On a hilltop along Fairmont Pike in Wheeling, West Virginia, Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church has been a fixture of the local landscape since 1855. The congregation is known for offering something many churches no longer do: two weekly chances to gather for worship, with a Sunday morning service at 10:30 AM and a Monday evening service at 7:00 PM designed for people whose weekends have filled up with sports, work, and family obligations. The doors are open, the dress code is whatever a person is comfortable in, and the hospitality is the kind that starts at the front door.
Two Services, Two Different Feels
The Sunday morning service leans into traditional hymnal music, led by choir leader Bill Frank with Spencer Stern at the piano. After a children's message during worship, young ones are invited to children's church in the nursery, where they sing, do crafts, hear Bible stories, and have a snack while parents stay in the sanctuary.
The Monday night service, led by worship leader Vicki Harvey with Cliff Elliott accompanying, blends contemporary and traditional music in a more relaxed atmosphere. There is no nursery attendant on Monday nights, so families with little ones typically plan accordingly. Services last roughly 50 minutes.
For those who cannot attend in person, services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, where past services are also available.
What to Expect as a Visitor
Visitors at Mt. Olivet can expect a laid-back environment. People wear everything from dresses and ties to jeans and t-shirts. The greeting at the door is intentional: the church describes itself as a place where God is in the handshake of a friend, the eyes of children gathered for the children's message, the music, and the laughter at fellowship time. A prayer request form is available online for anyone who wants the congregation to pray for them, and a weekly newsletter is offered for those who want to stay connected.
Office hours run Monday through Friday from 9 AM to noon. The phone line (304-242-3162) is staffed Tuesday through Friday from 10 AM to 1 PM.
A Hilltop History
The original structure was built in the middle of what is now Mt. Olivet Cemetery. In 1899 the congregation relocated to its current site along what is now Route 88. A major addition was completed in time for the first worship service in the expanded building on April 16, 2006. Inside the front doors, the sanctuary is the kind of space that draws attention upward, and the church describes the building as a place for meetings, scripture study, and fellowship.
The name itself - Mount Olivet - echoes the hillside outside Jerusalem traditionally associated with Jesus, a fitting name for a church built on a rise overlooking the Ohio River valley.
Pastor Shannon Blosser
Shannon Blosser serves as pastor of Mt. Olivet and of Benwood-McMechen UMC in the Wheeling area. He is an ordained elder in the West Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. His ministry is shaped by a particular focus on how faith creates inclusion and acceptance of people with disabilities within the church. He serves as a gubernatorial appointee on the West Virginia Developmental Disabilities Council and on the WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities' Consumer Advisory Council, as well as on teams in the Northern District of the West Virginia Annual Conference.
Before entering ministry, Shannon worked as a sports and news writer for West Virginia and North Carolina newspapers and wrote for a public policy organization focused on higher education reform. He is an alum of West Virginia University and Asbury Theological Seminary. He lives in McMechen, WV, with his wife Abbi, sons Noah and Tad, and their cat George. Pastor Blosser's office hours at Mt. Olivet are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9 AM to noon; on Wednesdays he is at Benwood-McMechen UMC during the same hours.
Children and Youth
Children's Church meets during the Sunday service at 10:30 AM, focused on introducing kids to Jesus through singing, crafts, Bible stories, and snacks. Throughout the year the church hosts Vacation Bible School, a Trunk or Treat event, a girls' outreach event, and a Boys and Toys event. Susan Haught serves as the Youth Coordinator, organizing opportunities for older children and teens.
United Women in Faith
Janet Andrews leads the local United Women in Faith chapter, part of the wider United Methodist Women organization that supports programs and projects for women, children, and youth across the United States and more than 100 countries. The Mt. Olivet chapter meets the second Tuesday of each month at noon at Uncle Pete's in Elm Grove.
Men's Fellowship
The men's fellowship group meets every Monday morning at 8 AM at Bob Evans on National Road. The format is simple: hang out, chat, read a passage, and discuss. Anyone is welcome.
Upper Room Bible Study and Prayer Group
On Thursdays at 10 AM in the church chapel, a group of women gathers around the Upper Room Daily Devotional. Jessica Carte and Heidi Schmidt facilitate. Members read the devotion for the week, share faith stories and struggles, and write cards to those in the parish who are homebound, grieving, or ill. Each meeting closes with intercessory prayer for the parish and one another. Free devotional booklets are available at the welcome center, and free email delivery of the daily devotional can be arranged through UpperRoom.org. Women of any church affiliation are welcome.
The Lord's Pantry
The Lord's Pantry distributes food on the fourth Friday of each month (the third Friday in November and December) to residents of Marshall and Ohio counties, West Virginia. Sue Doughtery chairs the ministry. Volunteers pack and hand out boxes of food in the morning hours, and financial donations are also welcome (checks may be made payable to Mt. Olivet UMC with "Pantry" in the memo line).
The Backpack Program
Each week during the school year, volunteers at Mt. Olivet prepare weekend backpacks of food for more than 55 children at Bethlehem Elementary School. The cost is $180 per child for the school year. The bags contain easy-to-prepare items that provide at least two meals a day for a child over the weekend. A wish list of specific items - individually packaged cereal, pop-tarts, peanut butter crackers, canned pasta, fruit cups, and the like - is published so donors know what to contribute.
The Caring Cabinet
In the church parking lot sits a small wooden cabinet with a simple invitation: "Short on food? Take what you need. Have Plenty? Share some to those in need." Open 24 hours a day, the Caring Cabinet holds non-perishable food and personal care items for anyone in the community who needs them, no questions asked. The cabinet also has a wish list of items it tries to keep stocked.
Music Ministry
Music is at the heart of worship at Mt. Olivet. The Sunday morning choir is led by Bill Frank, with Spencer Stern at the piano. Monday evenings feature Vicki Harvey leading worship with Cliff Elliott at the piano. Volunteers handle projection on Sunday mornings (A.J. Proger) and Monday evenings (Maddi Wysong), with Jessica Carte designing the PowerPoint presentations.
Mission: Love Jesus, Grow in Faith, Serve the Lord
Mt. Olivet's mission statement is "to Love God, Grow in Faith, and Serve the Lord." Everything the congregation does falls under one of three headings: Love Jesus (the greatest pursuit in life), Grow with others (Christian community is where disciples grow), and Serve the world (passing along the good news in workplaces, neighborhoods, schools, and beyond).
What United Methodists Believe
Mt. Olivet is part of the global United Methodist Church, a denomination that grew out of the 18th-century Methodist movement begun by John Wesley in England. Wesley's teachings on practical divinity - living out one's faith - and his appeals to reason and experience still shape the congregation today.
The church affirms belief in one triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - distinct but inseparable and eternal. It confesses faith in Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, whose death and resurrection reconcile humanity to God. It teaches that the Bible, Old and New Testaments, reveals the Word of God so far as it is necessary for salvation, and that it is to be received through the Holy Spirit as the true rule and guide for faith and practice.
Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ rather than by human works; humans are fallen from righteousness and dependent on grace, though the Holy Spirit empowers the willing heart to do good. The church is described as one, holy, apostolic, and catholic (universal) - a redemptive fellowship in which the Word is preached and the sacraments are administered.
Two sacraments are practiced: Baptism (open to children of believers as well as adults, signifying entrance into the household of faith) and the Lord's Supper (a memorial of Christ's suffering and death, and a token of love and union among Christians).
Hall Rental and the Scrip Program
The church building includes two social halls available for rent. The large social hall holds up to 300 guests, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a modern kitchen. The small social hall holds up to 100 and features a vintage kitchen. Past events hosted in the halls include baby showers, quarter auctions, princess teas, sweet sixteen luncheons, Barbie brunches, and indoor yard sales. The halls are alcohol- and smoke-free. Inquiries can be made by calling Linda at the church office Tuesday through Thursday between 10 AM and 1 PM.
The Scrip Program lets supporters raise money for the church simply by shopping. Gift cards to grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, and other retailers are purchased through the church, and Mt. Olivet UMC earns a percentage from each sale. Scrip cards are sold before and after worship services on Sundays and Mondays at a table near the nursery, and orders can also be placed through the church office or online at shopwithscrip.com.
Giving and Getting Involved
Online giving is available through a dedicated portal, and donations can be designated for the operating budget, the Lord's Pantry, or the Backpack Program. Members interested in serving on a committee - including the Church Council, Board of Trustees, Finance Committee, Pastor-Parish Relations Committee, and Nominations and Leadership Development Committee - speak with Pastor Blosser; the Nominations committee appoints members, and each committee serves a three-year term.
For a church that has occupied the same hilltop for more than 170 years, the work of Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church continues to be simple and steady: gather, grow, and serve - and do it with open doors twice a week.