Sunday Worship begins at 10:30 a.m.  Masks are optional within the church building.  If desired, you may attend in the privacy of your car parked in our parking lot.

If you would like to receive a box of weekly giving envelopes, please call the office at 518-767-2243.  Using these envelopes allows our treasurer to be able to credit your donations at the end of the year for tax purposes.

Online offerings may be made on-line via Tithe.ly and the Give button below. These donations will be deposited directly into the church bank account. You have the option to give to either the General or Renovation Fund. Both Tithe.ly and the church will record your donations.

Tithe.ly deducts a small fee per credit card transaction (2.65% plus $0.30). You have the option to cover these fees, if you wish. You may also choose to have Tithe.ly automatically donate for you weekly or monthly.

As always, thank you for your generosity.

Harlan Ratmeyer – husband, father, grandfather, minister, activist, and storyteller – passed away peacefully on the morning of July 19, surrounded by the love and support of family. Born September 5, 1938, in the small farming community of Forreston, Illinois. Harlan graduated with a B.A. from Central College in Pella, Iowa in 1960. Four years later he received his Master of Divinity degree from Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. He was ordained to ministry in the Reformed Church in America in July 1964.

Harlan’s first ten years of pastoral service were in parish ministry in inner-city congregations – in Muskegon Heights, Michigan, and the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. He also spent six months in an intensive program at the Urban Training Center for Ministry in Chicago during the summer that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in Chicago.

Harlan then spent three years as a Chaplain Intern in Clinical Pastoral Education (1973-75) at Prairie View Mental Health Center in Newton, Kansas and Assistant Chaplain Supervisor at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas (1975-76) before moving to California’s Central Valley where he developed a Clinical Pastoral Education program at Kings View Mental Health Center in Reedley, California. He remained there for fifteen years, training men and women in pastoral ministry, and holding various leadership positions within the national and regional Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) including serving on its Board of Directors.

In April of 1995, Harlan accepted a position at Albany Medical Center to direct the hospital’s Pastoral Care Department. He developed the department to include more ministry students in direct patient care and expanded the role of pastoral care to include greater involvement in staff and policy issues. Harlan was a tireless advocate for universal healthcare, and penned the Health Care Manifesto, calling for such coverage and challenging the current model of fiscal considerations as the primary driver for healthcare decision-making, and he rallied the local faith community around this document. Harlan taught at Albany Medical College in areas of spirituality, ethical considerations, and professional integration. In 2000 he received his Doctor of Ministry degree from New York Theological Seminary.

In 2011, he was awarded Honorary Membership of the Alumni Association for work establishing the Clinical Pastoral Care program at AMC and the impact the program has had on the AMC Community. He educated countless students, residents and staff, helping them to explore spirituality, and the mind-body-spirit connection for themselves, particularly as they are for their patients. He served on several hospital committees, including the Internal Review Board and Ethics Consultation Committee, interacting with a variety of agencies and organizations, including Interfaith Impact.

In 2011, Harlan received the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education Distinguished Service Award. This presentation is made each year to one of more than 400 supervisors in Clinical Pastoral Education who are recognized by their colleagues for their faithful and distinguished service.

In 2015, Harlan received one of Albany Medical Center’s highest honors – the Pillars Award. The award is given annually to individuals who epitomize the spirit of the Medical Center and whose sustaining work and contributions reflect the essential community-based nature of its mission. “Importantly, his patients have observed that he has been their light in their darkest hour; a warm, caring, radiant presence that guides them through to health or, in some cases, helps them come to terms with the end of life,” said James J. Barba, president and chief executive officer of Albany Medical Center (now retired).

In 2018, Harlan retired as the part-time pastor for the First Reformed Church of Bethlehem in Selkirk, New York, a small congregation he served for more than twenty years (concurrently with his service at Albany Medical Center). In 2019, he retired as Manager of Pastoral Care at Albany Medical Center. In his retirement, as throughout his working life, he pursued several passions – gardening (tomatoes, garlic), cooking (pies, rib roasts), storytelling (childhood, pastoring), and driving (Mini) – and reveled in his time with family and friends. His storytelling was deeply valued by his friends, family, and community, and some of his stories have been captured in recordings, and in his December 2022 book, For Everything a Season.

Diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2017, Harlan resisted its ravages with the profound courage, grace, and humor that wove through everything he did – including taking up boxing and enduring long walks in any weather.

He is survived by his wife, Ellen, his daughters Stephanie Ratmeyer and Julia Ratmeyer, his grandchildren Sarah and Christopher Richardson, Madeleine and Emma Folkerts, and his son-in-law Paul Richardson.

A service honoring Harlan’s life will be held on Saturday, August 24, 2024, at 11:00 am, at Delmar Reformed Church, 386 Delaware Ave, Delmar, NY 12054. Lunch will be provided in the Fellowship Hall following the service. In lieu of gifts or flowers, please make donations to the Pastoral Care Department, Albany Medical Center.

Thanks to all who continue bringing their 5 cent bottles and cans to church. I just picked up another $140 bringing our total to $685.  Please remember tea and lemonade bottles do not carry the 5-cent deposit. Together we are doing great.
Thank you, Arlene.