Over The Hill

Did Lights Shine Brighter on the Inside This Year?

Pastor Klima wonders whether outdoor Christmas decorations were more subdued this year, yet shining even brighter inside.

During the week of Christmas I decided to take a ride through west Joliet and Shorewood. I took a poll of neighborhoods with outdoor decorations. I compared this with memories of years past. As a kid growing up in Streator, there were very few outdoor decorations. The interiors of homes were brightly lighted, the curtains open to passing cars and strollers. There may have been some very plain and simple manger scenes. There was nothing to compare with the glamour of some decorations this year. But, just saying, there did not seem to be as much decorating as in past years. Oh, the insides shined with lights and trees and signs of celebration of the feast, but this year we seemed not to take it outside. I wonder of many of us were like the …

• Photos (1)

Over The Hill

Local Pastor Asks You to Join Him 'Over the Hill'

The Rev. G.A. Klima, the pastor of Hope Lutheran Church, kicks off his column with an invitation to readers.

This is, I hope, the first of many articles I might share with you. I may say nothing new, but hopefully something that will ring a bell with you as you read. I have been a Lutheran clergyperson for 42 years and I am the pastor of Shorewood's Hope Lutheran Church. I have served parishes in Minnesota, South Dakota and Illinois. I have been a chaplain at a women's prison in Minnesota,. I served seven years as a chaplain at Joliet Correctional Center and Stateville Correctional Center. For 20 years I was the midnight Chaplain at Provena St. Joseph Medical Center. I also have the honor of serving with the Shorewood Police Department and the Troy Fire Department as chaplain. I have been married to a nurse for 45 years and we are the parents of …