A Message From our Interim Pastor

            Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and our Savior Jesus the Christ. Amen!

       GOODBYE AND HELLO are the themes for this letter I had hoped these days would never come but they have. WOW we had a wonderful send off for our loving Pastor Craig and his wonderful wife Kim these past days and now they have slipped off into retirement. Personally, Craig has been like a little brother to me.  We have had some wonderful times together and spent hours in morning, afternoon and evening chats, some theological while others were about the state of the world and YES lately, they have been about a new grandchild expected into their midst and who has now entered into this earthly kingdom and named Lawrence. In our relationship Craig knows there is almost nothing I would not do for him or his family. That said, it is now time to say goodbye, we can still relish the time we had with him and glean the love he cast upon us, but goodbye is the word our congregation needs to realize now!!

       And so we begin a new chapter in our congregational lives here at Mount Olive Lutheran Church and I am both honored and thrilled to lend a helping hand and that hand is also extended by my wife Kathy and Kevin Jackson and when she comes back Shelly Hales will all serve you as Synodically Authorized Ministers (SAM’S) Did you know? Things are not going to be the same. Each of us has our own gifts and abilities and none of them are alike. We all know that right? We are all individuals equipped by the Holy Spirit to proclaim God’s love for us in the gift of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. So, I will ask you to be patient with us, give each of us the opportunity to grow in faith and serve you to the best of our ability.

     I’m going to share a Bible verse with you but let me tell you a story first. It is a real story and for me and the kids in my childhood neighborhood it is a great story. I was reminded of it at my Ordination from a friend whom I literally grew up with. Our neighbor  group of young boys and gals loved to play baseball, and we played all summer long in the open lot that was right across the street from my home. We’d play work- up if we had enough guys and gals and we’d play 500 other times with a smaller group. As we grew older we got better at the game but we had to learn and lucky for us my father was a great teacher. At my Ordination my friend reminded me of the countless times my father would play catch with us

      He’d throw pop ups and fast balls he would throw grounders and bouncers and “all” and we worked hard at making sure we caught everything he threw to us. He encouraged us along the way and taught us if we missed a catch. You know he never ever admonished us.  He never said: “O you should have caught that one” my father in the short time I was blessed to know him on this earth and to be his son was a gift for me, my family and all the kids who lived within 3 blocks of our house.  We began to develop and have confidence in what we were doing. One of the teaching skills my father used was that we should always keep our eye on the ball and never expect that it would just simply fall into our gloves.

     In the 14th Chapter of John at the 5th verse, the disciples are confused and afraid and clueless and Thomas like us wanted answers. Jesus had asked if they knew where he was going? And Thomas said, Lord we do not know where we are going, so how can we know the way”? And Jesus said: “I am the way the truth and the life” in other words keep your eye on me! As we move forward together know this, we are not alone and we are not lost. All we need to do is remember Jesus promise to show us the way and to keep our eye on him. This congregation will do well to follow Jesus words and to know we are going to be just fine through all the bumps and bruises the we will encounter along the way. 

Together in Christ

-Pastor Dan

This Month in Mount Olive’s History                                      June Edition

Did you know...?

June has long been a month of dedication, new leadership, and growing ministry at Mount Olive.

On June 11, 1967, Mount Olive celebrated the dedication of its very first church building. Many of the original worship furnishings including the altar, pulpit, baptismal font, and communion rail were lovingly handcrafted by Rev. Frederick Smith, while the Frank family donated the large wooden cross and pulpit Bible still remembered by many today.

June also brought new pastoral leadership through the years. In June 1969, Rev. John Thorsness was installed as Mount Olive’s first called pastor after serving under interim leadership during the congregation’s earliest days.

In June 1990, a congregational meeting approved building and financing plans that helped shape the future worship center, paving the way for continued growth and ministry opportunities.

And in more recent history, June has become a season of reopening and resilience. In June 2020, Mount Olive resumed in-person worship during the pandemic with careful safety measures, while livestream ministry continued reaching members both near and far.

From dedications to determination, June reminds us that God continues to guide Mount Olive through every season with faith, perseverance, and hope for the future.

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

Summer Campformation

This summer, several of our Mount Olive youth will be heading to Camp Pine Rock in Prescott, Arizona, from June 29–July 3 for an unforgettable week of worship, friendship, games, campfires, and growing in faith together.

This year’s camp theme is “Enough” a week focused on reminding students that in a world filled with comparison, pressure, and performance, our identity is rooted in Christ. Using the story of the feeding of the 5,000, students will explore what it means to live from God’s abundance rather than fear or insecurity, discovering that they are already deeply loved, chosen, and enough in Him.

Please keep our campers, counselors, and teaching team in your prayers as we prepare for this meaningful week together. We are excited to see how God will move through this year’s camp experience!