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14 | April 19, 2018 | The Homer Horizon Faith
homerhorizon.com
Pastor Column
Three points taken from the Old Testament
Pastor Dana O’Brien
Cross of Glory Lutheran Church
At Cross of Glory, the
congregation I serve,
we realized we didn’t
know as much about the
Old Testament as we would
like. So, this spring, we’re
reading some of the key Old
Testament Bible stories.
When we first started, I
knew these stories would be
interesting but feared they
wouldn’t really resonate
with our lives today, so
many years later. However,
I couldn’t have been more
wrong. And so here are
a couple of things we’re
learning about God and us
as we read:
1. God never gives up on us
From the first Garden of
Eden stories through the
entire Old Testament, God
never gives up on humanity.
God’s people continually
turn their backs on God,
but God never turns God’s
back on them. It’s the same
today — we often make
poor choices, walking away
from the abundant life God
wants for us. But God’s
love for us never wanes,
and God always welcomes
us back. I don’t know about
you, but I find it really
comforting to know that
nothing can separate us
from God’s love.
2. God often uses the most
unlikely people to further
God’s mission
Time and time again, God
chooses people we never
would have picked to be a
part of God’s big plan to
reconcile and restore all
things. God picks a really
old childless couple
(Abraham and Sarah) to
be the parents of a nation;
God chooses a poor
speaker (Moses) to be God’s
emissary to Pharaoh; time
and time again, God works
through ill-equipped people
and dysfunctional families
to get things done. Which
means, of course, that if
you ever thought you were
too old or too young, or
not smart enough, or brave
enough, or talented enough,
or ... simply not enough,
God has a job for you. God
wants to use you to make
a positive difference in the
lives of people around you.
3. God constantly crosses
boundaries
God continually crosses
geographic, gender and
other cultural boundaries.
In a patriarchal society, the
Old Testament contains
lots of women heroines
— Hagar, Deborah and
Esther, to name a few. In a
culture favoring firstborn
sons, God continually
favors the later born —
Jacob, Joseph and David
— for example. And while
God works through God’s
own people Israel, God
also breaks open geographic
boundaries by
holding up foreigners like
Rahab and Ruth as models
of faithfulness. What does
a boundary crossing God
have to say to us today,
as so many in our country
struggle with fear of those
who are different?
My biggest takeaway
from these Old Testament
stories is how big our God
is. I am comforted in knowing
that God is always for
me. At the same time, I am
challenged by the fact that
God is also for other people,
even people very different
from me.
And maybe most challenging,
as I live as a child
of God in today’s world,
God calls me to be for all
people, as well.
The opinions of this column are
that of the writer. They do not
necessarily reflect those of The
Homer Horizon.
FAITH BRIEFS
Cross of Glory Lutheran Church (14719 W.
163rd St., Homer Glen)
Welcome Place Preschool
Open House
4-7 p.m. Thursday, April
26. Come meet the teachers as
the children get to play in the
classrooms.
In Memoriam
Sean Michael Joy
Sean Michael Joy, 20, of Lockport,
died April 13. He was employed by
King Electric, where he proudly worked
alongside his father for the past two
years. He loved music and cherished
spending time with his friends and
family. Sean was a former Lockport
Township High School student. He is
survived by his parents, Michael and
Karen (Eckstein) Joy; his sister, Alison
Joy; his brothers, Michael and Jacob
Joy; his paternal grandparents, Bernard
and Dolores Joy; his maternal grandparents,
Kenneth and Alice Eckstein; his
aunts and uncles, Stephen and Lisa Joy,
Julianna Joy, Regina and Lance Dale,
Christina Joy, Matthew and Marnie Joy,
Brian and Patricia Joy, Gerald and Sue
Joy, Patti Joy, Suellen Eckstein, Margaret
Eckstein and Janet Eckstein; and
his numerous cousins and friends. Memorial
funeral services are to be held at
10 a.m. Friday, April 20, in the O’Neil
Funeral Home Chapel, 1105 E. 9th St.,
Lockport. Memorial visitation is to be
held from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April
19, at the funeral home.
Christian Life Church (15609 W. 159th St.,
Homer Glen)
Sunday Service
10 a.m.
Thursday Service
7:30 p.m.
EDGE Youth Service
7:30-9:30 p.m. Thursdays.
St. Bernard Parish (13030 W. 143rd St.,
Homer Glen)
Knights of Columbus Annual
Spring Spaghetti Dinner
4-6:30 p.m. Sunday, April
22. The dinner includes Mama’s
famous homemade red
sauce, Italian salad, artisan
bread and soda. The cost is
$8 for adults, and $4 for children
12 and under. Proceeds
will support the local seminarian’s
ongoing education.
New Life Community Church - Homer Glen
(14832 W. 163rd St., Homer Glen)
Women’s Retreat
7:30 p.m. Friday, April
20 through 4 p.m. Saturday,
April 21. Hilton Lisle/Naperville,
3003 Corporate W.
Drive, Lisle. The cost for the
conference is $50 and includes
speakers, conference
materials and breakfast. The
cost of the hotel stay is separate.
The overnight retreat is
a time of worship, teaching
and renewing one’s faith in
Christ.
Have something for Faith
Briefs? Contact Assistant
Editor Jacquelyn Schlabach at
j.schlabach@22
ndcenturymedia.com or
call (708) 326-9170 ext. 15.
Information is due by noon
Thursday one week prior to
publication.
Barbara J. Kallquist
Barbara J. Kallquist (nee Wilson),
83, of Homer Glen, formerly of
Lockport, died April 10. She was a
retired office worker at a manufacturing
company. She is survived by her
children, Cheryl (James) Vail, Scott
(Joann) Kallquist and Karen (Donald)
Henderson; her grandchildren, James
(Amanda) Vail, Jonathan Vail, Jeffrey
Vail, Matthew Vail, Jordan Henderson
and Hannah Henderson; and her greatgrandchildren,
Tyler, Ryan and Kaylie.
Funeral services were held Monday,
April 16, at Colonial Chapel in Orland
Park.
Lorie Ann Nolte
Lorie Ann Nolte, 55, of Homer Glen,
died April 11. She was born and raised
in Chicago and lived in Homer Glen for
the past 20 years. She was employed by
Dover Corporation for 10 years. Lorie
was an avid gardener, she loved to cook
and most of all cherished time spent
with family. She is survived by her loving
wife of 37 years, Kathy Nolte; her
mother, Judy Barry; her brothers, Bob
and Ed (Erin) Berry; her sister, Kelly
(Tony Goodman) Barry; her mother-inlaw,
Geraldine Nolte; her sister-in-law
Susan (John) Motz; her brother-in-law,
Jerry (Lisa) Nolte; and her numerous
nephews, nieces and many friends.
A celebration of Lorie’s life was held
Saturday, April 14, at O’Neil Funeral
Home Chapel in Lockport.
Jeannette C. Stonis
Jeannette C. Stonis (nee Cresap),
48, of Homer Glen, died April 8. She
was a respiratory therapist at Hinsdale
Hospital for over 27 years. She is survived
by her husband, Don Stonis; her
children, Matthew, Michael and Emily;
her parents, Michael and Linda Cresap;
her siblings, Tina (Jeff) Bell and Mick
Cresap; her parents-in-laws, Leon and
Rose Stonis; her brother-in-law, Dennis
(Dee) Stonis; and her nieces and nephews,
Morgan (Michael), Justin, Christian,
Jimmy, Katie, Hailey, Kelsey,
Maddie, Allison and Megan. Chapel
prayers were held Thursday, April
12, at Kerry Funeral Home & Cremation
Care Center in Palos Heights that
proceeded to Saint Bernard Church in
Homer Glen for a funeral mass. Interment
Mount Vernon Memorial Estates
in Lemont.
Have someone’s life you’d like to honor?
Email j.schlabach@22ndcenturymedia.
com with information about a loved
one who was a part of the Homer Glen
community.