Spire

Holy Week and Easter always gives me butterflies - “an uneasy feeling, as in the abdomen, caused especially by nervous tension and anticipation.” There’s all the pageantry, great music, and glory - but also all the extra services, sermons and bulletins.

Ah - the lowly butterfly, perhaps a more appropriate symbol for Easter than the lily. Its beautiful form coming from the seemingly lifeless chrysalis reminds us of our Lord’s coming forth from the tomb.

There is a tapestry entitled “Christ in Glory” which hangs in Coventry cathedral, which was rebuilt in 1962 after being destroyed by bombs in 1940. Jesus is depicted encapsulated by a cocoon that has broken open to reveal the risen, ruling Lord.

We find nothing on butterflies in the Bible, but quite a bit about moths. Isaiah and Jesus speak of the destructiveness of moths that are capable of reducing the finest of garments to a pile of dust. Moths prefer darkness, are destroyers, and, on alighting, spread or fold their wings horizontally. Butterflies prefer daylight, as pollinators are creators, and hold their wings vertically when they land. It’s not surprising the church has exalted the butterfly as a fitting resurrection symbol.

The butterfly’s life cycle also symbolizes the life, death, and resurrection of all who are believers in Christ. The earth-bound caterpillar suggests our fallen condition. The motionless chrysalis represents our death and burial. The soaring butterfly conveys the image of our resurrected bodies destined for life eternal.

The migratory behavior of the Monarch also contributes to the resurrection symbolism. Hundreds of thousands, as on a secret cue, launch their way on an 1800 mile flight to Mexico. The November 1988 issue of “the Smithsonian” carries a photo of a guard - gun cradled in his arms - keeping watch over millions of Monarchs. They adorn his hat, whiskers, and shirt, and outnumber the leaves on the trees. The overall impact is that the gun - a symbol of death - has been overcome by the butterfly - the symbol of life beyond death.

This year I’m going to try to focus more of my attention on the resurrection imagery of butterflies - Easter’s other symbol. It might help me to have fewer “butterflies” gnawing away at my innards! June joins me in wishing each and every one of you a butterfly kind of Easter!

Several of you have asked me if I ever found the box of floppy discs I couldn’t find. Yes, I did. When I returned from lunch, I pulled out my bottom desk drawer and there was the box right where I had put it. It was hiding behind some folders. A sigh of relief was my reward.

11:00 – Scripture: John 20:1-18
Message: “Resurrected – Not Rescued”

PALM SUNDAY, March 16 Worship at 10:00: Celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, palms distributed and the Cherub Choir will sing. An Easter Egg Hunt for the younger children will be part of coffee hour.

Good Friday, March 21 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm Services at Fair Street Reformed Church
“Seven Last Words of the Cross”

Easter Sunday, March 23 Dawn Services at 6:30 am - Sunrise service in the sanctuary led by the Youth Group

At worship on February 24^th, Bob and Colleen Conklin, Josh and Melissa Lasher, and Steve and Valerie Nekos united with our congregation. Watch for a “getting to know our new members feature column next month.

Need a night out without the kids?? Well, we can help. On 3/28/08 from 6pm till 9pm will be a babysitting night to benefit the AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY.

Just drop off your children and go out and have a fun night. We will watch your child(ren) and provide them with a snack. Any questions or to sign up for this activity please, see Katie Emrich. Thank you.

Thank you for all of the empty cans & bottles that you have brought in!! Keep them coming until the end of May. Just bring in your empties to the box in Schadewald Hall. All of this benefits my WISE project for the American Cancer Society.

Gutters:
The new gutters were installed on the church this past month. They were leaking and continuously got clogged with leaves causing lots of problems with water in the nursery school area. The gutter helmet team will soon be here to finish the job and make our gutters maintenance free forever!
forever? Yes, forever.

Water:
We continue to be plagued by water getting into the Sunday school rooms after hard rains. We're looking into redirecting the water from the underground (and probably clogged) drain pipes along Schadewald Hall out into the driveway. We can't continue to allow water to seep into the building foundation so this redirection is our most prudent plan.

Ice melting salt has been our best friend over the last month. Let's hope we don't have to use it too many more times.

Joe and Gretchen

Items Needed for Hygiene Kits

We will be collecting items for personal Hygiene Kits to be distributed through the Church World Service Kit Program. These kits are distributed to individuals faced with natural disasters, violence and poverty around the world – which can mean the difference between sickness and health for struggling families.

The following items will be collected over the next few weeks.

Week of March 2 - Washcloths

Week of March 9 - Hand Towels approx. 16”x 28” (no fingertip or bath towels)

Week of March 16 - Wide tooth combs

Week of March 23 - Nail clippers (no metal files or emery boards)

Week of March 30 - Bar soaps (bath size, in individual wrapper)

Week of April 6 - Toothbrushes (in original packaging)

Items can be left in the collection box in Schadewald Hall. The Women’s Guild has offered to assemble these kits and box them up for pick-up in April.

Hurley Reformed Church happens to be the designated drop-off site for the Mid-Hudson region. So many area churches will be participating in this program.

Together we can make a difference!

We are collecting hygiene items for bags that we will be making up for Church World services. Please watch the bulletin for items that we will need to fill these bags.

We will be holding a Spaghetti Dinner on Sunday, 4/13/08 from 4pm till 7pm. There will be no specific seating times so, please come anytime between 4pm-7pm for your dinner.

We will be serving: Spaghetti - Your choice of plain, marinara or with meat balls, Salad, Bread & Butter, Drinks and Dessert. All for $6 a person.

SPAGHETTI DINNER

WHO: All are welcome

WHEN: Sunday, April 13, 2008 - 4pm till 7pm

COST: $6 per person

Dinner cooked for you by the Women's Guild!

Call 331-4121 for reservations or sign up after church.

Consistory Corner

The Consistory would like to remind the congregation that the door is
always open and you can take part in a meeting at anytime. If you
have a concern that you wish to discuss with the consistory,
please call the office and let us know, and we will schedule you at
the beginning of the meeting. The Consistory meets on the second
Monday of each month at 7:00 pm in the Dutch Room.

We would like to thank the many groups of motivated people that keep
our church vital. We are very blessed with wonderfully dedicated
volunteers and workers in Christ's name. Please pat yourselves on the
back, you deserve it. In times of change it is easy to lose focus but
you have remained strong, thank you all.

We all notice that there are familiar faces missing from our pews on
Sunday ... we invite you back ... we miss you!!!

Every three years our Regional Synod of New York hosts a “Christian Service Award” dinner. Each congregation is invited to select a person to be recognized. Our Consistory selected Rebecca to be our honoree. In addition to her many activities associated with her teaching and her daughter, she has been involved with the “Corn and Craft Festival” put on by the Hurley Heritage Society. But most of us have come to know her as the “nursery care” lady on Sunday mornings, a position she has held for over 15 years. Several hundred

people will attend the 8^th such dinner on Sunday, April 13^th, to be held once again at the Sheraton Crossroads Hotel in Mahwah, New Jersey. The guest speaker will be the Rev. Louis Lotz who for years has written the last page in our monthly RCA “Church Herald” magazine. We hope to have enough family and friends attend to fill a table.