Pastor John Havrilla: A Love for His Church, Community

It may very have been his love of music that started Pastor John Havrilla of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Pearl River on the path to his life’s work. 

“I didn’t get to church often but when I went it deeply impressed me," Havrilla said of his middle-school days. "My friends were part of the youth group.”

When he joined his friends at the church near his home in the Bronx he would play the piano for enjoyment. 

“The organist who was also choir director heard me play the piano. I can play by ear," Havrilla said. "He visited my parents and said he would give me lessons.  I then started filling in when he was on vacation.  I also started playing at funeral homes for $10.  That was a lot of money in 1963 for playing a few hours at a funeral service.  That was tremendous money.  I was in the 8th grade.

“Music has become a huge part of my life.  It has helped me in my work.  I really didn’t know much about music, but today I have a real love for Bach.  I never liked opera until I went to Metropolitan Opera dress rehearsals when I was a senior in college.”

Pastor Havrilla was raised on 158th Street and Elton Avenue near Yankee Stadium and remembers “watching the Yankees from the El (elevated train platform) for 10 cents (the cost of a subway ride at the time).” 

He remembers his childhood fondly. 

“I grew up with all kinds of people," Havrilla said. "It was wonderful. I would go to Hebrew National for a knish and a hot dog. I learned a culture through food.” 

He has not lost the love for food or for learning new cultures.

“Just in the past few years, I developed a love for Indian food,” Havrilla said.

He attended a parochial school, Grace Lutheran, that had only three teachers. 

“The principal taught the sixth, seventh and eighth grades,” Havrilla said.  

Havrilla continued his education at DeWitt Clinton High School in what he calls a "conflicted" area of the South Bronx.

“I loved life in the South Bronx because it had sidewalks and stoops, people kept their doors open, there was a deep sense of community," Havrilla said. "I am meant to live with neighbors.”

After attending Wagner College on Staten Island and graduating with a BA in History, Havrilla entered graduate school at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. 

“I went to college thinking I was going to go to the seminary,” Havrilla said.

The four year program included a one-year internship on Long Island
and one summer in a clinical pastoral educational program at a psychiatric hospital.  Following his graduation, Havrilla went through a process of assignment to determine at which church he would be serving.

During that period of time, he met Pastor John Taylor of Good Shepherd Church and assumed the role of assistant pastor, with his main emphasis working with young people. He started in 1973 and stayed for two and one half years before moving in 1976 to a new position on Long Island at St. Andrew in Garden City South.

“I left because I wanted my own church and my future wife lived on Long Island.”  said Havrilla, who got married in 1976.

It would be nine years before Havrilla came back to Pearl River in August, 1985.  

“I returned to Good Shepherd because it was the right time to move, my older boy was going into the first grade," Havrilla said. "Also, the pastor (at Good Shepherd) had retired and I returned as the senior pastor.  I knew that I wanted to work with staff and this church had the potential to develop a staff ministry and I wanted to stay in the New York City area.

“At the time it was basically the relationships that I had and the people who lent me their support.  My family wasn’t in favor of this move.  They thought that I would be poor.”

Havrilla welcomed his return to Rockland County. 

“I have always loved Pearl River," Havrilla said. "I like the hills, I like the people.

“I love the music program in the congregation.  We put in a very good pipe organ and have attracted good organists.”

He is extremely proud of the people at Good Shepherd. 

“We have a thriving congregation that attracts young families," Havrilla said, "We have a very vital ministry.  God is using us to make a difference in people’s lives. The pre-school had 50-60 kids in 1985 and now we have close to 400 kids. The power of early childhood learning is so important.”

The community outreach programs with which his church is so heavily involved also bring Havrilla great satisfaction. He points to the Thanksgiving service sponsored by the Pearl River Interfaith Council that is held each year on the Monday before the holiday.

He also spoke of the initiative including Good Shepherd Church and the Nanraushaun Presbyterian Church to assist people in finding jobs in a difficult economy. 

“Good Shepherd donated some seed money to develop
a ministry to help people that are unemployed or underemployed,” Havrilla said.

“I serve on the Hospice Clergy Advisory Board. We get people to talk about struggles and passions. God will be at work. We always try to start new groups in the congregation that are also open to the community. We are a community church. I enjoy being part of community organizations.” 

Havrilla spoke specifically of programs for senior citizens, Boy Scouts and the community effort put into the pre-school program. 

“Now we are branching out into the field of visual arts including sculpture, body art, painting, and drawing," Havrilla said.

Havrilla said that the varied aspects of the job make his career as a clergyman totally fulfilling.

“I think with what I like in life, I love music, architecture, history, theology, economics," Havrilla said. :A lot of things that I really enjoy.  I love to sing.  There is never a dull moment.

“I am really a generalist in a culture where everyone wants to be a star or a specialist.  I don’t do anything really well.  But it is kind of a good gift.  In my work it is better not being a specialist.”

He said that his education is a key part of that.

“I am so grateful for a liberal arts education," Havrilla said. "The point of art awareness is to help people realize that their value is not in what they produce.  They are made in the image of God and that is a beautiful thing.  I love western culture but it may be making us slaves to productivity.”

Havrilla’s family includes his wife Marsha, a former mathematics  teacher who now works in veterinary administration; 32-year-old son, who is in the information technology field; and 28-year-old son Adam, who is the principal bassoonist with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and teaches music in college and high school.

“I thought that at my age I would have been there and done that, but I am still enjoying my work," Havrilla said. "I am lucky to have that religious handle to try to give some sense to life but I realize that people have other handles and I can learn from them."