Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself
Beloved in Christ,
I am so excited for my first Sunday in worship with you, the start of my ministry as Interim Rector! Over the next year or so, I’ll be partnering with the Vestry—and with you—to discern ways we can work together to heal and strengthen the life and ministry of St. John’s so that the Parish is in the best possible position for calling your next Rector. Diocesan staff will walk with us in this journey and help us to make progress on our goals, culminating in the election of a new Rector. It promises to be a life-giving and transformative process for all.
I’m eager to meet you, hear your stories and learn about your lives and loves, cares and concerns, hopes and dreams. I sense that some of you have been established at St. John’s for a long time and others of you are relative newcomers. God has woven you into a wonderful tapestry. Your diversity is a blessing, and I’m looking forward to being part of the fellowship and ministry of St. John’s.
I am intrigued about the neighborhood. I know that St. John’s has stood at the center of this community for centuries. The Church has been a witness to history, even as it has been a place where history has been made. I look forward to exploring Church Hill on foot and on bike, visiting shops and the places where people gather. I’ll exercise my curiosity and extend my hand to community leaders. I’d be grateful for your guidance, suggestions and introductions as I explore what is new territory for me.
I moved to Richmond with my wife Jacqueline Lapsley (she goes by Jacq, pronounced “Jack”) in June 2023, when she was appointed the President of Union Presbyterian Seminary, an ecumenical institution of higher theological education. I have the proud distinction of being the first-ever “first gentleman” of Union, which has helped me to connect with the wider ecumenical church. In turn, I have delighted in making connections with Union and ecumenical colleagues for the interim ministries I have served Grace and Holy Trinity (Richmond), St. Mary’s (Goochland), and St. Matthias’ (Midlothian).
Exploring, learning, connecting and collaborating are vital to my sense of vocation as a priest and transitional minister. Undergirding and grounding my life and ministry is prayer. Laura M. Fabrycky’s description of prayer captures my sense of its importance for the opportunities and challenges we face as a church, a community, a country and a civilization: “Prayer keeps open the window of our bodies, minds, and hearts to hope, and cultivating hope is essential to growing flexible, agential capacities in a world that tends to train us to be brittle, violent, closed and inert.” Prayer is powerful and transformational, because prayer invokes the Holy Spirit, who shows us what Christ is doing for the healing and restoration of the world; the Holy Spirit gives us the mind of Christ so that we can discern Christ’s call to us, both individually and as a community of faith.
I believe that the Church is called in this moment to hold hope for the world and to nourish our capacities to work for the good for all. Here’s my heartfelt prayer for this next chapter: “May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). May it be so!
Faithfully in Christ,
Greg+
The Reverend Gregory Bezilla
Interim Rector
PS. You’re welcome to call me Greg, Father Greg, Reverend Greg—or whatever is most comfortable for you.
