Path: About Olivet

About Olivet

Contents:

Olivet United Church is a congregation of Hamilton Presbytery within the Hamilton Conference of the United Church of Canada. Olivet's mission is to worship God, follow Christ, live love and serve others. Olivet's values are: faith, caring, respect, justice, trust, hope, joy, confidentiality, honesty, responsibility, compassion, active participation, cooperation, and consent.

Olivet carries out its mission through a council and ministry structure but the key principle of Olivet is permission-giving. If anyone in the congregation wants to do something in line with our mission statement, then Olivet commits to helping them succeed. If one sees something that needs doing, it is not necessary to work one's way through a lot of authorizing bodies. The Council is not the final level of approval for projects but there are some areas where communication in advance is expected and clear boundaries of accountability exist. Just get a few people together with an idea and carry it out. There are many people to turn to for support along the way. So dare to dream, discover your spiritual gifts and use them to carry out the dream within the values of Olivet United Church.

Meet the Staff

Our Clergy Rev Michael Barton was welcomed as our new minister in 2012.

Our Office Administrator and Custodian Jennifer Butka belongs to the cheery voice at the other end of a phone call to Olivet. She provides administrative services supporting the programs and operations of Olivet in a friendly and efficient manner. Jennifer handles all bookings for rooms, baptisms, weddings and funerals. She enjoys knitting and gardening in her spare time.

Our Music Director Trevor Price is a gifted musician and choir leader. Trevor plays organ and piano beautifully. He conducts Olivet's chancel choir and directs the praise band. Trevor always seems to know what will work in musical selections. We feel very fortunate to have him amongst us. During the week he teaches elementary school.

Our Nursery Coordinator Eleanor Gower is a registered Early Childhood Educator from Sheridan College. She has been the Nursery Coordinator at Olivet United Church since 1993. She is responsible for programming Christian Education for the pre-schoolers, including crafts, stories, healthy snack time and play. Eleanor also works in collaboration with the Junior Church team. She works during the week with the Umbrella Day Care programs in Hamilton public schools.

Meet the Chair of Council

Our Chair of Council Tom Jefferies has been our Chair of Council since 2008. He grew up in Olivet. He became an active member of the church when his own children came along. He has a very busy slate as Council Chair but still finds time Sunday mornings to deal with the technical aspects of our church services. He grew up with music and feels that there is a connection between music and our own spiritual dimensions. His passion for music is evident as he plays guitar in our praise band. In addition to musicianship and electronics, Tom is a skilled appliance repairman.

History of Olivet

Be a time traveler back to the origins of Olivet, find out how we were established, and how things were back then.

Explore the roots of Olivet United Church.

Organizational Structure

Olivet United Church has operated for a number of years within a Council and Ministry structure and since 1995 has operated within a permission-giving model. Ministry teams and working groups are created in keeping with Olivet's mission, and members are empowered to meet the needs these groups identify.

Details of Olivet's organizational structure.

Exchange of Ideas

We have outlined various information sources and means of gathering information important to you and Olivet United Church.

Discover what you need to know.