Unless you live in the year 2009 and/or live in Cook County and the State of Illinois.

You remember all those boring sermons about greed. About giving over receiving. You recall preachers talking about love and regard for neighbor. Sometimes we have dismissed those sermons as things "the pastor is supposed to say." Other times we sidestepped the calls to love mercy and do justly as "Sunday morning rhetoric that doesn’t really make sense is the real, dog eat dog world." We have decided, at times, that all the Sunday morning stuff about loving neighbor, feeding the poor, and giving to God were "nice ideas" or "good things for others to hear."

Now hear this:

We are in a terrible recession that is self-caused. Regulators and inspectors did not do their jobs. Financial institutions took short cuts and even directly violated the laws. Mortgage lenders promised the world and pocketed the commissions. People in the halls of financial power lied, cheated, and fooled even themselves. Insider information was traded. False hopes were portrayed as sure things. And behind so much of it was ……GREED!

Now hear this:

The Kingdom of God is founded on things that are the opposite of greed. The Kingdom of God will be around a lot longer than the Federal Reserve Bank or the cattle on a thousand hills. God's Kingdom is not of this world, and its principles are based on values that will outlast any pyramid scheme or insider trading. Blessed are the peacemakers and the truth tellers. Blessed are those who adhere to the values and calls of God's Way. Their lives, their speech, and their conduct is different than the lives, speech, and conduct of the way of greed.

Now hear this:

Government will crumble when it is based on the fact that the only way you can get anything is if you bribe someone. Rome fell from within and so will this country if Senate seats are for sale as well as everything else. Can you imagine the cost of corruption in this county? It is as sickening as it is disgusting. Yes, people in the negative spotlight these days are innocent unless proven guilty. But, government is to be about serving the public and not serving oneself. Let God's people run for office, get elected, and be different. God knows, we need some difference makers in the corridors of power!

Now hear this:

When the Bible is read and the pastor preaches about the values of God's Kingdom, it is not some idle chatter to be left in the sanctuary on Sunday morning. Greed has darkened this world. People have lost homes and jobs. There is more bad news coming. Greed has darkened this world. So let God’s people stand for something different. Let God’s people actually be God's people! Let God's people speak truth, stand for justice, do mercy, help the poor, defend the weak, and not be controlled by money, bank accounts, retirement accounts, or GREED! Let God's people show the year of 2009 and the County of Cook and State of Illinois that there is more to this life than cheating people out of their life savings. Let God's people be prophetic and unwilling to accept a bribe or a wink at injustice. Let God's people stop rubbing their hands in disbelief and fear at what has happened, and get out there and love people and bring healing and BE God's PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now hear this:

If people had been listening to the Bible and the words of the preacher on Sunday morning, if people had been following the ways of the Kingdom and the values of God, if people had decided that greed was not the Almighty Thing, and that there are better ways, then things would not have deteriorated to the point where someone has to invent a 1 trillion dollar bail out plan that may or may not work. The "stuff" of God's Kingdom is not "nice things to consider on a Sunday morning before getting back to the real world." The values of God's Kingdom bring life, hope, and peace to this world. We all need to stop putting the values of God's Kingdom in a box that we open when it is convenient. The values of God's Kingdom are a 24/7 call upon our lives, and there is to be neither surrender nor compromise to the values of greed, deceit, swindling, corruption, and the like. Those things bring death and recession and foreclosure and unemployment and one great big mess. God’s Word is God's Word. It never changes. And God's Word is not boring nor irrelevant nor old fashioned nor to be kept in a box for Sunday mornings. It is to be lived out by God's people even when such is not popular nor expedient. God's Word even tells us that what is happening in this world now is absolutely going to happen when greed and bribery rule the day. God is not surprised at our self-caused ordeal.

Dear friends, as the year 2009 dawns, God's people need to be visible and not hiding, bold and not fearful, active and not dormant. The world has believed that happiness comes in a $350 pair of blue jeans. It does not. People need something else to believe in and hold on to. People need the Lord. God wants YOU to be a reflection of His ways and values. Come out of the corner. Shine the Light. Like never before. Now hear this: People need something else to believe in than money and things and then more money and more things and then even more money and even more things. People need the Lord. People need more of the Lord. And then people need even more of the Lord. How will you reflect your God and His Kingdom in 2009??? People need to see there is a better Way. How will You show them the better Way? People need the Lord.

Rev. Brad Thompson

With snow on the ground and the bright sunshine, it is a good time to write my article and say "Happy New Year to all". 2008 was a very exciting and challenging year in our church. We have all worked hard to keep St. Paul's active in both mission work and local church activities.

There are many people who need to be thanked for all they have done. The first is our treasurer Linda Kosko. She is the "brains" behind everything that we do. Without her, well…. let’s just say, things would not go as smoothly! I would also like to thank the ladies of the Congregational Care committee. They spend endless hours working on the fund raising activities, mission outreach, and the general care of our congregation. A special thank you to Betty Muscato and Pat Loran for bringing so many of their friends to our activities. Because of their support, our fundraising activities have been very successful! I would also like to thank Sal Maggio for helping us set goals and giving us the strategies to reach these goals. He is the one who gave us the slogan “Failure is not an option.” Thank you Sal for this guidance. Last but not least, by any means, is the Church Council. They have had to make some difficult decisions this year and had to put personal feelings aside and think about what would be best for our church. Thank you also to everyone who comes each and every Sunday to make our worship service a meaningful experience for all. Our survey praised the fellowship among our members and this could not be done without every one of you.

I would also like to thank Pastor Nyquist and Pastor Thompson for helping us on our journey this past year. Happily, Pastor Thompson has agreed to stay with us indefinitely.

Also, as we closed the year 2008, one of our biggest prayers was answered as we welcomed the new church Parroquia Santa Maria De Guadalupe to use our sanctuary for their service. So, we are beginning 2009 on a very positive note! Please remember it will take everyone’s hard work to keep St. Paul's a vital church in our community. God has a purpose for St. Paul's and with your help and support, we will continue to improve on the progress we have made so far.

I hope all of you have a great 2009 and find that it will be healthy, happy and wise. Blessings to all.

Debbie Wisowaty
Council President

Thanks goes to all the "cookie bakers," and sellers and buyers. Our Christmas cookie effort resulted in selling 125 lbs of cookies and exceeding last year's sales. Way to go team! We could not have succeeded without everyone's help and support. A special thank you to our super sales seller, Betty Muscato, who sold 60 lbs. of cookies! Thanks also to Rita Sifuentes for donating the plastic containers for the cookies.