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There is something about this season of Advent that reveals the darkness and despair of our time. In the barrage of consumerism, there is still such need for families to have basic things like safe housing, food and clothing. Depression, loneliness and grief are heightened as memories of what has been flood back and expectations for what should be creep in.
Yet God knows and enters in.
Joel 2:12-13, 28-29 - In these verses, Joel doesn’t speak of God’s need for us to live up to the grand promises we make to God. Instead, he speaks about God’s longing to dwell with us right where we are, in the complexities and pains and broken hopes and regrets of our lives. “Rend your hearts and not your clothing,” God says through Joel. All God requires of us is what life eventually makes in us: a broken heart.
Power, evil and manipulation are real. They fester in insecurity and fearfully within groups. We see it like graffiti all over religious and political history and on bathroom walls. Yet, the promise we find in this story is that in the midst of this mounting power of the world, God enters with a different kind of power, one that is quiet and hidden.
We're very excited and so pleased to announce that the Associate Pastor Call Committee has made a candidate recommendation to our Council, and they have agreed with our top choice! You will have several opportunities to meet and talk with Joel Bergeland during Community hour this coming week, in, and after worship.
Mount Olivet is working with our partners,Trinity Lutheran, St. Peders, and Nokomis Heights, along with Dar Al Hijrah Mosque, to sponsor a refugee family's resettlement here in Minnesota. Mount Olivet member, Lisa Hansen, is one of three mentors from these congregations that will work along side the family through the coming year. We will follow both Lisa's, and this family's experience through her blog - Riverchilde: A Servants Journey - where she will be posting reflections about her ongoing role as a mentor.
Check back, or visit Lisa's blog for continued updates.
Associate Pastor Call Committee Update #1 Now that we have Pastor Beth firmly in place as our Lead Pastor, we have formed the team that will follow a similar process to identify and recommend a candidate to serve as our Associate Pastor. We again are being guided by Pastor Craig Pederson from the ELCA Minneapolis Area Synod to help us understand our role as a committee, how the Synod will help us identify and learn about candidates, and ensure we will select the best possible Associate Pastor fit for our church community.
Having just completed our Lead Pastor call, things are moving fast. We’ve met four times over the last month; we’ve already modified our congregation’s Ministry Site Profile, identified roles within the committee, created a position description, and drafted the interview and selection process we will follow. We were fortunate to have Bishop Ann meet with many members of our congregation earlier this month so she could get to know us better and thereby inform her search for our open leadership position. Pastor Craig and Bishop Ann have begun to provide us with excellent candidates to review already and we’ve begun to set up initial meetings.
The Call Committee will continue to be open and transparent with where we are in this process. We invite you to reach any member to ask questions, and to check the website for updates frequently.
Linda Finley Associate Call Committee Communications Lead
PRESS RELEASEFor Immediate Release Contact: Joe Kaatz Mount Olivet Lutheran Church of Plymouth 763-509-9409 jkaatz@moply.org
Plymouth, Minn. (June 2, 2016) – Mount Olivet Lutheran Church of Plymouth reached a significant milestone at a congregational meeting on May 22, when 240 members called Pastor Beth Horsch to be Lead Pastor. Pastor Horsch became the first female lead pastor in the congregation’s history with a 98% vote of approval.
Pastor Beth served alongside longtime Senior Pastor John Strommen for eight years. Following Pastor John’s resignation in January, the congregation began a five month discernment process for finding a successor. The Church Council found Pastor Beth to be the best fit for Mount Olivet’s congregational identity, and brought their recommendation to be voted on by the congregation.
Pastor Beth formally accepted the call, stating, “We are the church in how we live each day; our presence individually and as a community extends compassion, generosity and love to those we encounter… I feel called to this work and our growing sense of community.”
Mount Olivet will now begin the process to find a new Associate Pastor. There will be a formal installation ceremony in the fall for both pastors.
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About Mount Olivet Lutheran Church of Plymouth
Mount Olivet is a missional congregation in the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) that seeks to be a community partnering with God in the world. As a church that recognizes faith as a journey, the ongoing mission, “Finding our place in God’s unfolding story,” is central to congregational life through dwelling in God, connecting in community, and engaging in callings. www.moply.org
