Pastor Norval Brown is the spiritual leader at both Grace United Protestant Church in Park Forest and the United Methodist Church in Thornton, commuting from the family home in Homewood.
He will start at Thornton at 9 a.m. and get to Park Forest two hours later. Other days, it’s the reverse. He is part teacher, part minister, part cheerleader, part civic leader and part anything else that needs to be done.
It’s a full-time job and then some as he tries to balance his religious obligations with the everyday needs of being, along with his wife Andrea, parent to five adult children in a blended second marriage for both. Late-night calls and urgent entreaties come with the territory. There are no time clocks, and overtime kicks in only on the eighth day of the week.
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You do it for two reasons: You need to or you want to.
In Brown’s case, check both boxes. Need to, yes. Want to, yes again.
“I would not take anything for the life I get to live,” he said.
There are relatively few people in this world who get to work at the only thing they ever wanted to do. Brown is one of the lucky ones. He said he knew at an early age that being a minister “is what I want to do.” Not even the temptation of a tryout with the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team could change his mind. Did we mention that while attending the University of Chicago, Brown was the best player on the school’s team? In his senior year, he hit .414 and led the team in home runs and runs batted in.
“I liked baseball, but I didn’t want that kind of life,” he said. Instead, after graduating from divinity school, he began roaming the area, serving congregations in Chicago, Maywood and Aurora, and for four years was one of the clergy at the University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago State College and Governors State University.
Man does not live through Sunday sermons alone. Sports is still part of Brown’s life. He is a devoted fan of Thornton’s Wolcott Grade School’s girls volleyball team and along with parents who wear shirts proclaiming “Wolcott Mom” or “Wolcott Dad,” Brown has a “Wolcott Pastor” polo shirt. Athletes at Illiana Christian High School who attend the church in Thornton also know Brown will be an active supporter at their games.
Being immersed in religion does not keep one from looking at the state of worship today. While traditional churches note declines in membership, mega-churches fill the parking lot on Sundays because, Brown believes, “a significant number of people (who attend) do not have to be involved in anything. It is the anonymity of thousands that seem to attract worshippers,” he said.
Large crowds or minuscule numbers do not affect Brown’s enthusiasm.
“It does not matter the amount of people in the church,” Brown said. “I can’t wait to get to worship.”
Home again
Robert “Buddy” Mondlock was late for class at Park Forest’s Westwood School one morning in 1971 and wound up in the principal’s office. There, he met Mike Lindauer, who was caught throwing snowballs at a school bus. They had a couple of things in common. Buddy was learning to play guitar. Mike liked the bass. The two 10-year-olds formed a personal and musical friendship that has taken them around the world.
The following year, the two were in the cast of “Flower Drum Song” in a production directed by Steve and Etel Billig. They met Donna Adler, 9, who liked to sing and is now a recording artist based in Chicago.
Last month, these three talented musicians returned for their annual concert in the place where they grew up before a nice crowd of fans and friends. They do it every year. We’ll stay tuned in 2016.
Jerry Shnay is a freelance reporter who covers the Park Forest community. He can be emailed at [email protected].