New Beginnings, Old Traditions

 - Rev. Greg Zurakowski, Pastor 

First and foremost, I’d like to say thank you to each and every one of you for calling me to join the community of faith that is Belleville Presbyterian Church.  Over the last few weeks, I have been greeted warmly and enthusiastically, with love and graciousness.  I am so very excited and energized about the future here at BPC, and I am looking forward to getting to know each of you, learning of your hopes and dreams and working together to bring those hopes and dreams to fruition.

I suspect some of you are wondering just what the new guy is going to do differently, how are things going to change as we start out on this next phase of our life at BPC.  Well, the answers are not too much (at least not right away) and we’ll figure that out together.  Worship will stay pretty much as it is, a lot of that is governed by our denomination’s Directory for Worship that outlines what elements should be a part of a Presbyterian worship service.  I’ve talked with the Session about adding The Apostle’s Creed following the sermon, and I’ll be working with Patti Jones, our Music Director, to add more special music to our services, but other than that you won’t see much in the way of change on Sunday mornings.  I want to make sure we retain the welcoming, comfortable, family feeling at BPC; it’s one of the great strengths of the congregation.  Our involvement in the Strawberry Festival and other community events will continue (and maybe expand); the Blessing of the Animals and the Old Fashioned Christmas celebration will keep right on going.

Something else I’ve talked with the Session about is having an all-church visioning retreat, after Easter.  This is our church, and I’d love to get all of us together on a Saturday morning to kick around your ideas on things we can do better, things to change, and things to leave alone.  One idea that I have is that we (BPC) sponsor a “blessing of the fleet” at the lake once the ice has cleared.  I know several of you have boats that you keep on Belleville Lake, and that you have friends who have boats as well, and it seems to me asking God’s blessings for a safe and enjoyable boating season is pretty good use of our time.  I hope you’ll share your ideas with me and the Session, even before the retreat.  We might be able to put some of them in place right away.

This wouldn’t be much of a pastor’s article if I didn’t touch on religious stuff, so let me remind you that we’re now in the church season of Lent, a time for reflection, repentance and preparation.  The forty days of Lent, the same number of days that Jesus spent in the wilderness, is a great time to take a look at your life and consider making a change or two.  It’s a time to try to set aside distractions so you can more fully focus on God and Jesus Christ.  Our tradition doesn’t worry so much about “giving something up for Lent,” but if that will help you get focused, that’s great.  Certainly I encourage your regular attendance at Sunday worship and at any of the additional special services that are upcoming (Maundy Thursday and Good Friday) so that your church family can support you through your change process.  This is a good time to read a book, or to sit quietly and listen for the still, small voice of God offering you guidance and encouragement.  For me, Lent has become a very special time during which I try to be very intentional about listening and responding.  I invite you to make it a special time in your faith journey as well.

Again, thank you for inviting me to join you.  Once Karen, my dear wife, finishes her ministry internship at Littlefield Presbyterian Church in Dearborn, she’ll be a regular presence in Belleville, and maybe our hopelessly spoiled cocker spaniel, Grace, will hang out at the church as well.  We will do great things here at BPC and in the wider community.  Let’s get started!