Greetings in Christ!

As we enter into the summer months, it seems to me that this is a good time to take stock of things around the Belleville Presbyterian Church. There is much good news, but there are also a few areas that are of concern to me as your pastor.

Let’s start with the good stuff; as has long been the case, I am amazed at how well this congregation does hospitality. Not just the obvious things like great food at coffee hour and at our monthly potlucks, but the more subtle things like warmly greeting visitors and extending gentle care to those who come to our doors in need. Hospitality is a central tenet of our faith tradition, and we do it really well! This is a great strength of our church.

We’ve done a remarkable job of keeping costs under control; we’re pretty much holding our own financially, drawing on our reserves at a slower rate than we had anticipated a couple of years ago. That said, we’re not out of the woods; at this point, the only way to further improve our finances is to increase our membership. We’ve enjoyed a couple of big “growth spurts,” and we’ve had fairly steady membership gains, but we’ve also experienced losses as members have entered the Church Triumphant. So overall, we’re a big bigger congregation than we were a year ago. Good news, but the more the merrier, so please continues to invite friends and neighbors to join us. We have a steady stream of visitors, who always report a favorable worship experience; we need to stay in touch with them and invite them to join us.

We are blessed with a beautiful campus, a charming worship space, and hard-working Elders and Deacons. Patti Jones, our talented Music Director, provides well-prepared music to support our services, and regularly enriches our worship with guest musicians and her own offerings of special music. And Rhonda and George McQuiston are gifts from God to our church family that we can’t do without.

Our 50^th Anniversary Year of Celebration was highlighted with a grand Reunion event on June 2^nd. We had over 150 people in attendance, which put a strain on the seating capacity of the chapel, but it was well worth it. Old acquaintances were renewed, memories were shared, and possibilities for the future were discussed. I want to thank Marlene Schafer for her leadership in planning and executing this event, thanks to Joe Bones for leading the Reunion Choir, and thanks to all of you who shared photos, documents, stories, and time to make the Reunion a success. I can’t list all the people who folded Memory Books, put together attendance lists, washed silverware, helped spruce up our buildings, parked cars, cleaned up when the Reunion was over, and who did the countless little things that were behind the scenes but were absolutely essential. You know who you are, and I want to thank you with all my heart for your efforts. All-in-all, life is pretty good at 11900 Belleville Road, but we could do a bit better in some areas.

A couple of months ago, I asked all of you to be mindful of treating each other with gentleness and compassion. It saddens me to note that we’ve lost some of the progress we made on this front. I fully understand that people are busy, that the Reunion event on June 2^nd was a heavy lift for a congregation of our size, increasing all of our stress levels, and I also understand that in any group of more than one person, differing opinions on what to do and how to do it will emerge. But I heard too many harsh comments directed at those doing the work, too many loud complaints about minor issues, and to be entirely honest with you, I saw too few members engaged in the preparations for the Reunion. As I shared with you on Memorial Day Sunday, this is our church; it doesn’t belong to me or the Session or the Board of Deacons. It belongs to all of us, as a trust offered to us by God. I know that many among us have physical limitations, but there are lots of things that need to be done that don’t require physical strength and don’t take a lot of time. Please, over the course of this summer, take some time to think about all of this; our church will thrive only if all of us are pulling in the same direction. Thank you.

I will be returning to the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in mid-June to continue my doctoral studies, focusing on the importance of the Sabbath in our lives. It may seem a bit odd to encourage you to take some time off this summer to rest in the Lord and enjoy his presence, after all, isn’t that what summer is for? But too few of us really disconnect from the world and still ourselves so we can hear what God has to say to us. And on a related note, Karen and I will be heading off to the Porcupine Mountains in the western Upper Peninsula in late July. 

And as always, please continue to support the Methodist Food Pantry with your generous gifts of paper products and personal hygiene products. The nicer weather hasn’t taken away any of the needs in our community, so as you relax and enjoy the lazy, hazy days of a Michigan summer, please keep our less-well-off brothers and sisters in your hearts and prayers.

See you in worship!

Rev. Greg

DEACON BEACON

The 50^th Anniversary T-shirt sale was successful. There are a few t-shirts left, so if you missed the opportunity to order yours, please see Marge Provan or Darlene Reed. The June 2 Reunion is coming soon so be sure you have one before then! Cost - $10.00 for adult size - $7.00 for youth size.

COFFEE HOUR

Thanks to all who have volunteered to host coffee hour. Your response

 is appreciated and the Cookie Closet is overflowing as well. You’re a great bunch and you step up when needed. Thanks to all.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION:

The end of the Sunday School Party was wet and fishy with a bit of

whipped cream, cheese puffs, and Oreos thrown in. If you want to know

 how to do these tricks just ask one of our kids! We also enjoyed the cross filled Water Blob that was loaded with water balloons that the children

 tried to pop by taking a running leap! Water blasters also made an appearance and we ended the celebration with minnow racing. What a blessing the children of the church are.

A very special thank you to John Reed and Mike Gill. This party would not have been near so much fun without you. You are the builders, the fish coaches, the wet participants and the best male role models around.

The Teen Tea was a chocolaty afternoon of crafting and fellowship. The theme was the music from the song, Your Love is extravagant and Taste

and See that the Lord is Good –Psalm 34:5. Our afternoon included

bracelet making, a tell a story dice game, tasting and rating different

types of chocolate, a chocolate service project, tasting chocolate cheese, making bath tub tea bags, and a trip to the candy bar.

A heart warmed thank you goes to Darlene Reed for helping with the

Teen Tea. She was the official photographer and remains the completely committed to helping Christian Education in any way possible. All the children of our church are her children and it always shows.

God Bless you, Deb Gill

MONTHLY POTLUCK

Sunday, June 16, July 21, August 18

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

The Methodist and Presbyterian churches in our village have held a joint service during the summer months in alternate quarters for many years.

For the sake of harmony, the entire congregation uses the form of the

 Lord’s Prayer which is customary to its host. At the final service one

summer, the minister announced:”The time has now come for the Methodists to return to their trespasses and leave the Presbyterians

 to their debts.”

Yard work as viewed from Heaven

God: Francis, you know all about gardens and nature; what in the world is going on down there in the U.S.? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle, and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought, and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honeybees, and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of color by now. All I see are patches of green.

St. Francis: It’s the tribes that settled there, Lord. They are called the Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers” weeds” and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

God: Grass? But its so boring, it’s not colorful. It doesn’t attract birds, only grubs and sod worms. It’s temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really WANT GRASS GROWING?

St. Francis: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it has grown a little, they cut it…sometimes two times a week.

God: They cut it? Do they bale it like hay?

St. Francis: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

God: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

St. Francis: No sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

God: Now let me get this straight….they fertilize it to make it grow and

when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

St. Francis: Yes sir.

God: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut

 back on rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and

saves them a lot of work.

St. Francis: You aren’t going to believe this Lord, but when the grass stops growing so fast they drag out the hoses and pay more money to water it

 so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

God: Enough! I don’t want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine,

 you’re in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us

 tonight?

St. Catherine: “Dumb and Dumber,” Lord. It’s really stupid movie about…

God: Never mind-I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis!

*Thought for the week:

Don’t regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY  Happy Anniversary

06/05……Joan Harrison   06/03…..Paul & Stephanie Devine

06/06…..Chuck West   06/16…..Greg & Karen Zurakowski

06/06…..Steven Sherman   06/25…..Don & Cheryl Sherman

06/08…..Paul Devine

06/15…..Janice Yates

06/18…..Marjorie Gifford

06/18…..Billie Albright

06/26…..John Buchanan

06/26…..Jacob Buchanan

06/28…..Betty Bush

06/30…..Margie Provan

07/01…..Helen Wylie    07/01…..Maynard & Judy VanValkenburgh

07/02…..Roland Cranham

07/05…..Chris DeWitt

07/05…..Charlie DeWitt

07/22…..Ronald Sutherby

07/28…..John Reed

08/02…..Elsie Cantrell   08/07…..Frank & Dolores Lewandowski

08/05…..Georgia Sutherby   08/08…..Ron & Georgia Sutherby

08/05…..Rev. Greg Zurakowski

08/14…..Kelly Allstetter

08/16…..Amy VanValkenburgh

08/23…..Stephen Koren

08/24…..Lodema Blade

08/24…..Garry Boyd

08/25…..Joyce Ennis

SUMMER WORSHIP SCHEDULE

We pray for those serving in our armed forces:

Matt Elmore Ben Lewis Tom O’Neil 

Jared Beck  Amanda Harrison   Bruce Gordon 

 Adam Nick Bonacci  Rob Knick 

Kevin Krasko Brad Dawson  Jeffery Gyolai 

Jason Crooks Stephanie Boltrick  Katelyn McCutchen

Session Members, Officers, Commission and Committee Responsibilities

Rev. Gregory C. Zurakowski (Pastor)

Rhonda McQuiston (Office Administrator)

Darlene Reed (Treasurer)

Patti Jones (Music Director)

Connie Etter (Clerk of Session)

Stephanie Devine (Building & Grounds, Wedding Coordinator)

 (Stewardship & Finance)

Deb Gill (Christian Education)

 Cheryl Sherman (Personnel & Administration/Membership)

Diane Shew (Mission & Evangelism)

Joe Bones (Worship & Music)  

Board of Deacons

Terry Lamb (Moderator) 

Helen Wylie Bill Ratti Michele Buchanan Gary Turnbull

Sarah Cook Margie Provan Dar Reed Sandy Provan 

 Betty Lamb (Corresponding Secretary)

PLEASE REMEMBER OUR SHUT – INS WITH A PRAYER:

Elsie Cantrell Garry Boyd

Marlene Avery Fran Harris

Bonnie Rish Frank Lewandowski

Georgia Sutherby Jerry & Joyce Ennis

Joe Czajkowski

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER AND

BE SAFE!