The Mount Olivet blog features stories on church, community, partnerships, reflections from our Pastors, and more. Get a sense of who we are!
There is a garden that we all know is there.
Do we really pay attention to the food that it shares?
The people who work through the heat and the bugs
don’t get paid, but they do it out of love.
I asked why here when you could do this anywhere?
They said it’s gardening with a purpose, and that’s why we care.
Written by Feven Harder
Photo by Ellie Harding
A team of leaders convened in January 2022, open to being curious and patient, to discern where Mount Olivet is being called to give voice and investment in the work of affordable housing. The team continues the work Mount Olivet began in 2010. As a church, we have built houses with Habitat for Humanity, and formed a leadership team to advocate for affordable housing via Beacon InterFaith Housing Collaborative, a statewide developer of affordable housing. This led to advocacy for Beacon’s affordable housing project, Cranberry Ridge in Plymouth, and hosting unhoused families here at church via the Families Moving Forward program.
Each conversation with community organizations, government liaisons and other churches leads to another and of course there is the Holy Spirit revealing the path ahead. It takes guts to be curious and patient and to know the next step is not always action. Good thing this group is centered in the call to love God and neighbor so more and more people can have a place to call home.
The Housing Team members include Bob Swanson, Bob Carlson, Kelly Bishop, Steve Gartland, Paul Nelson, Pastor Kristin Dybdal, and Pastor Beth Horsch.
Written by: Pastor Beth Horsch
Through baptism, children are welcomed into a faith community
with prayers, promises, and traditions—
water is poured over heads, the sign of the cross made,
and a child is named and claimed in love.
The child’s wet head is then patted dry - but with what cloth?
In the past, women in the church embroidered small pieces of cloth with a cross to be used for this task, and then saved as a remembrance of the day. But circumstances change, interests are replaced by other interests, time becomes scarce. Church practices adapt.
A creative and kind woman, yearning to honor tradition, saw an opportunity to use precious textiles that she had saved to keep the custom alive and serve the children and families of her faith community. So Dorothy Sohn took the beautiful pieces of cloth — napkins, handkerchiefs, table linens — that she had lovingly stored, and embroidered crosses on each one to be used for the baptism ceremony.
Unique and a thing to be cherished —
Thank you, Dorothy, for your thoughtful gifts!
Written by Joy Miller
Photo Collage Arranged by Joy Miller
Blue. Green. Orange. Purple. Yellow.
Colors in the rainbow, yes.
Mount Olivet members who volunteer at Northport Elementary School in Brooklyn Center also know them as the five different kinds of food bags for kids and families, each packed with culturally relevant fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains for weekend nourishment.
On Friday afternoons during the school year, many Mount Olivet hands make for light work, putting nutritious food in the backpacks of little ones as they board the bus for home.
It feels great to serve, but to look into the eyes of a child who needs food brings a whole new level of meaning to our service and giving.
Story by: Pastor Kristin Dybdal
Find out more about Mount Olivet’s Community Partners HERE.
Take a look, have a seat... in Mount Olivet's new Living Room.
Thanks to the generosity of grant funds through St. Catherine's University and memorial gifts, Mount Olivet has a new Living Room.
The intent of this updated space is to welcome small groups and individuals who are seeking quiet space for prayer, meetings or conversations.
Over the last two years, a group of Mount Olivet members have learned more about contemplative practices through a grant sponsored by St. Catherine's University. This team will be hosting an open house on Sunday, September 17, 2023 for the Mount Olivet community to see and experience this new space. The team will also be inviting the community to participate in contemplative practices this fall.
Kids’ Sensory Space
You may have noticed that the Family Worship Room—Room 210 that opens up from our Welcome Center and Worship Center—has had a makeover! This room is now known as the Kids’ Sensory Space and is open for kids and their families for use during worship, between services, during faith formation programming like Faith Explorers, and more!
The Kids' Sensory Space is a place for kids to play and have fun! We believe that kids should be able to experience their faith through fun, creativity, and play. The Kids’ Sensory Space has a number of exciting features:
-The Sensory Wall. The Sensory Wall is full of different objects that kids can play with. The ping pong ball chute was designed by member Tim Strommen and allows kids to interact with the ball and watch as it travels along the chute. The rainbow panels have gears, knobs, mirrors, diverse textures, and other fun items for kids to interact with.
-The Reading Corner. The Reading Corner has board books, picture books, middle grade books, and young adult books along with comfy bean bag chairs for kids to cozy up and read a book. The books are on topics from faith to the Bible to diversity to learning about feelings.
-Play. There are building blocks, stuffed animals, and more for kids to use their imagination and play.
-Coloring and Creating. From crayons to coloring pages to Play-Doh and more, we have tables set up for kids to be able to color, draw, and engage with others.
-Contemplative and Prayer Features. We moved the worship bags and kids bulletins into the Kids’ Sensory Space. The bulletins are available in reader and pre-reader and feature coloring pages and activities related to the Bible lesson. The Worship Bags include a stuffed animal and fun activities kids can do in worship. There is also a labyrinth rug and prayer through coloring sheets in the space for kids to pray using their bodies and creativity.
-Sensory Needs. While the space is available for all kids, it was designed to center the diversity of kids with special sensory needs. The space is designed to be a calming, yet playful, space for all kids to use all of their senses and for kids with special sensory needs the room’s different stations can help kids self-regulate.
We invite you to explore the Kids’ Sensory Space next time you swing by for worship!
Today we went on the high and low ropes courses which was super fun! I got to go down on a huge zip line.
On the downside, we did have to wear pants to go on the high ropes course, so it was really hot. To cool down we got some huckleberry ice cream from the camp canteen.
I am so grateful to be able to wake up in nature, as well as seeing a beautiful lake every day. I see God in the friends that I have made and in the sunshine shining on the lake here, and I am very grateful to have this opportunity.
On Tuesday we started the morning with oatmeal and many delicious toppings. After getting ready for the day we walked over to launch our canoes and kayaks. It was windy, and after about an hour of paddling, the decision was made to turn around. Many struggled, and everyone was bummed about not having the picnic and swimming on the island. But to still somewhat stick with our plan, we went to a different beach to have our picnic. It was a beautiful turn around to a rough paddle. We then had devotion, bible study, and time at the camp store for ice cream. After that, we had a choice of disc golf, art, the basketball courts, and hammocking. The wind and water had calmed down then, and we were able to swim at the beach until we left to get dinner. The pasta dinner was wonderful with a side of great conversations and dessert. We ended the night with worship, highs, lows, and our God moments of the day all by the camp fire.
On day 4 of our trip we did different service projects throughout the camp. I painted picnic tables under the sun with some of my favorite people.
We kept our minds busy with music, riddles, games and jokes, and the whole mood was light and cheery.
I am so thankful for the fresh air, clean water, and the warm sun, but especially thankful for the incredible experiences and friendships made. I saw God in the smiles and laughter shared with this incredible group of people.
For more photos of the trip, check out their photo gallery HERE.
I have gotten to know a young family from Nicaragua over these past four years and have visited them three times. They were operating a bakery and worked very hard selling to the small communities in the area. Unfortunately in the last two years, due to an increasingly challenged economy in Nicaragua, the bakery has stopped. This has become a very difficult situation for my friends, living with an extended family of four generations. In January 2023, the White House announced a new program for citizens in good standing from Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Nicaragua. A vetted US citizen is able to sponsor a family, allowing them to enter the US legally, receive work permits, and stay for two years. In April my application to be a sponsor was accepted and three weeks later this young family was approved as beneficiaries. They flew into Minneapolis this Wednesday, May 17. Starting June 1 they will live in an apartment close to the church. Jobs are already being arranged. They are a Christian family with a very trusting faith, and are looking for a church home.
As the church of "open doors" and "open hearts", the wonderful staff at Mountt Olivet, and many other members, have gladly seen this as an opportunity for hospitality and "OPEN ARMS". This young family came with one suitcase and two backpacks, so there is certainly a need for other things to help them make a home here. We have already received donations of beds, tables, a crib, chairs, a couch, but many other household items like pots and pans, utensil, towels, diapers, blankets, linens, pillows, etc. will be needed. I also know a tricycle will be much appreciated as their child had to say goodbye to her much loved one back home. We have a wonderful team of 10 members who are already working on all of these things. More specific information will follow. This young family doesn't speak English yet, so that will be one of their many challenges living here and getting used to living in Minnesota. But one thing I know - this is a dream come true for them!
Let us all say - Welcome!
Tim Strommen
I am excited to announce this year’s Vacation Bible School theme, Compassion Camp: What Every Living Thing Needs. This exciting curriculum was developed by Illustrated Ministries and incorporates creativity, fun and games, music, Bible lessons, and more into an awesome week of learning about caring for the world, each other, and ourselves.
VBS at Mount Olivet is available for children ages three and above through 4th grade (5th grade through middle school kids can help be team leaders during VBS and can participate in Summer Spree in the afternoon) and runs from 9am to 12:00 noon. VBS this year runs from August 14th through 17th.
From the publisher:
“As we look around the world, our deep need for compassion becomes increasingly evident with each passing day, perhaps now more than ever. Compassion Camp aims to cultivate compassion for each other, ourselves, and the world. We will examine different places in our lives where we can cultivate compassion. Using each Compassion Camp component, we’ll explore themes of compassion as they relate to each session’s scripture. Through Compassion Camp: What Every Living Thing Needs, participants will explore what all living things need to live—shelter, food, water, air, and community—and how they can have compassion for the living earth, especially in their local ecosystems. Through awareness, gratitude, wonderment, reciprocity, and kinship, participants will consider how to become co-sustainers and participants in the work of God’s creation. Using Psalm 104 as their grounding text, along with additional supporting scripture, participants will closely examine the interconnectedness of the whole earth—humans alongside the more-than-human world.”
We are super excited to share Compassion Camp with our community this year! Look for a volunteer sign-up to come out in the next few weeks. If you would like to help with the VBS planning team, contact me directly. If you would like to register your child for Compassion Camp VBS this year, do so by filling out this form.
I am looking forward to a great week of fun, exploration, learning, and compassion!
Pace
Director of Children and Family Ministry
Each youth summer trip has these key components:
Summer trips nurture community with our group and others.
Summer trips broaden perspectives.
Summer trips take us out of our comfort zones and challenge us in a safe way.
Summer trips empower us.
Summer trips create holy space which sticks with us.
It is our goal at Mount Olivet that any youth that wants to go on one of these trips can, regardless of cost. Thank you for supporting us through the youth stock and flower sale fundraisers this year. It makes a huge difference in the lives of these youth to see how this community invests in them!
