Hope – Mount Olivet Conference and Retreat Center

What Do You Fear?

Psalm 27 Rev. William B. MacLean My grandparents lived in a house on Lake Calhoun (now Bde Maka Ska) that had a dark, damp, musty, creepy basement. So when I was a boy spending the night with them, there was a sentence I dreaded hearing them say: “Billy, would you please go down to theContinue reading “What Do You Fear?”

The Meaningfulness of Coming Home

Theresa F. Latini Last night at Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center, Katie Dahl played an outdoor evening concert for sixty of us. Dahl is a Door County folk musician (a singer songwriter to be more precise) who inspires, comforts, amuses, and challenges her audiences to live and love with humility and gratitude. Her lyrics,Continue reading “The Meaningfulness of Coming Home”

When the Earth’s Abundance and Ruin Converge

Theresa F. Latini Two sets of images of the earth converged in my mind this week: one of delightful abundance, another of apocalyptic ruin. At the retreat center, our peach tree grows on an old tennis court transformed into a garden and mini-orchard. It is not a big tree. Yet it yielded over 1100 peachesContinue reading “When the Earth’s Abundance and Ruin Converge”

Values to Live By: Lessons Learned in L’Arche

Pastor Rebecca C. Freeman Twenty-two years ago, I packed up a couple of bags, boarded the train to Seattle, and began an adventure that forever changed my life. I entered the Lutheran Volunteer Corps and was placed as an assistant in the L’Arche Noah Sealth community. I didn’t know anything about L’Arche and was somewhatContinue reading “Values to Live By: Lessons Learned in L’Arche”

Go-tos for Traumatic Times

Pastor Rebecca C. Freeman Editorial note: Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center regularly welcomes groups who care for those who are most vulnerable and advocate for justice in our communities. We are grateful for the presence of these groups that are renewed and restored so that they can continue working for justice, peace, and reconciliation.Continue reading “Go-tos for Traumatic Times”

Surrounded by Love in Death

Carol Throntveit It does hit the heart, doesn’t it? The thought that we or a loved one might die alone, a victim of the coronavirus, quarantined, and unable to have loved ones sharing words of support and love. This feels devastating. When these thoughts strike me, I am moved to tears. And yet, I findContinue reading “Surrounded by Love in Death”

A Strong Bridge for Scary Divides

Theresa F. Latini Earlier this week Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center hosted an online mini-retreat, Daring to Pray in the Time of COVID. Fourteen of us gathered together through Zoom to remember that God listens to us, that God is moved by compassion to act on our behalf, that we are invited to prayContinue reading “A Strong Bridge for Scary Divides”

Mother’s Day Mourning (and, Celebrating)

Theresa F. Latini Today I’m remembering my first day on the job as executive director of Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center. It was Mother’s Day 2019. Three hundred people streamed through our doors, enjoyed a veritable feast while laughing and reminiscing, and relaxed outside amidst beautiful flowers, soaking up the warm sunshine. Over twentyContinue reading “Mother’s Day Mourning (and, Celebrating)”

Chemical Dependence in the Age of Coronavirus

Thomas Mullens Note: Recovery groups regularly attend Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center. Group members find serenity in this place of natural beauty and special support in taking time away to continue their journey of wholeness and wellbeing. We recognize that this pandemic has created special challenges for persons with addiction and offer this reflectionContinue reading “Chemical Dependence in the Age of Coronavirus”

Waiting for Easter

Kara K. Root I was “off” from work the last couple of days, which is a strange thing in these times, when we are all at home every second, and all the work, play, sleep, meals, fights, entertainment and rest happens right here, in the same space, with the same people. Every. Single. Day. I joked beforehandContinue reading “Waiting for Easter”

Glimmers of Hope on a Long Bleak Saturday

Theresa F. Latini When I was a pastor, my favorite worship service of the year was Maundy Thursday: a remembrance of Jesus’ lonely persistence in prayer, his betrayal by a friend, and then his subsequent arrest. It was refreshing to name the depth of human suffering endured by God and the ways in which thatContinue reading “Glimmers of Hope on a Long Bleak Saturday”