RICH HURST: DON'T FORGET ABOUT HIM!

"Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him." (Genesis 40:23)

This past Saturday morning, I received a brief e-mail that saddened me. It was a notification by the Rev. Richard "Rich" Hurst, Pastor of the Lutheran Church of Framingham that he is resigning due to health reasons. He and his wife live in a church parsonage, so they'll be moving out, and moving in with Rich's parents in Natick. The e-mail was brief, matter-of-fact, and as positively expressed as something like that could be. It was not at all what I'd probably have written. Admittedly, I tend to be sensational, wordy, and have a flair for the dramatic and even melodramatic. Rich Hurst is not at all one to call attention to himself. He is not at all comfortable calling attention to himself. Frankly, that makes him all the more admirable and worthy of honor, in my opinion. Romans 13:7 says we ought to give honor to whom honor is due, and thus, I'm writing this piece to express my appreciation of Rich Hurst and to give him recognition he so rightly deserves.

The above verse from Genesis is from the story of Joseph. (If you've ever seen, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", then you are familiar with the story!) One of the saddest verses in the story of Joseph is the one I opened with. The chief butler promised Joseph he'd put in a good word with the Pharaoh; he'd let Pharaoh know Joseph was a good guy who'd gotten a really raw deal; he's stand up for Joseph; he'd be instrumental in making things right for Joseph. Sadly, ten minutes after the chief butler was released from the prison and had his position restored, he was essentially saying, "Joseph WHO?!". When people (and communities, for that matter) go through great times of crisis, initially, "everybody" rallies around them. It doesn't take long, however, for people to forget. Within the first three months of the church I pastored having closed, and me having to make very difficult and radical changes in my life, I had all sorts of people calling me and writing me, giving me special gifts, etc. Almost like clockwork, after three months, most of that dried up. I became old news. Back in early June, we were all talking about the town of Monson, Massachusetts which had been hard hit by a tornado. No, it wasn't as bad as Joplin, Missouri, but for a MASSACHUSETTS town to face catastrophic camage from a Level 3 tornado was still a HUGE story. For a few weeks "everybody" was talking about it. Volunteers went out to help the needy there. Collections were taken up. It took about three months, and most of us completely forgot about Monson and the other western Massachusetts towns that were affected by the tornadoes on June 1. After a few weeks and months, I don't want us to be saying, "Richard, WHO? Oh, yeah, that guy who pastored the Lutheran Church; I really don't know what's become of him. He's probably just moved on."

I met Rich Hurst for the first time at a special Marian High School assembly in the early Fall of 1996. The school had invited area clergy to come in support of the cause of world peace. I'd say at least fifteen clergy attended, and the school had three or four speak. Rich Hurst had just moved into Framingham from a pastorate in western Massachusetts. He was no stranger to MetroWest however, having grown up in Natick from a family with a strong heritage in that community. What struck me about Rich is how well he connected with the kids. He was enthusiastic, funny, bright, and very spiritual. He had the attention of the student body. I was impressed with this guy. There are a lot of "preachers" around, but not a lot of true pastors. I happen to be a good public speaker, but as I reflect on my many years of ministry I think I could have been more sensitive to people and more pastoral. I could be the type who was looking at his watch, hurrying to be someplace else. Rich was NEVER like that. This guy ALWAYS had time for people. There were a number of times when I was going through my own struggles that he'd make time for me. He was never rushed. He was a great listener, and always had very wise things to say.

Rich was very involved in the entire Framingham community, but he was NOT political. So many clergy either get involved with the religious right, as I did in my earlier years, or get wrapped up in the causes of the religious left, and believe me, there IS a "religious left". Rich was into neither. If something had something to do with spreading the Gospel and being Christlike, Rich wanted to be part of that. If not, he was not interested. During his stint as Convener of the Framingham Interfaith Clergy Association a few years ago, Rich put together a prayer vigil on the steps of the Memorial Building on the evening prior to a Town election. There was a lot of polarization in the town over issues such as illegal immigration. There were people who did not speak to one another and who pretty much hated one another. Rich endorsed NO candidate. The idea was to pray for our community and for healing in our community. Sadly, some accused him of leading that with a political agenda. NOTHING could have been further from the truth. I was proud to be part of that prayer vigil.

There are some ministers who don't like to get their hands dirty. Not Rich. Several years ago, a LARGE tree limb fell from a one hundred year old Norway maple in my own parsonage back yard. It hung suspended in the tree. Our church was struggling. There was no way we could hire a tree company to come and saw it up and haul it away. Guess who did? Rich Hurst. I did not realize that he'd done a lot of tree work in his younger days. Rich showed up with his hardhat and chainsaw, and Bill Lincoln from our church and I helped him. He did a very professional job dropping the large limb and cutting it up.

Rich comes from a great family. They have a big July 4 cookout every year, and my daughter Rachel and I have been privileged to attend the last couple of them. The most fun we had was Rich driving us around in his Dad's classic 1939 maroon Ford convertible! Rich is also a GREAT storyteller. He'll captivate you with stories from his years of pastoring in Gloversville, New York, or even his antics as a high school kid. Rich's story of receiving his first Holy Communion is frankly hysterically funny. I know that may sound hard to believe, but he was a young adult at the time, and if you really want to hear that one, you'll have to ask him! I've also attended at least one special Christmas celebration at his home and enjoyed seeing his model trains.

I know that over the past decade, Rich has battled some serious health problems. He's kept plugging. I was not aware of how many health problems he was having recently. He did not make a big deal about it. I am truly sorry to see him have to step down from his pastorate.

My friend Claire Grimes often says, "Where is it written that life is fair?"...and in many ways life in this fallen world is NOT always fair. No, this doesn't seem fair for Rich. But God's Word does say to learn to be joyful in our trials, and that it's in the trials where we grow the most. Even so, I am very sorry to see Rich going through this. Rich is probably not the kind of guy who'd have been nominated for "Framingham Person of the Year" or something like that, and he'd be really embarrassed to be nominated for such an honor, but truly he would be worthy of it.

I hope each person who reads this will offer a prayer for Rich Hurst and his family and will invite others to pray for him.

Now, the LAST thing Rich Hurst needs is any "Job's Comforter's" and I trust you know what I mean by that. However, if you have a brief message of encouragement and support for him, I think he'd like that. In a public forum, I just can't share his personal contact information. BUT, if you e-mail a message for Rich Hurst to ME at
revrbaril@aol.com I will forward it on to him. AND, should you want to send him a card or a note, you are welcome to send it to Bob Baril, P.O. Box 4702, Framingham, MA 01704 and I will see to it that he receives it.