The bulletin for April 26, 2020 is available.

Come join us for worship!

 The bulletin for this Sunday, April 19, 2020 is available.

Thank you to Glenn Decker for these amazing pictures of the Church on Easter Sunday.

Maundy Thursday: 

• Tenebrae Service can be found at Tenebrae Service

Good Friday: 

• here 

Sunday's Bulletin is available here:

• April 12, 2020
• Easter Flower list
• We invite you to celebrate the Lord's Supper with us.  Please remember to bring your own communion elements with you.

Two views of the flowers

 Church sanctuary today (April 11, 2020)

 And this one.

Thank you Doris and Taylor!

By order of the Consistory of the Hurley Reformed Church, the building is closed until the coronavirus state of emergency is over.  Only essential workers (as defined by the state of emergency) are allowed in the building.  Be well and stay safe.

 Sunday Services continue as they have for the last two weeks.  Additional options for Sunday worship include using Zoom.  Contact Dorothy at admin@hurleyreformedchurch.org or Rev. Bill at pastor@hurleyreformedchurch.org for an invitation to use Zoom.

If you need anything, contact Rev Bill or the office and leave a message.

                 So far it has been three weeks since the declaration of an emergency and everything started getting different. For us it began with the announcement that Kingston Schools were closed on Friday, and then it began snowballing from there. Now we are officially entering the second week in which we are under an order for all who are nonessential workers to work from home, and people are told that unless it is necessary to stay at home.

                I’ll be honest I have already see the cracks start to show in us abiding by this. People are getting cabin fever at a level that I have not seen. People whose lives are at risk for health and age reasons are going out and about to pop in and stop by. I understand the need to get out and socialize. Being with the kids and not getting a break for almost three weeks has been.. stressing. The reality is that this is not normal and the fact that protecting ourselves and others through staying at home is very difficult and can feel very isolating.

                This Sunday is Palm Sunday. And because of the virus we will not worship and have palms in the normal way. But we will have palm crosses which have been sanitized, and if you would like one as Lisa Longto circulates through the parking lot nod and let her know to leave one on your wiper.

                Next Thursday is Maundy Thursday, and Friday is Good Friday. I am working on a few options for us to worship on these holy days and yet keep safe. Unfortunately, this Holy Week is going to be different and new, and it is going to be a time of raw emotion for us. But it is also a chance for us to set the weight of our world in God’s very capable hands.

                And then there is Easter. And here in lies the greatest struggle. Normally we would go visit family and friends. We would watch children run around to and fro hunting for plastic eggs filled with goodies. On a normal Easter we would have a Sunrise Service and a regular service, with a brunch in the middle. We would enter the sanctuary to the beauty and smells of dozens of spring flowers, who remind us of the new life which comes through the resurrection.

                Easter is going to be different. The flowers will be in the sanctuary and the list of memorials will be placed in the bulletin. A picture will be posted on the website and Facebook so that you all can see them. If you purchased flowers they will be available for pick up at the main church door and can be picked up by driving up to the table. Please remain in your car and they will be brought to you. They will have had their bases sanitized.

                Another wrinkle is that we will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper. We will be using prepackaged individual elements. The ushers will distribute them if you feel comfortable please signal to them how many you need. Also if you are not comfortable please signal that to the ushers as well.

                Last Sunday we tested out worship with Zoom. If you are interested in joining together in worship online please email Dorothy at admin@hurleyreformedchurch.org and we will send you the invitation. Also with so many churches not worshiping I would like you to feel free to share and invite others to join us either in the parking lot or on Zoom.

Blessings to you all, stay safe, stay connected and stay faithful,

Rev. Bill

Sisters and Brothers, I would like to say thank you. For the grace that has been shown, for the patience as we seek to be together in worship and spiritually while maintaining a safe social distance. This is not easy and the end is coming at some point but not as soon as any of us would like and prefer. One of the hardest parts of this is that we are different people, different ages, backgrounds and ethnic backgrounds. We all have anxieties and worries. And we in the state of New York are just the residents of one of the fifty states. There are people in other states who are facing very different sets of circumstances.

This much has been all too apparent as I have spoken with family over the last few weeks. Each one of my siblings lives in a different state and each state is moving at a different speed. You might think that since that with three of us being ministers serving congregations there might be commonality, and there is but there is also much difference. Add to that that my brother is the administrator for another church and my little sister is the children’s ministries coordinator and what it adds us to is that there are five different experiences of congregations in the midst of the current pandemic.

But this doesn’t just affect churches. Sara was just letting me know of how hard this was hitting a friend of ours. He is a small business owner who runs a coffee shop in Michigan. I’m sure that all of you know of a person who is similarly hard hit by the restrictions as well as fear of the virus.

                One of the hardest things is that we are also approaching Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter. We are coming close to the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord and things do not show signs of letting up. So that you know we are working on ways in which worship might be both meaningful as well as existing within the constraints of our current reality. It is a time when family gathers together to share fun and meals. And yet there is the current reality.

                As a parent I have already had to field the question of what this means for Easter baskets and the like. I hope that I answered Liam’s question well enough but the reality is that I also hope that he and Barb have the grace to understand that Sara and I are trying. The current situation is testing us. It is testing the grace which we offer to one another. It is testing our humanity as we are challenged to care for and put others first and not our own wants and desires.

                Worship this Holy Week will likely look a bit different. But we are working to make it meaningful. It is challenging, but the church has weathered challenges before. Hopefully as our reality for Holy Week gets clearer I will be able pass the plan along. But until then keep the faith, keep in contact while keeping a social distance, and most of all trust in God. I hope to see you all Sunday.

Blessings,

Rev. Bill