Cross or their own Church, through our "Glad Tidings" outreach.

We move forward in the new millennium in in joy and faith with Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 2:9 "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can conceive what God has prepared for those who love Him." We thank God for His many gifts and ask His blessings on us and our ministry at Holy Cross – let us serve each other, and in doing so serve Jesus.

We try to reach thousands of homes during the Christmas Season with our Glad Tidings outreach to the community. Also, through the generosity of the Family of Holy Cross we distribute food baskets to families in need in our community throughout the Thanksgiving and Christmas Season.  

We have participated in many outreach ministries such as Heifer Project International, Blanket Sunday (we were able to donate 186 blankets through the generosity of the Family of Holy Cross),  Love Loaf, American Cancer Society Walk to find a cure for Breast Cancer, Walk to build homes for Habitat for Humanity, working together to do a blitz build on a Habitat House, Operation Christmas Child (sending gift packages to needy children around the world) and our local food drives to feed the hungry in our community, hat and mitten drives through the Noah's Ark Preschool, and food baskets and financial support to families in need.

Our weekly attendance has doubled in the last few years. Our Sunday School and Youth Ministries have grown dramatically. We currently have 3 active youth groups: Faith Friends, a group for youth preschool through 4th grade; God Squad 567, for 5th, 6th and 7th graders; and Jesus Adventure Group, for 8th grade through college. We also sponsor a teen prayer night known as PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens).

Our Music Ministry has expanded and we now have a group of young people who bless us with a musical program known as Kid's Praise which has brought God's Word in song to our church family, local nursing homes and other churches in our community.  We have an active bell choir.

Crosswords and Gifts opened in November of 2005.  This Christian store offers a wide selection of gift items, books and Christian CDs.  We feature Day Spring cards, Willow Tree and Precious Moments.  The store is located on campus.  Call 631-981-0525 for store hours or visit our website at Welcome to CrossWords and Gifts.