Packanack Community Church

Please join us in celebrating the ordination of Gineen Ricciardelli as Deacon!

We are grateful for her heart for service and faithful commitment to our church community. May God bless this new chapter of ministry with wisdom, strength, and joy.

Congratulations, Gineen!

Holy Humor Sunday is Here!!!!! JOIN US THIS MORNING, SUNDAY, APRIL 26th @ 10 AM FOR OUR ANNUAL HOLY HUMOR WORSHIP SERVICE!

Join us as we celebrate the gift of joy, laughter, and humor in worship. If you have any good (all age-appropriate) jokes, bring them with you to worship. You will have an opportunity to make us all laugh!

Christ is Risen!! He is Risen Indeed!

Happy and Blessed Easter!!!

Join us this morning for our Easter Worship Services:
Sunrise (across the street by the lake): 6:30 am
Easter Celebration (inside the sanctuary): 10 am
*After our 10 am service, there will be an easter egg hunt!

Holy Saturday Reflection

"As the women sit opposite of the tomb, they feel the silence of God. Can you imagine how it must have felt to be in the presence of Jesus—to feel the tenderness, love, and healing spirit he brought to the world. And then to sit in shock at the absence of that spirit. This is the day we reflect what the world looks like if we had no God. We are allowed to say: our God died. We can even say: the utter absence of God is more real to me sometimes than God’s presence. We never get to say these kinds of things out loud, but Holy Saturday shows us that we are still faithful. This Holy Saturday, take a moment to sit in silence. Because the good news is that God came back to those very women, the very next day. But if you have ever felt God’s absence, today’s silence is your truth."

Blessing for when you are too tired to cry...

Blessed are you, who feel undone,
too tired even for tears,
longing to be spoken back into being.
Blessed are you, who ache to remember
the bonds of love that formed you,
that hold you still, even now.
May they be as iron
that strengthen your soul.
Blessed are you,
who glimpse, however faintly,
that this present darkness
is not all there is.
And blessed are we who dare to say:
I am known.
I am loved.
I can love again.
Even—especially—here,
in this very moment.

(written by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie. Adapted from “For
When You’re Too Tired To Cry” in The Lives We Actually
Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days. (New York: Conver-
gent Books, 2023). 34-35.)

Join us tonight at 7pm for our Good Friday Service

Tomorrow, Pastor Juli and members of Packanack Community Church will join others from North Jersey for a solemn 10 mile Good Friday pilgrimage from First Congregational Church of Montclair to Delaney Hall in Newark, with prayer service stops along the way. Together we will pray with our feet, show solidarity with our immigrant neighbors, and bear witness to the cruelty towards immigrants today.

It is not too late to sign up and join us. See the image below for more information. Know that you are welcome to join us for any portion of the pilgrimage if you feel the total distance is too long. Do not hesitate to reach out to Pastor Juli with questions.

Join us this evening, 4/2, for our Maundy Thursday Service.

We will start with a potluck dinner at 6:30 PM, followed by a worship service at 7:15. You are welcome to attend either or both.

This year, our worship service will take place in our social hall, sitting around tables. We will tell the story of Jesus' last night as he gathered with his friends and disciples to prepare for what was to come. We will share communion together and be reminded of Jesus' new commandment to "love one another."

All are Invited and Welcome!