New pastor of a motivated flock at St John 146 s Lutheran
ALTAMONT Before he does anything, the new pastor at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Altamont said, he needs to learn the names and faces of his congregants.
"I’ve found an assistant to whisper names in my ear," Rev. Gregory Zajac told The Enterprise.
Zajac, 53, started work at St. Johns in February. He lives in the newly-renovated parsonage next door.
St. Johns congregation is much larger than Zajacs old one, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, in Penfield, a Rochester suburb.
"I’ve not gotten used to that yet," Zajac said. "Sunday morning, when I look out on the congregation, I’m used to seeing maybe 50 people. Here, it’s double that."
The community character is also much different from the working-class town of Penfield.
"Those are people who were able to make things, repair things, grow things, things that keep the community going," Zajac said. "However, they were not people who were used to organizing or making long-range plans and carrying their plans out. That kind of organization was left up to my wife and a couple of capable people. At St. John’s, there is a wealth of individuals who have management positions, are executives, teachers, engineers. It’s wonderful to work with people who can organize things and carry out plans."
With the organizational work taken care of, Zajac said, he can focus on his pastoral duties.
Hes not planning any major changes, especially while hes still learning what child belongs to what grandparent, Zajac said.
"I believe that one of the gravest sins a new pastor can commit is to say ‘Nothing significant happened here before my arrival,’" he said. "I have been preceded by competent pastors and I will build on a foundation that has been laid."
"Counter-cultural message"
A Baltimore native, Zajac attended Loyola College and earned a master of divinity degree from Trinity Lutheran Seminary. He preached in Penfield for 21 years.
His wife, Melinda, works as an accounting manager for the Alternative Living Group in Schenectady, and they have two grown children, Sarah and Mark.
One of the reasons he enjoys being a pastor, Zajac said, is the chance to be present during the significant moments in his congregants livesweddings, funerals, baptisms, illnesses.
"After all, who do you call in those instances, in the joys and the sorrows" It’s a privilege to be invited into people’s lives," Zajac said.
His favorite activity as a pastor, Zajac said, is teaching fifth-grade communion preparation classes.
"It’s an age when children have begun to understand abstracts, but have not yet lost their sense of awe and mystery that comes later with adolescence," Zajac said. "They’re able to read well, but they don’t have all the hormones dumping into their system yet."
Zajac, who came of age in the 1960s, views his ministry as, in some ways, carrying on the counter culture movements of that decade.
"The culture says, ‘There’s no free lunch. It’s up to you. You get what you pay for,’" Zajac said. "The counter-cultural message of the Gospel is that Jesus has done everything for us. You can’t pay God off. All you can do is give him praise, love, and thanksgiving."
The challenge, he said, is bringing that counter culture message to people with busy lives.
When St. Johns was founded 134 years ago, Zajac said, church-goers expected sermons to last for 45 minutes. Not so anymore. Zajac tries to limit most of his to 15 minutes.
"Today, if you are going more than 20 minutes, well, it better be good," he said. "It’s better really be good."
