Associate joins St. John's Center staff

Asked about his impressions of Lancaster County, Israel "Izzy" Zilinski, associate pastor of St. John's Center Church, 432 Reading Road, East Earl, noted the similarities with his hometown of Halifax, located about 30 minutes north of Harrisburg. "It's not too different from Dauphin (County)," said Zilinski. "Where I grew up, it was country, but the farmland is spread out more than here, and here you have things to do."

Zilinski joined the staff of St. John's, a United Church of Christ congregation, in late April 2023. Zilinski graduated from Messiah University in December of 2022 with a degree in ministry. He worked in warehousing until being offered the newly created position at St. John's, where he said his job is varied. "I do a lot of different things," he noted, adding, "Anything Ken (Evitts, lead pastor), needs me to do." According to Zilinski, that includes preaching, teaching a children's Sunday school class, and coaching a soccer team at Pathways Hybrid-learning School, where he led the players to a successful season in the fall of 2023. "We have a young adult group (at the church)," noted Zilinski, who added that he would like to start a youth group, having recently lunched with some of the young people who attend the church.

Zilinski also volunteers with the Released Time program at Blue Ball Mennonite Church, and he explained that a Released Time program played a crucial part in his call to become a minister. Born in Jamaica, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, Zilinski was adopted at a young age. Growing up in the Halifax public school system, he was introduced to Released Time in elementary school. "I went because all my friends were going, and I didn't want to stay in school for an hour by myself," recalled Zilinski, who soon found he loved taking part. The program changed his life. "It's where I started believing in Jesus," he recalled. While attending Halifax High School, he became involved in a church youth group, where he took on a leadership role. "I had spoken a few times," recalled Zilinski, who called his talks "five-to-10-minute sermonettes." "One of my leaders told me, 'Izzy, you are good at this and it seems that you enjoy it.'" The leader asked if Zilinski had considered going into ministry. "I said, 'No,'" Zilinski recalled. "I hadn't even considered what I wanted to do with my life, but I said I would look into it." As he explored the option, he began to see himself in the role. "The more I thought about it, (the more I thought it) was cool and something I could be good at."

St. John's member Carol Gilbert noted that hiring Zilinski will help the church to bring back some programs that were put on hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions. "I would like to see (vacation Bible school) come back," noted Gilbert.

Zilinski said he is looking forward to seeing the church grow and growing his own experience in the role. "I've enjoyed it a lot so far," he noted. "It has taught me a lot about ministry and how it works." A newlywed, Zilinski will celebrate his first wedding anniversary with his wife, Hannah, a preschool teacher, on Monday, June 17. The couple makes their home in Elizabethtown.

St. John's Center Church holds Sunday school at 9 a.m. each week followed by a service at 10:15 a.m. More information about the church may be found at http://www.stjohnscenterucc.org.