Margaret T. "Maggie" Olson

Nomination of Margaret Olson

It is with great honor that I bring before the General Council of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska the name of Margaret "Maggie" Olson of Golovin Covenant Church.

Maggie's years of Christian service officially began with Alaska Covenant Church in 1960 when she joined the believers in Golovin, Alaska. At the end of 2003, she will have consecutively served her local church for 43 years, the majority of those years as chairperson of its board.

Alaska Covenant Church is the forerunner of what is now the Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska. She served on the leadership of Alaska Covenant Church as its treasurer for three years. The church in Alaska changed its "mission" status to its current corporate status of ECCAK and Maggie was elected to serve on its Council for six years.

Covenant Women of Alaska was formed in the late 1960's and began its support of needy parsonages for washers, dryers, couches, stoves, tables and chairs through craft sales. Maggie endorsed the work of the Covenant Women through donation of craft items for sale.

Maggie Olson's contribution to the ministry of the Covenant Church in Alaska spans over 40 years plus. She has exceptional character qualities that enable her to serve in confidence, dignity, grace and humility. Maggie is a woman of integrity and an ideal example of faithfulness to many who have had the privilege of serving with her. The Lord only knows the amount of financial contributions she has made to both local and the regional church. The way she lives and conducts her personal, business and Christian life is a living testimony and witness for believers to model their faith by, and more importantly, to the world that desperately needs a Savior.

I knew something of Maggie long before I met her in person. Once we met I came to admire her and was immediately challenged by her faith and confidence in God. As the years rolled by, I further came to believe that Maggie Olson was and is a living institution that embodies a long list of virtues we most often dream and read about. Perseverance - holds onto her faith without giving up. Loyalty – faithful to her Lord, institutions and the people she works with. Courage – not afraid to face up to danger. Honesty – trustworthy. Self-discipline – constantly training herself to be more like her Savior. Compassion – opens up her heart to help communities and people in need. Responsibility – takes her share of work seriously.

This is what her family members wrote about Maggie. "Compassion, loyalty, perseverance, self-discipline, honesty, responsibility, courage are all words that can be used to describe the qualities of Maggie Olson and her service to he Covenant Church. Who do you call when there is a serious crisis or need? Maggie. Who readies the church for service, opens the doors, takes care of the finances? Maggie. She has devoted her life to Christ and in so doing has been his faithful servant over the many years she has been in Golovin."

Another person wrote: "When we had no pastor – and that was a lot – she made sure that the doors were always open for church services. She made sure the church did not run out of oil or when we heated with wood, she would have someone haul and cut the wood. She would get up early in the morning to make fire to heat the church in time for service. If she wasn't going to be there, she would ask one of us kids to hold the service.

"I remember we always had people staying with us when they came to hold services. She would ask for gospel teams from Covenant High to come, and other Christians would preach the gospel. In looking back, I can see how the Lord has kept and honored her because of her faithfulness to Christ."

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