For several years the stone pictured to the left has
graced the backyard of Fr. Josef Petranin, in the hopes that one day it
would be the corner stone for a new church in Pittsfield.
How it got
to his backyard is all of Fr. Josef doing. The story goes that Fr. Josef
spotted this stone several years ago while some digging was being done
somewhere around Pittsfield . When he saw it he immediately thought it
would be a perfect corner stone for a church. The only problem was, at
that time, when he found the stone, St. Nicholas church in Pittsfield
had no plans for building a new church. The parish, at that time, was
not experiencing growth, perhaps some of the faithful thought it would
someday close down. However, as Fr. Josef always says, "with God all
things are possible," so, those many years ago, Fr. Josef had the stone
brought to his house. Fr. Josef then moved this massive stone, all by
himself (only God knows how) to his backyard where, until recently, he
and Matushka Julia planted flowers around it. During those years it sat
in his yard Fr. Josef would look at this stone and pray that it would
someday be used as a corner stone for a new Orthodox Church in
Pittsfield. There in his yard the stone rested...
On Sunday June 5th,
2011, the faithful of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Pittsfield
finally voted to build a new 1,900 square feet church at 1304 North St.
That same day, with the blessing of Fr. Josef, the parish of St.
Nicholas unanimously agreed to have this stone moved, as soon as
possible, from Fr. Josef's backyard to our new parish property in order
for it to serve as the corner stone for the new church.
So on
Wednesday June 29th, 2011 the Feast of the Great Apostles and
Evangelists Peter and Paul, the stone was brought and has found its
rightful home at 1304 North St. in anticipation of the new church
construction. We pray that our Lord will give us the kind of faith,
vision, and anticipation for His Church that our Pastor Emeritus, Fr.
Josef had in eying this stone those years ago! We pray that this stone
or "rock" will serve as a foundation of many blessed years to come in
serving His vineyard here in Berkshire County Massachusetts!
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