Members of the Middletown Reformed Church bid a bittersweet farewell to Reverend Eltje J. Brunemeyer and his wife Mary Sunday, June 30 as the popular leader led his last service as interim minister of the historic 175-year old church, located on Kings Highway in Middletown. "There are certainly plenty of tears," noted Christian Education Director Mrs. Beverly Bova Scarano. "Reverend Brunemeyer has been an inspiration to all of us and will be greatly missed by each and every member of the congregation."
During a moving service marked by special performances of the youth and adult choirs and solos by musicians Richie Furay and Michael Steib, Reverend Brunemeyer delivered a very moving and emotional sermon entitled "The Journey Continues." He employed the metaphor of a sailboat on the bay with a skipper at the helm to symbolize not only his departure from the church, but more importantly to inspire congregants to 'stay the course' on their own spiritual journeys, to reflect about their chosen and deliberate paths as faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ, and to remind them that though his time was coming to a close with the congregation, that his 'bon voyage' was not really an end for the church or for the congregants but a call to continue with loving hands and hearts the legacy of a robust church.
After services were concluded, a portrait of Reverend Brunemeyer and his wife Mary enjoying themselves at a party was unveiled and presented to the couple. "I promised Mary I would not cry if she didn't," the Reverend said emotionally as tears streaked down Mary's face. The portrait was created by congregant and artist Marion Zilinski, who spent months working from a photo of the couple taken at a 2012 summer luau celebrating the birthday of Beverly Bova Scarano. The portrait, appropriately, shows them in bright Hawaiin shirts. A luncheon celebration complete with custom cake concluded the afternoon's festivities, and prior to leaving, congregants made one last presentation to Reverend Brunemeyer and his wife - a journal with personally-inscribed thoughts, prayers, and gratitude.
