Methodist pastor coming home to Ann Arbor

Methodist pastor coming home to Ann Arbor

By EMMA JACKSON

NEWS SPECIAL WRITER

In one sense, the Rev. Doug Olsen is leaving home to return home.

Olsen has pastored Stony Creek United Methodist Church in Augusta Township for 15 years and at the end of the month will begin his pastorate at Calvary United Methodist Church in northwest Ann Arbor, his hometown.

"It will be nice going to my back yard; the church is two miles from where I grew up," he says.

But he and his wife, Sandy, have raised their children, Kristen and James, in the Ypsilanti area. "It's a wonderful community and the church has been a warm, concerned and caring congregation," he says. "It's a terrific place to serve and I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it."

A graduate of Ann Arbor High School - now Pioneer - and of Eastern Michigan University with a degree in business, Olsen credits church leaders at Westside United Methodist in Ann Arbor for influencing his ministry.

"I felt an inner calling, from God's spirit to take and active role in full-time ministry," he says. 

He says through the "proddings" of the pastors at Westside United Methodist, he entered the seminary, attending Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio.

Before settling in at Stony Creek, Olsen served churches in southwest Detroit and Ferndale. He believes his work at Stony Creek has been fruitful.

"We accomplished the building of a new sanctuary in 1982 and paid for it in seven years," he says.

The church has supported programs that aid foster children around the world, and locally, it has helped such groups as Dawn Farms and the Ypsilanti Salvation Army.

He commend the church for taking an active role in community volunteer work, specifically with local hospitals and hospice programs.

Olsen will give his last sermon as pastor of Stony Creek on June 23. He'll be replaced at Stony Creek by Rev. Peter Harris.