Parents and staff said they were caught off guard and left out to dry when the United Methodist Church of Seaford Board of Trustees decided to shutter the congregation's pre-K program after more than 60 years at the end of this school year.

The board voted nearly unanimously not to accept a Universal Pre-K contract to address ongoing sustainability concerns with the Seaford Community Preschool.

Church officials blamed a combination of an aging congregation, ministerial bandwidth and financial resources needed to support the preschool.

In a press release, officials said most of the congregation is over 60 years old and was responsible for small repairs, hiring and funding contractors and overseeing overall building maintenance.

The building which houses the child care ministry is offered to the community for free, according to officials.

"After much prayer and discernment, with great sadness, the Seaford Board of Trustees concluded the issues facing the church’s childcare ministry are beyond what accepting a Universal Pre-K contract could effectively remediate," New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church Communications Department Lisa Isom wrote in a press release.

The Seaford Community Preschool offers programs for kids ages 2.5 to 4 years old as well as a summer camp.

Roughly 100 families and dozens of staff said they were shocked by the decision. Many said they already paid deposits for the summer program and registered for the new school year.

Now parents are scrambling to figure out what's next for them and their kids because most other preschool programs have already opened registration.