Convinced that worshiping in English would draw more people, a group of 40 German-Americans established an English-language mission church in south Minneapolis. In 1909 it became Mount Olive.
Although a member of the conservative Missouri Synod, the congregation retained a progressive outlook that later proved important to its story. Its first church building was finished in 1921. The Rev. Theo. H. Schroedel became pastor and over the next four decades built the congregation into a community institution. A larger building was completed in 1931 and stands today.
Mount Olive grew rapidly in the post-World War II years as Schroedel emerged as a leader in a national movement to liberalize the Missouri Synod, and Cantor Paul Manz drew worldwide attention for his compositions, organ improvisations, and innovations in congregational singing.
The arrival of the Rev. Alton Wedel in 1961 led the parish deeper into social ministry and ecumenicism. Finally in 1976 came the dramatic split: Mount Olive left the Missouri Synod and eventually joined the ELCA, the nation’s largest Lutheran body.
Beginning in the 1980s, the Revs. Mark Wegner, William Heisley, and Joseph Crippen, along with Cantors Mark Sedio, David Cherwien, and Daniel Schwandt, strengthened the parish’s commitment to traditional liturgy, musical excellence, strong preaching, environmental awareness, and social justice.
Order a copy of FAITH OF OUR FOREBEARS: 100 YEARS AT MOUNT OLIVE LUTHERAN CHURCH by Michael Lansing ($5 shipping and handling).
