A Message From our Interim Pastor

     Grace to you and Peace from God Our Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.     Amen. I am writing this letter on the 21st of  June, while also preparing my sermon for the 25th and 26th of this month. I think I am going to, Throw out the Law of our faith and live in the gift of the cross. I’m going to let the Grace of Jesus reign over all other things.. Over expectations and stature over, power and riches and just live in grace, maybe offer a cool cup of water in love or humbly to another or receive a cool cup of water given in grace by simply caring If you’d like you can take a look at Matthew 10: 42-44, it is the culmination of Jesus sending his disciples out to offer hope by using their gifts to proclaim and peace that the kingdom of God is near with them, within them and to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy and drive out demons. To do that with humility by using the gifts they had been given .. freely given to freely give.. I want to tackle this gospel today and, on the weekend, coming by ridding ourselves of expectations and stature, and turn our lives toward Joy!

A few weeks ago I went back to Wisconsin to be with my daughter as her children, our grandkids graduated from Hight School. They they are twins you know. I was so delighted in that day of recognition for a job well done. But more than that, I was thrilled that they were so joyful with each other and with the whole graduating class of 2026 or so. During the graduation ceremony there was pure love. Some kids were high honor students with all the pomp and circumstance that entails such honors, but none of them had any false piety over their peers. In their speeches they offered love, thanks for 12-13 years of being classmates and they offered hope to each listener, be it a fellow student, teacher, staff member or even a parent. The ceremony of graduation was not an ending there but rather a new beginning in grace.

  Our grand daughter Lily is going to attend the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse for a 6 year education in Physical Therapy. Her desire  is to help others, to offer a cool cup of grace in Jesus love to folks who require her care. Her goal is, she longs to do and though I’d treasure anything she decided to do we are blessed by this hope she has.. Jesus says, use your gifts, help others humbly and live fully.

         My grandson Robert, finished way high in his class though he didn’t need to give any speeches, (I know he was relieved). Finishing so high in the class I would have thought he would go on to a college and higher education, but not so with this young man of grace. He is going to do an apprenticeship as a steam fitter and use the skills of both his hands and his mind to offer a cold sip of grace to those who will benefit from his gifts.. I know my grandson Robert very well and he will care for others as best he can .. with humility and offer hope in his doing.

         We spoke in Mens Fellowship the other day about societies expectations of being number one, winning at all costs and living up to the hopes of others. But Jesus does not send us to build ourselves up in our own importance nor does he have expectations that we must be number. What God is calling us to do in our living out our faith is to do the best we can with what we have been given and offer it out to others as a cool loving cup of grace. Amen

Together in Christ

-Pastor Dan

This Month in Mount Olive’s History                                      July Edition

Did you know...?

July has often been a month of transition and new beginnings at Mount Olive.

In July 1973, Pastor John Thorsness resigned his call after faithfully serving the congregation for four years, opening the door for new pastoral leadership. Years later, July 1986 saw the installation of Rev. William Biedermann as Senior Pastor after moving to Lake Havasu City from Phoenix.

July has also marked important moments of change in church life. In July 1993, Rev. Biedermann retired, and the congregation began the process of calling a new Senior Pastor. That same month, longtime Office Manager Marion Wolff resigned and relocated to Pennsylvania, marking the end of an era in the church office.

More recently, July brought new leaders to Mount Olive's ministry team. In July 2005, Brenda Naugle began serving as Office Manager, and in July 2015, Pastor Jim Price announced his retirement plans, beginning the transition that would eventually lead to the call of Pastor Craig Corbin.

From farewells to fresh starts, July reminds us that while leaders may come and go, God faithfully guides Mount Olive through every season of change and growth.

Important Dates for 2026

·         Independence Day – (recognized on Friday) July 4th

·         Labor Day – September 7th

·         Veteran’s Day – November 11th

·         Thanksgiving & Friday after – November 26th & 27th

·         Christmas Day - December 25th

Temple Talk 6/4/2026

Blessings to each of you,

       “Thanks be to our God and Thanks be to you”, for all the support you gave last Sunday to have such a successful Farewell for Pastor Craig and Kim. Speaking with Pastor Craig on Monday, he mentioned how he was overwhelmed with all the happenings of that day!

So now, Mount Olive Lutheran Church is without a Rostered minister! What do we do? Pastor Craig blessed us when he gave us almost a year’s notice of his retirement date. This allowed us to start the wheels turning early on. Communicating with our Bishop, Pastor Craig and I were told that there is a shortage of interim pastors!

More blessings! Pastor Dan was already filling in for Pastor Craig occasionally, but we hired him to be “quarter time” at Pastor Craigs request to be ¾ time! The bishop also introduced us to the SAM program. (Synodical Approved Minister). Still more blessings! Pastor Dan’s wife, Kathy, was already a SAM before they came to Mt. Olive! And, we found two more candidates to become SAM’s, almost immediately! Kevin Jackson and Shelly Hales. We have hired these three SAMs!  Pastor Dan has been hired to be our interim pastor! Between these four “ministers,” we feel we have the “bases covered” while we search for a new rostered minister.

       I feel it’s important for you to know that:

1.  There is a “Process” to acquire a new rostered minister. The “Process” requires patience!  The church council Executive Committee formed a “Planning Team” early on, which now is officially called the “Transition Team”, consisting of 6 council members, our treasurer and Pastor Dan. To create more diversity, I’m asking you, would you please consider being a part of this team? If so, contact the office or me.  I’ll mention also that we are looking for candidates to be on the “Call Committee”. Please realize that you cannot be on both committees. Again, please notify the office or me.

2.  The Transition Team’s first duty has been to gather information to create a Congregational Survey. Creation of the survey is not completed. When completed, it needs to be conducted to receive input from you, the congregation, to create a profile which can be seen by potential rostered ministers seeking to be called.

3.   The Transition Team will report its progress to the Council and to you via temple talks, Olive Branch and church bulletins.  We will try our best to keep you informed. If you have questions – talk to a council member!

4.  We all know of the “power of prayers”. As we proceed with our search, let’s pray for the Holy Spirit to continue to guide us each step of the way.

In His Grip,

Butch Shaffer – MTOLC Council President