Mount Olivet History
The Past The origins of Mount Olivet Lutheran Church predate both Minnesota's statehood—May 11, 1858—and the establishment of a post office in Plymouth in 1865. In 1850 missionaries conducted worship services a few times each year for the residents of the Plymouth/Medicine Lake area and in 1863 the German Evangelical Lutheran Church was formed. The first meeting was at the home of Herman Sandhoff, located near Medicine Lake. The German Evangelical Cemetery Association was formed in 1878 to maintain cemetery land provided by the Sandhoff family and in 1880 provisions were made to build a church building—our historic chapel—on this property. Ten charter members from the Sandhoff, Fitzer, Schmidt and Proehl families organized the congregation as Immanuel Evangelical Church of the Evangelical and Reformed Church of North America. Worship services were conducted in German and church records were written in German until the early 1900's. Membership grew as the population of the Plymouth/Medicine Lake area increased and in 1952 the congregation, with 49 charter members, voted to reorganize as a Lutheran church, becoming Mount Olivet Evangelical Lutheran Church of Medicine Lake. Mount Olivet became a sister church to Faith Lilac Way Lutheran Church in Robbinsdale and in the mid 1950s Mount Olivet helped establish St. Philip the Deacon at Parker's Lake. In 1953 the Luther League was formed and contributed greatly to the growth and stability of the church. As Mount Olivet's ministry continued to grow, the congregation outgrew the chapel and a nearby parish house and youth center and in 1966 a building program was initiated. The new church building across the street from the chapel was dedicated on May 5, 1968.
