May 5, 2024
Flowers on the altar for Sunday, May 5, are given to God’s glory by an anonymous donor in honor of the love, peace, and joy extended to us each day by our Heavenly Father.
Sunday, May 5: New Member Reception Sunday. New members will be formally accepted and welcomed at the first service. Between services, join us for a New Member Reception event in the Social Hall.
Nursery Committee Fundraiser: On Mother’s Day, May 12, Mt. Olive members are invited to stop by the Nursery Committee display in the old narthex hallway. Visit with members of the Nursery Committee, learn about proposed updates to the nursery, and help fund a list of items needed to make our nursery welcoming and usable for young families.
Mt. Olive CDS Band Concert: Wednesday, May 15, at 6:30pm in the sanctuary. The 6th, 7th , and 8th grade band students will be performing. Free-will donations will be accepted to support Director Mariah Guerrero’s work with band rehearsals, contests, and concerts throughout the year.
Kindergarten Moosical: Come and enjoy a Barnyard Moosical performed by Mt. Olive’s Kindergarten Class on Tuesday, May 14th @ 6:30 pm. It will be udderly delightful!
Attention High School-Aged Youth (confirmed or completed 8th grade):
1. The Lutheran Youth Honor Choir is at Bethany Lutheran College from June 15-19. Register by June 1 at els.org/honorchoir. Cost: $225. 2. The LYA National Youth Convention in Chicago from July 25-28. Register at ELS.org/LYA. Cost: $300 until June 1, and $350 after June 1 until July 1. 3. Registered LYA Attendees: Contact Lance Johnson by May 12 to receive your $100 refund for LYA.
Softball Umpires Needed: Mt. Olive Lutheran School is sponsoring a grade school co-ed softball tournament on Thursday, May 16, at Caswell Park. Games begin at 8:30am and finish around 3:30pm. We are looking for volunteers (or paid individuals) for umping. Umps do not need to worry about balls and strikes, since they just call the bases. Each batter gets 4 pitches to attempt to get a hit. Batters may still strike out. Umps will need to know the basic softball rules. If you can help, contact Mr. Zibrowski by calling the school office at 345-7927 or emailing him at mrz@mtolivelutheran.org.
Norseland Lutheran Church’s Annual Syttende Mai Smørgåsbord is Saturday, May 18, from 4-7:30pm at the church at 37777 MN Highway 22, northwest of St. Peter. Check the poster on the narthex bulletin board or the May Olive Press for more information.
Correction: Mt. Olive’s CDS 8th Grade Graduation is Wednesday, May 22, not Thursday, May 23, as indicated on p. 1 of the May Olive Press.
Sponsor a Summer Outdoor Planter: Traverse Des Sioux Garden Center in St. Peter has very kindly offered to arrange for the planting of our six large outdoor planters by the Marsh and McConnell St. entrances. Sharon Madson will take care of these planters throughout the summer season. Mt. Olive is offering individuals, families, or groups the opportunity to “sponsor” a summer planter. These six planters are available to sponsor at $130 each. A sign-up sheet and “Sponsor a Planter” envelopes are available on the narthex table. Pick up an envelope as you sign up, insert a check (written to Mt. Olive) for $130 in the envelope, and place it in the church office Flower Box by Sunday, May 26. Thank you!
Red Cross Blood Drive: Friday, May 31, from 12pm-5pm in the Mt. Olive gym. Please call 1-800 RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter MTOLIVEKATO to schedule an appointment. QR codes for appointment scheduling and to register for a Tetris/Red Cross t-shirt are available on the poster in the narthex.
Episode 2 of the "On the Mount of Olives" Podcast is now available! Listen as Pr. Ben Wiechmann joins Pr. Ulrich & Pr. Soule to talk about our upcoming Confirmation Sundays and what Confirmation is all about. Also, Episode 3, with a discussion of Ascension Day, will be available soon. Subscribe and tune in to Spotify Podcasts.
Mt. Olive members donated 61 pounds of food to the ECHO Food Shelf during the month of April. Please note that the Food Shelf is always in need of empty egg cartons; you can drop them off in the food shelf basket in the narthex hallway. Thank you.
Plan to attend Mt. Olive CDS’s annual spring play, Willy Wonka, Jr. Performances are Thursday, May 23, and Friday, May 24, at 6:30pm each evening at the Ylvisaker Fine Arts Center at BLC.
VBS Helpers Needed: Would you like to assist us with our VBS Program this summer? We will host VBS for PreK to 4th graders from July 1-3. We have a variety of places in need of volunteers. Please contact Pr. Soule at pastorsoule@gmail.com if you can help.
Bethany Fund: Bethany Lutheran College is wrapping up its fiscal year on June 30, 2024. The College is striving to meet a fundraising goal of $750,000 for the Bethany Fund and is still seeking roughly $200,000 in gifts to meet the goal. Many of our ELS pastors, congregations and individual members make regular contributions to our College with some kind of financial gift; please consider joining them in this effort. Visit blc.edu/bethanyfund or call the Advancement Office at 507-344-7000 to learn more about how you can help support our ELS college. Thank you for your support and prayers for Bethany!
Theatre Bible School: June 17-21, at Bethany Lutheran College. Registration is open to students entering 3rd-8th grade. There is a $40 registration fee (with family discount options) to cover costs of food, costumes, and props, as well as to help compensate directors for taking time out of their work week. Payment will be collected upon arrival at camp; registration will close on June 1. To register or find out more information about the schedule, go to https://tinyurl.com/TheatreBibleSchool.
Job Openings: BLC is taking applications for an Admissions Counselor; Assistant/Associate Professor - Nursing; Assistant/Associate Professor – Communication; Registrar; Assistant Registrar; and Head Coach – Men’s & Women’s Tennis. Go to blc.edu for more details.
LAST WEEK’S ATTENDANCE/LORD’S SUPPER:
Sunday: 8:30am, 345; 10:45am, 265; Monday: 44/28
Live Online Viewing: Sunday (8:30am): 21
WE THANK THOSE SERVING OUR LORD THIS WEEK:
Greeters: 1st Service—Jim & Connie Gullixson, Don & Kristin Lehne
2nd Service—Dean & LuAnn Shoop, Peggy Harstad
Offering Counters: Bruce Gratz, Craig Christiansen
Altar Guild: Beth Hoffman, Sharon Madson
Media Center: David Norris
WEEKLY FINANCIAL UPDATE:
Given Last Week (excluding Year of Jubilee): $10,558.64
Year of Jubilee Debt Reduction Given Last Week: $295.00
Year of Jubilee Debt Reduction Total as of May 2: $246,789.27
Fiscal YTD Actual Expenses vs. Budget Surplus (Deficit) as of 3/31/2024: ($86,969)
Philippians 4:19 (EHV) And my God will fully supply your every need, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Did you know you can give your offering online? Just go to www.mtolivelutheran.org and click on the link “donate online.”
Mt. Olive Worship Services on TV: Mt. Olive services are available on local cable channels 7 & 507 (Consolidated Communications) and 181 (Charter) on Wednesdays at 10am and Thursdays at 11:30am.