St. Paul History Continued

As the former farm area with a sprinkling of summer homes gradually changed into a more permanent settlement, the congregation saw steady and consistent growth. When Rev. Herman Noll was installed as the congregation’s second pastor on June 18, 1944, the communicant membership numbered 140. It was during Pastor Noll’s ministry that the congregation experienced phenomenal growth. To keep pace the congregation purchased 5 ½ acres in 1949. With its own manpower, it built the present parsonage and dedicated it on Nov. 29, 1953.
Severe overcrowding at the little church naturally led to plans for a new one just north of the parsonage. The work was started in 1955, and the new church was dedicated to God’s glory on May 19, 1957. Since the ministry of St. Paul had become quite large and varied, the congregation gave its pastor special assistance through the work of Dr. Herman Harms, former First Vice-President of the Missouri Synod.
When Pastor Noll took a call to Prospect Heights in May of 1960, the Rev. Martin Lopahs was called from Cicero, Illinois, and he was installed on October 30 of that same year.
Because of an extremely large Sunday School, the congregation formed a building committee in the Fall of 1963 which finally led to the expansion of the church’s education facilities by the time of its 25th anniversary in 1965. At the time of its silver anniversary observances, Sept. 12 through Oct. 10, the congregation was served by two pastors and four Day School teachers. It numbered 1112 souls and 681 communicants. During those first 25 years almost 900 persons were baptized, and more than 800 were confirmed, a phenomenal average of more than 30 each year.
Although the building program became a very emotional issue that led to some fairly serious discussions with the circuit counselor, the late 60’s was a time of some numerically impressive programs. Five area churches joined together in a big Vacation Bible School program of more than 300 children that necessitated the renting of a circus tent and the use of every available space. It was about this time that St. Paul hosted a major Bible seminar that brought in about 1000 people from the entire Missouri Synod circuit. It was also at this time that the Dorcas Society was begun by Mrs. Emilie Shaw and Mrs. Verona Lopahs.
Despite the very positive statistics during this time period, by the early 1970’s it was becoming increasingly apparent to Pastor Lopahs and other faithful, concerned pastors like Pastor Robert Voss at St. John, Libertyville, that the Missouri Synod was changing and that obvious false teaching in various areas was being tolerated more and more. When the congregation in the early 1970’s officially voted to follow the courageous leadership of Pastor Lopahs into a small conservative breakaway group, called the Federation for Authentic Lutheranism (FAL), and eventually into the Wisconsin Synod, which had broken ties with Missouri in 1961, quite a number of the members left the congregation because of the decision. In 1975 when the congregation was in fellowship with WELS but still not an official member, it had 750 souls and 467 communicants. Average attendance that year was 350. After joining the Wisconsin Synod in 1977, the statistical decline continued for various reasons.
Pastor Martin Lopahs continued to shepherd the congregation until his retirement in the summer of 1984. During that period of the congregation’s membership in the WELS, Pastor Lopahs recalled the introduction of the popular Good Friday Tenebrae service, a special evangelism program, the very active youth ministry of the John Barth family, a “Dial a Prayer” program, and his retirement trip to Europe that the congregation so generously provided. His preaching opportunity in the Wittenberg pulpit always remained a special highlight of his long ministry. [Pastor Lopahs continued to serve the Lord’s church in a part-time retirement call at St. Paul’s, Muskego, WI, for quite a number of years. The Lord called him home to glory in March of 2005.]
After a fairly lengthy vacancy, Pastor Clarke Sievert began his highly respected ministry at St. Paul on Feb. 24, 1985. For a year or two the congregation’s notable statistical decline was halted. Average church attendance was well over 50%. But according to the Lord’s unsearchable wisdom, Pastor Sievert was called home to glory on July 22, 1988, after a relatively short battle with cancer. During the lengthy vacancy that followed, the congregation was ably served by retired Pastor Elton Huebner, who lived in Menomonee Falls, WI, at the time.
It was on Dec. 10, 1989, that Pastor Earl Wales was installed as St. Paul’s next pastor. His opposition to the school’s strict corporal punishment policy and some matters of doctrinal interpretation led to various conflicts that required special synodical meetings to resolve some of the issues. Inevitably, many of the members were forced to take sides, and the congregation lost a number of notable members at this time. Eventually Pastor Wales felt compelled to resign his pastorate, and once again Pastor Elton Huebner so ably served as vacancy pastor, this time for a period of nine months.
When Pastor Robert Meiselwitz was installed on July 18, 1993, the literal flood waters that occurred during his installation service proved to be a harbinger of some difficult days ahead. Although the church tried so valiantly to keep its small school open, the long-term financial problems persisted and then grew worse. In February of 1994 the congregation voted to consolidate its small school staff from three teachers down to two. When Ms. Pam Weiss turned down the divine call that was extended to her, the unique circumstances led the congregation to call Mrs. Kathy (Sievert) Tegen to serve with the longtime principal, Mr. Arnold List. Although the two of them made a wonderful, harmonious team, financial troubles persisted. With Mr. List’s announced resignation and the obvious need for major roof repair (that eventually cost more than $70,000), the congregation reluctantly voted to close its school at the end of the 1996 school year.
With the institution of a generous educational subsidy plan that was helped greatly by a most beneficial tuition policy at St. John in Libertyville, about two dozen of St. Paul’s children continued their full-time education the following school year. Even though that tuition policy was dramatically changed during the two subsequent years, only a couple of St. Paul’s families transferred their membership during this time.
After a very dramatic decline in members and especially church attendance average in the early 1990’s, there was notable leveling off of those numbers during the late 1990’s. During this same period the congregation got acclimated to the synod’s new hymnal, Christian Worship (first used here in October of 1996), and quite a number of significant repair projects were undertaken. And the congregation enjoyed considerable peace!
During that “stabilizing” period, the congregation undertook a number of varied and notable evangelism efforts, although positive responses to these efforts were few and far between. Many of the faithful continued to plug along, even though some of the same ones were forced to wear many leadership hats for quite some time.
Despite the reception of two calls during the late 1990’s, Pastor Meiselwitz was led to continue to shepherd the sometimes struggling St. Paul flock. At the end of 2000 the congregation completed a 4 1/3rd year program of daily Bible study titled Through the Bible—2000. Although only a small percentage were able to follow through on their good intentions, Pastor Meiselwitz considers the personal preparation of rather extensive weekly study guides to be the high point of his entire ministry.
On October 1, 2000, the congregation celebrated its 60th anniversary with a major celebration. It was most appropriate that Pastor Elton Huebner was able to serve as the guest speaker. His special gifts were very obvious during the long and difficult vacancies that he served here. The Lord used him to bring about much healing. The special luncheon that followed that service was a very special affair. Both Pastors Huebner and Lopahs were present to share special memories and tell some of their typical jokes. The beloved “paradise park scene” mural on the basement’s east wall was prepared for that celebration by member artists Stacy Crane and Sylvia Parkison. Church attendance that Sunday numbered 217 with most of those also staying for dinner. Two special projects were completed for that celebration: replacement of all 16 of the parsonage’s deteriorating windows and the planting of the 60 spreading junipers that became an attractive ground cover on the ditch in front of the church.
At the end of 2000, Lake County’s Head Start, experiencing some upper management turmoil, officially informed us of their desire to cancel their five year lease arrangement with the congregation after one year of non-use. The first Autumn Fest in a number of years was held. Organizers of this event gave impetus to the congregation’s newest organization, the Parent’s Group, the following year. On New Year’s Eve, 2000, a new tradition was begun: the final singing of Christmas carols in front of the church at the conclusion of the year’s final service.
The year 2001 began with the tweaking of the liturgy schedule to its present rotating schedule. New church pictorial directories were handed out the same day (May 6th) that the congregation had its biggest confirmation class in more than a decade (9). This was also the year that St. Paul’s youth group, the Knights for Christ, was re-organized under the leadership of the brother and sister team of Steve Barth and Joanna Nicoline.
Even though the first five years of 2000 saw continuous slippage in membership statistics, the congregation enjoyed years of outstanding giving and two major bequests from the estates of Eleanor Stieg and Adeline Sharp. The congregation also voted to do some major refinancing to try to accomplish some major projects. It was later discovered that one of those planned projects, a new boiler system, didn’t actually need to be done. One major project that did need to be done because of a new fire district code was the installation of a new fire alarm system. That was completed at the beginning of 2003.
A major project that was completed just in time for the congregation’s 65th anniversary was the installation of a handicapped lift that runs from the back of the church down to the southwest corner of the basement. It was affectionately and very appropriately christened “Dee Elevator” at the conclusion of the anniversary service in loving memory of Harold “Dee” Dammann whose health needs led to his wife Barbara’s instigation of the project.
During his entire ministry among us, Pastor Meiselwitz has been blessed with generally good health. However, on his mother’s 85th birthday (Jan. 11, 2003) he had to be admitted to Lake Forest Hospital because of an attack of pancreatitis. After a five day stay, he was released to minimal duty. Two weeks later he underwent successful gall bladder surgery from which he recovered very quickly. Because of his recuperation, the congregation backed off of plans to do some sort of surprise for his 50th birthday on Feb. 16, but they did surprise him in September of that year with special gifts that acknowledged his 10 years at St. Paul. The following year the congregation surprised him and his wife Cindy with a very generous monetary gift that was used for a special 18+ day trip to Europe, made possible because of the availability of two free airline tickets that Indianapolis friends were able to procure. It took three sessions for interested members to view Pastor’s 700+ slides that he took of that adventure. On August 7, 2005, the congregation successfully pulled off a surprise celebration of Pastor Meiselwitz’s 25th anniversary in the public ministry. Senior pastor at St. Paul’s, Stevensville, MI, Pastor Gerald Schroer, with whom Pastor Meiselwitz served from 1984 to 1993, was the guest speaker. Mrs. Donna Schiman, former organist of the Stevensville church, served as the guest organist. Although he had previously requested a very low-key acknowledgement, Pastor Meiselwitz found the balanced celebration to be very meaningful and touching.
At the end of 2004 Larry McCullough felt compelled to resign his position as organist of St. Paul after more than 12 years of very faithful service. With the lack of WELS organists in the immediate area, the congregation was forced to use the synod’s computer-generated organ music (called Hymnsoft) for most of the 2005 services. Frequent software glitches made the adjustment period a little more difficult. All of this helped to delay the major decision that had lain before the congregation for a number of years: whether or not to do major renovation work of the congregation’s pipe organ. Because that had proven to be such an emotional issue, the Church Council put the decision on hold for a number of months. When it became very apparent that area organists would not be readily available, the congregation eventually became very acclimated to the Hymnsoft program, which has been used (with a major upgrade) up until the present time.
It was on Oct. 9, 2005, that the 65th anniversary of St. Paul was celebrated with an uplifting service and joyful meal and fellowship. Former St. Paul vicar, Pastor Mick Turriff (Mt. Calvary, Waukesha), was the guest preacher and provided the special musical entertainment, and a close friend of his, Kay Cleven, served as the organist.
At the beginning of 2006 monthly calendars were provided to interested members with daily quotations of Dr. Martin Luther. Those calendars continued for eight total years, and quite a number of members made use of them.
In February of that year Pastor and Cindy became grandparents for the first time. Though Pastor’s son Timothy and daughter-in-law eventually transferred their membership to Faith, Antioch, the congregation was thrilled to see the eventual four grandchildren on a fairly regular basis. Also in February of 2006 there was a special St. John’s Sunday that saw 170 people in attendance (most years since our school closed some of St. Paul’s children were students at our sister school).
In May of 2006 Pastor Meiselwitz was elected chairman of the Chicago Pastoral Conference for a second time (after a break of three years), which led to his frequent joking that he was the Grover Cleveland of conference chairmen (Pres. Cleveland served two separated terms as U.S. president). That same month a new SHARE food program that especially catered to the poor came into the area, and St. Paul served as an area distribution site.
Regular maintenance of our large facility has been a longterm challenge, but the greatest difficulty was always keeping the extensive exterior white trim looking nice. Over the years various individuals spent many hours in scraping and painting, and periodically a group painting party was organized. One of the most positive events was a painting party that took place on a very hot July Saturday, but which saw more than 20 members in attendance. A great deal was accomplished, and the painting of the parsonage was also completed on that day.
In August of 2006 St. Paul’s longtime head custodian, Elsie Schroeder, shattered her hip in a fluke fall and was out of commission for four months. The second half of the August 20th church service was devoted to the presentation and discussion of various Bible study options. That led to a brand new Christian education plan for all ages, including a new “Family Sunday School,” which had been tried with some success in other WELS congregations. A rotation of potluck meals and restaurant dinners was also begun. The whole program got off to a very good start, but by the second half of the school year attendance was back to where it had been, and the trial was eventually discontinued.
After Jo Huber died of cancer in January 2007, her husband Stephen established a special Parsonage Fund that memorialized his dear wife, who always had such a big concern for parsonage maintenance. The major gifts that Steve regularly contributed to this fund allowed for a number of big projects to be completed, including ceramic tile for the dining room and kitchen, a new garage, a new air conditioner, and a new deck.
During the 2007 Lenten season Pastor removed himself from the regular rotation of pastors so that a popular “You Are There” Jerusalem at Passover Lenten tour could take place during the midweek services. The participation of quite a number of lay members was once again very heartwarming and very well received. A few years before, a number of St. Paul’s gifted laymen conducted Pastor’s annual summer song service for the first time, and their participation became an annual tradition.
In April of 2007 10 major gifts were received for new round tables and padded chairs, which continue to be used for the congregation’s dinners and special banquets. In May new offering plates (also a gift from Steve Huber memorializing his wife) were used for the first time.
On May 20, the 50th anniversary service of St. Paul’s church building began outside by the 1956 cornerstone and then moved inside. It adapted one of the original thanksgiving services that was used when the celebrants began at the former church on the corner of Washington and Greenwood and then made procession to the brand new facility. Since a number of invited pastors were not available at that very busy time of year, Pastor Meiselwitz conducted that celebratory service. Forty members did attend a special Martin Luther dialog presentation and a video showing of a history of the congregation , which was followed by a spaghetti dinner that was hosted by St. Paul’s teens.
In July of that year the church picnic with a major outreach emphasis was held one month later than usual. In September Pastor began a new plan for Bible Class, three 19-minute classes every Sunday. Later that fall Pastor was given permission to use vacation time to tackle the organizing of his mother’s home in Kiel, WI, during five Thursday to Saturday stints (Pastor’s elderly mother was placed into assisted living earlier that year). During that same time official word was received from the Round Lake school district of a plan to utilize four of our classrooms for at-risk preschool children in a rental agreement (the first sessions began Nov. 28).
In January of 2008 new vases for the altar flowers were put into use for the first time. The very early Ash Wednesday service (Feb. 6th) had to be cancelled because of a major snowstorm, and the Good Friday service was almost cancelled for the same reason. A special “tomb” was utilized in both the Good Friday and the Easter services.
In May of that year Barbara Dammann was responsible for a complete makeover of Pastor’s office, which included new carpeting and six pieces of matching furniture (not counting the chairs).
In July belated word of Pastor Elton Huebner’s funeral was received.
In August during their annual summer trip to Southwestern Michigan Pastor and Cindy co-hosted the 50th wedding anniversary of Cindy’s parents, who were frequent visitors to our congregation. The same month Kimberly Nicoline began her service as an emergency teacher at St. John, Libertyville.
During the time that Pastor took his daughter Rebekah out to her new life in Arizona the parsonage stairwell project was completed (meaning its filling in) and major emergency sewer work was done. More sewer work took place in October. The Eleanor Stieg bequest had to be reduced considerably in order to cover all of the emergency and special projects. Though it was a very small thing, for Pastor Meiselwitz it was a very sad day when the crabapple tree by the southeast entryway had to be removed because of its rotting condition.
The official first showing of the monthly WELS Connection segments took place in church in January of 2009. It was during that month that Pastor’s wife Cindy was diagnosed with cancer, and a radical hysterectomy was performed on Jan. 30th.
In February members of the Dorcas Society enjoyed a special outing to see Mrs. Verona Lopahs in a nursing home in Milwaukee.
Reshingling of the church roof began on April 29th.
Kimberly Nicoline graduated from our worker’s training school, Martin Luther College, in May.
In June Pastor Tim Flunker, synod counselor for Hispanic ministry, conducted the church service and taught the special Bible Class. He returned the following February to present an extensive Hispanic outreach seminar that was very well attended. Eventually it was very honestly determined that we didn’t have enough dedicated volunteers to begin some sort of “English as a Second Language” program.
Also in June of that year approval was given for the construction of a new parsonage garage.
In January of 2010 a new Through the Bible reading program was begun—one year’s worth of homemade crossword puzzles. At the conclusion of the Jan. 8th sermon Pastor Meiselwitz announced that his mother Ella was called home to eternal glory just eight days short of her 92nd birthday. Pastor spent most of that following week with his siblings and family, making preparations for and then celebrating her victory acknowledgement. Her wake took place in the midst of a heavy snowstorm, and her committal following her funeral service was the coldest committal that Pastor Meiselwitz ever experienced.
In May of 2010 the Chicago and Shoreland pastoral conferences held their first joint Pastors’ Institute at Illinois Beach Conference Center. In July Ken Swanson installed new sliding doors in the parsonage breezeway and a new deck.
In August the congregation was hit hard by the sudden deaths of two very active members, Barbara Dammann and Clyde Nicoline. In September there was a very low-key acknowledgement of the congregation’s 70th anniversary in the Rally Day service.
In October the downstairs’ women’s restroom project was completed, and work was done on the church entryway’s canopy project. On Nov. 20th Pastor Meiselwitz officiated at the marriage of his daughter Rebekah to John Christian, which took place at Emmanuel, Tempe, AZ.
In January of 2011 member Stephen Huber was given an official plaque that acknowledged the completion of the parsonage garage project, which was made possible because of generous donations that he had made to the fund that memorialized his dear wife Jo.
In February Pastor Meiselwitz left on a day 10 trip to Florida with his brother John. They took advantage of another very special deal at the end of March, this time with Pastor’s wife Cindy. That second destination was beautiful Charleston, SC.
In May a special congregational committee was formed to make recommendations about how to best invest the money in the Barb Dammann bequest. Despite a number of meetings, no clear consensus could be found.
In July when Pastor and Cindy were in Southwestern Michigan for a few days, a major storm caused a widespread power outage that affected some of the members for up to five days.
In September member Deb Struck, who had lost her teaching position at Our Savior’s, Zion, earlier that summer, received and accepted a call to serve as a preschool teacher at St. Matthew’s, Niles, IL.
After receiving appointment to a synod-wide committee that was evaluating modern Bible translations, especially the NIV-2011 version, Pastor Meiselwitz represented the Southeastern Wisconsin District at an important Bible Translation Symposium at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, WI, in early January, 2012. The following month the congregation was given the chance to evaluate the NIV revision, the ESV, and the Holmen when the three were provided every week for the Sunday readings in side-by-side comparisons. In April Pastor prepared for the congregation home studies of the three translations that had the title 40 Days of Comparison Readings. Unfortunately the good beginning that was made ended with fewer than 10 evaluation sheets being turned in, which was considered to be an insufficient sampling of how the congregation really felt.
For the first time the altar guild provided a number of red geraniums for the Pentecost service. Though there was excellent participation, this new tradition was not continued.
In July of 2012 Pastor Meiselwitz served as a volunteer at the LPGA Women’s Open which was held in Kohler, WI, where his two brothers reside. He enjoyed his experience so much that he did the same thing at the Men’s PGA tournament at Whistling Straights this past August. Most of Pastor’s summer of 2012 was spent on translation comparison work in the Old Testament books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther that required working in the original languages (Hebrew and Aramaic).
In September, after sending his wife on ahead of him, Pastor flew to St. Louis for a day (where his sister resides) and then on to Phoenix, AZ, for the baptism of his youngest grandchild. In October a special sealcoating of the church’s parking lots was completed.
In February of 2013 Pastor was surprised by a family conspiracy which resulted in the presence of his three siblings and the singing of his favorite hymn, “In Christ Alone,” by two of his children and his daughter-in-law for his 60th birthday.
In March of that year Mrs. Verona Lopahs, widow of St. Paul’s former pastor, the Rev. Martin C. Lopahs, entered the church triumphant. A number of members, including Pastor, were able to attend her funeral service at St. Paul, Muskego, WI. Towards the end of that month an open meeting that followed the Palm Sunday service allowed honest discussion about future plans for the congregation, especially in light of the need for expensive updating of the ancient heating system (by God’s grace that same heating system has continued to function until this very day).
The Sunday after Easter, when Pastor was on another trip to his oldest daughter’s in Arizona, highly respect Seminary professor, Dr. John Brug, filled in for him and shared his experiences in the area of Biblical archaeology, which had been the Sunday Bible Class’ topic since the previous September. Pastor returned to major flooding in the parsonage basement, an all-too frequent occurrence. Eventually two of the major causes were discovered and rectified.
Towards the end of July Pastor Meiselwitz and congregational chairman Don Nicoline had the rare opportunity to serve as delegates to the very same synod convention. It was the second time that each of them had this privilege. Upon their return a special “Work Night” was held in the parsonage basement during which moldy drywall and a great deal of old, broken tile were removed.
In September of 2013 Pastor served as the pastoral conference preacher in Radcliff, KY, which was where Pastor was chairing a previous conference when the original 9/11 took place. That same month longtime Ladies Aid president Karen Nicoline felt compelled to step down after many years of very faithful service. Later that month Pastor and his brother John went on an emergency road trip to Arizona as they delivered a used car to his oldest daughter.
In October a new concrete slab was put in the south parking lot where a major depression had previously been.
In February of 2014, the traveling buddies, Pastor and his brother John, spent a few days in San Diego, Palm Springs, and Los Angeles, before joining Pastor’s wife and daughters in Phoenix, AZ. The brothers were able to attend their very first spring training games during that time. Unfortunately, they had to return to the notorious “winter that would not end.”
In May the Round Lake school district gave official notice that they were ending their rental agreement with our church because an empty school building became available for their preschool and primary grades’ programs in Lake Villa. Before we even had the chance to worry about potential major financial challenges, the Lord placed the Head Start program of Lake County on our doorstep, and in July a new rental agreement was approved.
In August a huge mold eradication project was begun. Frequent basement flooding made this work necessary. At first a number of St. Paul members gave considerable help, especially with moving items from the church basement into the garage, but eventually Pastor and Cindy worked on each room in a slow and methodical manner.
In September when the state fire marshal informed us of a number of major problem areas that would need to be taken care of before Head Start could receive approval for occupancy of the school wing, workable solutions were eventually found. Member Ken Swanson oversaw the construction of four emergency exit doors, one in each classroom. Ed Schroeder and Ray Peterson gave able assistance.
Towards the end of October, shortly after Steve Huber suffered a very serious ATV accident (from which he eventually recovered quite wonderfully), St. Paul’s longtime volunteer secretary, Arlene Cederberg, suffered a major stroke. The Lord called her home to glory on Thanksgiving Eve, 25 years after her husband Richard was called home very suddenly on the same day before Thanksgiving. Vicki Dupree, who had come on board as the temporary volunteer secretary, became the new secretary after Arlene’s death (in May of 2015 the position became a modestly paid one). Vicki was so thrilled that she could serve in the very same position that her beloved grandmother, Evelyn Peterson, had faithfully served two decades before.
In the fall of 2014, with full Church Council support, Joanna Nicoline began a Friday evening VBS-like children’s program called “Power with Jesus” that immediately was very positively received and found notable participation among eligible children. There can be little argument that it has proven to be the congregation’s most successful program of the past two decades. Every late fall and spring a special service reviewed the seasonal themes with creative participation by various leaders and all of the children.
In January of 2015 Pastor, Cindy, and Pastor’s brother John spent a week in Arizona, visiting Pastor’s oldest daughter and her family. In March beloved daughter of St. Paul, Kimberly Nicoline, was married in Western Wisconsin, which meant that about half of our regular worshipers were missing from St. Paul that Sunday.
In May the official 75th anniversary project was announced, the purchase of quite a number of landscaping evergreens and other perennials to replace old ones by the library, front steeple, and front hill. The fairly ambitious monetary goal was surpassed within one month, so some other needed inside items were eventually added to the official list.
At the conclusion of the June 28th church picnic, those present were shocked to hear news of the collapse and sudden death of Elsie Schroeder, longtime custodian of St. Paul who so faithfully and lovingly took care of God’s house, school, and property both inside and out. She gave of herself in so many ways, and for a long time she will be so greatly missed. Her parents, Walter and Agnes Poehler, were the very first couple married at St. Paul, and her mother, a nursing home resident, was for a number of years St. Paul’s oldest member.
The congregation’s 75th anniversary service took place on October 18, 2015. The guest preacher was the president of the Southeastern Wisconsin District, the Rev. David Rutschow. The Shoreland Festival Choir led by its director, the Rev. Thomas Bauer, were present, having coincidentally been scheduled by the school for that very date. Their musical talents added so much to that special service. Pastor Lopahs son Martin, also a pastor, was present at this service, and what a nice touch it was when he read the words that his father had once spoken in a previous anniversary service. Everything went off so well, so many fine comments were received, the catered food for the special meal was outstanding, and 316 photos that Ken Swanson took were shared.
The very next Sunday a pulpit exchange that our Northern Circuit had arranged for Year One of a three year celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation took place. Pastor Mark Anderson of Heritage, Lindenhurst, was the guest speaker here, and Pastor Meiselwitz conducted the service at his church. The bulletin for that service acknowledged the Golden (50th) wedding anniversary of Lee & Gail Wirtz, which was officially celebrated on Oc.t 23rd. The red maple tree on the south side of the parsonage was a loving thankoffering that they provided for the occasion.
The funeral service of Karen Nicoline, a very faithful and active member of St. Paul for so many years, was conducted at St. Paul before a full congregation on Oct. 31st.
Pastor’s six month topical sermon series ended on the last Sunday of the church year.
Featured in the three Midweek Advent services was the synod’s newest outreach movie, My Son, My Savior. Every member of St. Paul was offered a free DVD of the movie. Many other copies were available for outreach.
At the Voters’ annual election meeting on Dec. 13th Robert Puder became the congregation’s new chairman, and Rich Cederberg became a new elder.
The big attendance that was expected for the Feb. 21st “St. John’s Sunday” and “Bible Fair” did materialize (there were 146 in church). Joe Christina presented the monthly object lesson. So many people, especially from St. John’s, acknowledged with great gratitude how special the “Bible Fair” event was.
It was on our annual Work Day in 2016 (March 19th) that the old backstop was taken down, and the south fence line was cleaned up.
On May 2, 2016, the Ladies Aid sponsored a special Lutherans for Life presentation. Quite a number of Aid members were in attendance along with a number of guests. A special display was set up in the Hospitality Area for a number of weeks, and there were quite a few donations that were given.
The May 15th Confirmation service in 2016 was unique because it was the first time that it happened in Pastor Meiselwitz’s ministry that an adult confirmand joined an 8th grader in a confirmation service.
Thirteen of our men of various ages came out to help with the sealcoating of the flat roofs on May 21st.
In early June of 2016 St. John’s of Libertyville sponsored a soccer camp that took place on our athletic field.
Pastor Meiselwitz’s longest vacation of his pastoral career lasted from June 18-July 8, 2016. It began with a trip out to Washington, D.C., where his oldest nephew got married. Then he took a cross-country trip to Phoenix, AZ, for the baptism of grandchild #6. Pastor continued his solo travels to the five national parks of Utah and then through Colorado. His total mileage was 7,171 miles.
2016-17 was the first time that Pastor Meiselwitz had no catechism or pre-catechism class. The timing worked out well for it gave him extra time to work on a major conference assignment, a paper on Martin Luther quotations. That paper which was presented in January of 2017 was the last paper of his career.
A big Chicago Conference Reformation Rally took place on the afternoon of Oct. 30th at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Chicago. Eight members of St. Paul attended. Many agreed that it was one of the most impressive services that they had ever attended.
Camp Phillip’s director, Pastor Tom Klusmeyer, conducted the Jan. 15, 2017, church service and then gave a special presentation to the Sunday School children and staff. Many positive comments were received on his presence and his accompanying of the hymns on his accordion, just as he does at camp.
St. Paul took part in the field testing of some new psalm settings that could be included in the synod’s new hymnal. That testing took place in late winter and early spring of 2017.
St. Paul’s Elders approved a special Communion trial that allowed members to partake of the individual or common cup at every table. That trial began on Feb. 26, 2017. Eventually it became a permanent arrangement.
The 2017 St. John’s Sunday was held on March 5th when there were 170 in attendance. The special Reformation Walk that was put on jointly by the St. John’s school staff and our Sunday School staff was outstanding.
The last annual bus trip to see a Cubs’ game at Milwaukee’s Miller Park took place on Friday, April 7, 2017. The lone die-hard Brewer fan, Pastor, was thrilled when his team eked out a 2-1 victory on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning.
Brand new white paraments were used for the first time on Easter Sunday. The various donations for the rather expensive paraments were made in loving memory of three very faithful and hard working members, Karen Nicoline, Arlene Cederberg, and Elsie Schroeder.
Pastor Meiselwitz began his work as vacancy pastor at Heritage, Lindenhurst, at the beginning of July, 2017. It lasted until July 15, 2018, when Seminary graduate William Schubert was installed as Heritage’s second pastor.
The whole Round Lake area was deluged with major flood waters the week of July 9, 2017. Some houses close by were almost totally inundated. The retention pond just south of our property became a major lake with a portion of our athletic field under water. Water got into the lower classrooms of Murphy School as well as their gymnasium. We didn’t realize it at the time, but much of Joanie Nicoline’s Power with Jesus materials were ruined and had to be thrown out. There was generous member support for supply replacement.
The new Luther documentary movie that our synod had produced was shown at the Marcus Theater in Gurnee at four different times at the end of October, 2017. The Southeastern Wisconsin District’s special 500th anniversary was held at Miller High Life Theater (capacity, 4,000) on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 5, 2017. Some of our members attended.
A new altar flower policy began at the beginning of 2018. Area florists no longer provided floral arrangements at a reasonable price so that the altar guild mother/daughter team of Sylvia Parkison and Stacy Crane provided them at a reasonable cost. Members could also provide their own arrangements from flowers taken from their own yards.
All of our Sunday School children and their parents went to Heritage, Lindenhurst, on July 21, 2018. The Heritage members were thrilled to have the children provide special singing for them.
Once again there was good attendance for the annual “St. John’s Sunday” service on March 4, 2018. The special seven-station program that took place was titled “the Christian in the Workplace.”
What was unusual about the 2018 Holy Week schedule was that there was no Maundy Thursday service at St. Paul because a joint service was planned to take place at Heritage in Lindenhurst where Pastor Meiselwitz was serving as vacancy pastor.
U.S. Waterproofing’s major project in the church basement took place the beginning of August, 2018. Considerable preparation work had to be done both before and after the completion of the project. In early September new tile was installed in the kitchen and downstairs Sunday School classroom.
For the first time in over 20 years, our Northern Circuit of the Chicago Pastoral Conference had a new circuit pastor, the Rev. Jack Kelly, pastor of Our Savior’s, Zion. His circuit pastor work was short-lived since he took a call to St. Peter, MN, in February of 2019. Pastor Thomas Schultz of Christ the King, Palatine, was elected in his place.
In March of 2019 the congregation celebrated the 25th anniversary of Pastor Meiselwitz’s ministry at St. Paul with a very nice meal and fun family feud game. Pastor so greatly appreciated all of the planning and work that went into the event. Pastor’s actual anniversary date was July 18, 2018.
During 2019 the entire heating system of both school and church were totally renovated with the installation of new combo AC and heating units in each classroom, office, narthex, Hospitality Area, library, women’s restroom, and old entryway. Four units were placed in the church sanctuary and one in the sacristy. The new system made it much easier to regulate heat in each area, and the new air conditioning was so greatly appreciated. In the fall a new boiler, much smaller than the previous one, was installed. In the early going it seemed as though the higher electric bills and lower gas bills resulted in pretty much a wash. It was in August of 2019 that all of the old AC units were removed from the classrooms, which necessitated some carpentry work and painting.
In 2019 Pastor Meiselwitz was surprised to be elected as the pastoral advisor of the local LWMS board since he was going against an incumbent. He served the two years of his term, often having to do double duty, but the board members and he all agreed that he not be nominated for a second term, since he would only be able to complete half of that term.
Flooding in the parsonage basement has been a frequent problem over the years, but it became particularly acute during the fall of 2019 when it flooded eight different times, though many of those were relatively minor. The Voters did approve a major U.S. Waterproofing project at the parsonage, but it could not be completed until January of 2020. Much preparatory and post-project work was done in the basement by especially three individuals plus Pastor and Cindy.
Pastor Meiselwitz did a special Bible History sermon series most of the non-festival half of the church year in 2019. The last one was preached on Dec. 8.
The Church Council came up with a unique proposal that would have kept our sister church, Heritage in Lindenhurst, from having to close. However, by the time the proposal reached the leaders of Heritage, they had pretty much made up their minds, and Heritage voted to close their doors in March of 2020.
Our last Sunday service before the Covid-19 state-mandated lockdown took place on March 15th with 39 members in attendance. There was a Midweek Lenten service the following Wednesday with only 13 in attendance. Everything had to be done online after that, and each week Ken Swanson, the service director, made improvements for the online viewing. Eventually some female voices were added for the taping of the services, and then a male voice took the place of Pastor’s.
All of the Holy Week services were provided online. What was very unique, however, and well-received by those who participated was an “Easter Car Parade,” which was scheduled to take place in the south parking lot on Easter morning, beginning at 9 AM. 45 members actually participated in 18 different vehicles. There was a creative set-up with the big cross draped in white and Easter lilies and other spring flowers placed in front of it. The five minute segments included an opening greeting of “He is risen!” with beeping of horns, a favorite story, a favorite experience, favorite Easter phrases, three stanzas of “I Know that My Redeemer Lives,” and a closing benediction.
There was quite a bit of onsite work that was completed during the lockdown. A special onsite Holy Communion event was held in the Hospitality Area on Sunday, May 17th, and 34 members participated.
Members gathered together in a worship service for the first time since the lockdown began with an outdoor service in the spot just north of the entryway canopy. Although it was anticipated that there would be a number of outdoor services before we could resume worship services inside, the governor’s May 29th revised order allowed us to resume services inside, beginning on the first Sunday in June. The families of the two 2020 confirmands decided to hold an outdoor Confirmation service on June 21st. The weather for that service was beautiful, and everyone was pleased with how well everything went.
So many events had to be cancelled during the pandemic, including meetings of our organizations, our congregation’s annual Work Day, the church picnic, the 2020 Pastors’ Institute, and the Southeastern Wisconsin District Convention.
The church leaders began to discuss what they eventually called PAP matters, which stands for Pastor after Pastor. Questionnaires that came from our district president were sent to every member home. About 20 of them were eventually returned. The Elders prepared a summation of the members’ input to the Church Council and our district president and circuit pastor. The WELS Hispanic consultant, the Rev. Timothy Flunker, was present at the October Church Council meeting to talk about bilingual ministry, a very distinct possibility when the congregation starts calling for Pastor Meiselwitz’s successor in January or February of 2021.
Pastor Meiselwitz made his official retirement announcement after the Sept. 20th service. He gave all of his tentative post-retirement plans along with the official date for this retirement, which will be July 18, 2021. He didn’t originally plan it that way, but it will take place, God willing, exactly 28 years after his installation as St. Paul’s 7th pastor. His has been the longest pastorate in the 80 years of St. Paul’s history.
During Pastor’s long service here there have been many festival song services on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve (the late candlelight service), Christmas Day, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. There has also been an annual summer song service (though there were a few years when it took place in early or late fall). For a number of years singing of various Christmas carols took place on New Year’s Eve outside in front of a Christmas tree bonfire. For the past 20 years that post-service carol singing has taken place up front in church. With the encouragement of the Elders Pastor has also produced many creative Midweek Advent services or has adapted ones from Creative Communications. His annual reports have included extensive reviews of congregational happenings during the year as well as full highlights of all of the Council meetings. During his years at St. Paul, Pastor Meiselwitz has served as an LWMS officer three different times, as a member of the district nominating committee for more than 12 years (3+ terms), as a member of the Chicago Conference’s program committee for three years, and as its chairman for 7 years. He has baptized 78 individuals, has confirmed 95 children and adults, has conducted the funeral services of 81 individuals, and has officiated at 31 weddings.
A history like this typically tells the story of many programs and projects. Though many specific dates from the first 50 years are missing or could only be discovered through very meticulous research, we know that the stories that have been most important are all of the spiritual ones, especially those of baptisms and confirmations that have taken place here in the last 75 years. Since the congregation’s official organization during the last week of August, 1940, there have been 1,714 baptisms, 1543 confirmations, 470 weddings, and 327 funerals. Only the Lord himself knows how many of these are eternally joyful ones, the only ones that really matter. Those are the stories that we especially celebrate today, even if we now recall very few of the specifics.
As St. Paul congregation pauses today (October 18, 2020) to look back at its intriguing past, despite any current struggles of the moment we can indeed go forward in Christ, confident that his kingdom will continue to advance as he uses each of us in his personal service. When, God-willing (and the world lasts that long) a 90th anniversary service is conducted here in 2020, we fervently pray that the next chapters will reveal some more very positive stories. But as we continue to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we know that these petitions will be granted in accordance with the Lord’s gracious but at times unfathomable will.

Pastors of St. Paul

Raymond Eissfeldt (1940-1944)

Herman Noll (1944-1960)

Dr. Herman Harms (1960-1966)

Martin Lopahs (1960-1984)

Clarke Sievert (1985-1988)

Earl Wales (1989-1992)

Robert Meiselwitz (July 18, 1993, to July 18, 2021)

Jacob Shepherd (August 1, 2021- Present)

Vicars of St. Paul
Michael Turriff (1976-1977)

Gregory Gibbons (1977-1978)