Mount Olive Lutheran Church
Regina, Saskatchewan

 

A Short History of Mount Olive Lutheran Church
Regina, Saskatchewan

1952
- First service conducted by Rev. Henry Treit
- First church worker was Vicar L.A. Koehler
- Ladies Aid and Walther League organized

1953
- First confirmation class completed
- Mount Olive officially organized as a congregation

1954
- Congregation's first pastor, Rev. Herman Bickel, installed
- Parsonage purchased
- First Vacation Bible School is held

1955
- Pews purchased from a Moose Jaw congregation

1957
- Preaching / Teaching / Reaching Mission Fest
- Rev. Plagens from Minot, N.D., guest speaker

1959
- Plans made for new building near 5th Ave. N. and Hamilton Street

1961
- New parsonage purchased
- Ground breaking for new church
- First service held in new building December 3rd, 1961

1963
- Tenth anniversary celebrated

1966
- Elizabeth Walker commissioned as Lay Parish Assistant
- Junior choir formed with the help of Mrs. Elizabeth Walker

1967
- Pastor Bickel leaves for London, Ontario
- Rev. Ron Raedeke from Redeemer, Regina serves vacancy

1968
- Pastor Philip Becker accepts Mount Olive's call
- Church interior completed

1973
- Pastor Becker retires and moves to Yorkton, Sk
- Rev. Brian Dill from Lipton accepts Mount Olive's call
- Congregation becomes self-supporting

1974
- Decision made to call a second Pastor

1975
- Pastor Dan Sattlemeier becomes first Associate Pastor of Mount Olive
- Moveable partitions build in basement for Sunday School

1977
- Pastor Sattlemeier leaves for Glen Elm Lutheran Church

1978
- Twenty-fifth anniversary celebrated

1979
- Mortgage burning
- Satellite Sunday School operated out of Coldwell School in Uplands Regina
-Lutheran Book of Worship hymnals purchased
- Youth Group formed

1980
- Pastor Dill accepts a call to Tucson, Arizona
- Pastor Irwin Pudrycki accepts the call to Mount Olive

1981
- Pastor Dennis Aubey becomes Associate Pastor
- "Bible Brunch" Bible class begins

1982
- Building Fund established
- Organ Fund established
- Communion card registration system replaces notebooks

1983
- Constitution revised
- Senior's Group established

1984
- Pastor Aubey leaves for Minnesota
- Choir gowns purchased
- First pictorial directory produced
- RSV pew Bibles purchased

1985
- Pastor Eric Betsch becomes Associate Pastor
- Worship and Social Ministry committees formed
- Building Committee formed
- Plans begun for Mount Olive's expansion

1986
- Church expansion plans approved
- Stephen Ministry begins

1987
- Sunday School in Uplands discontinued

1988
- Pastor Betsch leaves for institutional chaplaincy
- New mission statement (To Save the Lost and Serve the Saved) approved
- Lutheran Church - Canada becomes an autonomous church body
- Mount Olive joins Lutheran Church - Canada

1989
- Ground broken for expansion
- Vicar Michael Dorn serves Mount Olive
- Mount Olive hosts CBC's "Meeting Place"

1990
- 10,000 square foot expansion completed and dedicated
- Mount Olive begins a church growth strategy called "The Master's Plan"

1991
- Sunday Morning Fellowship Coffee begins
- Introduction of contemporary worship
- Stained glass arches installed in chancel area
- Young Mom's Bible Study begins

1992
- Rainbow Play School begins operation
- Dr. Oswald Hoffman of The Lutheran Hour visits Mount Olive

1993
- Pastor Keith Reisdorf becomes Associate Pastor
- Security system installed

1994
- New mission statement approved -- "Called to Disciple --
Prepared for Ministry -- Equipped to Serve"
- Grief Support Group begins

1995
- Pastoral exchange initiated -- Pastor Pudrycki goes to
Australia and Australian Pastor Mike Semmler comes to Mount Olive
- Contemporary worship singing group established
- Summer Worker program initiated

1996
- Pastor Reisdorf leaves for Kelowna, B.C.
- Parking lot paved

1997
- Pastor Bruce Corson becomes Associate Pastor

1999
- Joint Assistance Sponsorship program established for Kosovo refugees
- Worship services are projected on a large chancel screen
- Digital piano purchased

2000
- Mount Olive hosts Central District convention

2002
- Pastor Pudrycki retires
- Pastor Don Koch is vacancy pastor

2003
- Mount Olive celebrates its Fiftieth anniversary
- Pastor Terry Defoe of Wetaskiwin, Alberta installed

2004
- Mount Olives website begins
- Director of Parish Services intern Doug Wilson inducted

2005
- A storage garage is built
- Pastor Ken Klaus of The Lutheran Hour visits Mount Olive
- Braille ministry relocates to Mount Olive
- Strategic plan initiated

2006
- Mortage on church expansion retired
- Commissioning of Vicar Ted Giese

2007
- Rev. Ted Giese installed as Associate Pastor

2008
- New carpeting installed throughout the building
- Plans made for Mount Olive Rainbow Preschool with
Sharlene Van Maanen as director

2009
- 26 new members received on New Members Sunday, May 2009
- New furnaces and air conditioning units installed for worship area
- Growing enrolment in Mount Olive's Rainbow Preschool
- Bernadette Kew takes over coordinator's duties for Preschool
- Much brighter and sharper projector replaced 9 year-old unit in worship area
- Successful Vacation Bible School includes singing group from Crew Ministries