Now, that legacy continues as many of the same families, generations later, still fellowship and serve here.

The interdenominational chapel, now led by co-pastors Greg and Karen Zurakowski, provides more than just Sunday services.

From God Loves You Food Pantry all year long, to Vacation Bible School in the summer, Grand Lake Community Chapel plays an active role serving those in the area. All are welcome to attend Sunday services, at 9 a.m. weekly.

The Rev. Dr. Greg and the Rev. Karen Zurakowski also co-pastor Westminster Presbyterian Church in Rogers City, 25 minutes away. That service starts at 11 a.m. Sundays.

Courtesy Photos Above is a photo of a Grand Lake Community Chapel Sunday School class in about 1943. On the back of the black and white photo, the children are identified as, front row, from left to right, Jim Henry, Pat Henry, Edson Graves, Rusty Kauffman, Paul (?) Steinorth, Ian Griggs, Ewen Cameron, and Ken (?) Henry. In the back row, from left to right, are Jerry Gilmet, Bill Poirer, Cynthia Graves, Jack Doyle, Donna Gilmet, Sally Henry, Richard Lovejoy, Ruth Doyle, and Ann Murphy or Graham.

“There’s no expectation that you will set aside your Catholicism, or your Lutheranism, or whatever,” Greg Zurakowski explained of the interdenominational chapel. “We just come together to worship. You are who you are.”

He said people of all backgrounds are welcome.

“We simply come together to worship God, in Christ, and we are cognizant of everybody’s background, and we try to accommodate that where we can,” he said, noting that services are not overly liturgical. “It’s the same God, and the same Christ, and the same scriptures … we try to make sure everybody’s needs are met, in a non-offensive way.”

“It is so moving to be able to minister to a group of people in a time when denominations split over little, pin-point issues … we are blessed to minister to a group of people here that wants to come together instead of push apart,” Karen Zurakowski added. “They want to find compromise.”

Grand Lake Community Chapel member Nancy Stevens’ father and grandfather attended the chapel, and her daughter does too, making it four generations so far.

Vacation Bible School attendees in summer 2021.

“People come here, and, it’s not like they don’t care about other people, but they don’t care if they agree with them,” Stevens noted, adding that it’s a welcoming atmosphere.

“We love God, and we love each other, and we love this community, and we want to serve,” Karen Zurakowski said.

The articles of incorporation for Grand Lake Community Chapel were filed with the State of Michigan on Oct. 4, 1946, Greg Zurakowski said.

His maternal grandfather, Calvin Seitz, was a founding member of Grand Lake Community Chapel.

“We came up here to vacation when I was a kid,” Greg Zurakowski said. “I just didn’t know Grandma and Grandpa were a part of founding this place.”

Pictured above is an old black and white photo of Grand Lake Community Chapel, also known as “The Little Chapel.”

Zurakowski grew up in Gross Isle, south of Detroit. His grandfather was also a founding elder of the Gross Isle Presbyterian Church in 1957.

A 75th anniversary celebration was held in August, with 66 people in attendance, and many more online. They scheduled the celebration at that time because the “snowbirds” and summer visitors were still in town.

“We’ve had as many as 115 in the peak of season, pre-COVID, of course,” Greg Zurakowski said. “And then we’ll be down to 35 or 40 in the dead of winter.”

Since the start of the pandemic, he said, hundreds of people have tuned in to watch their online services, including people in China, where Christianity is against the law.