Donor Spotlight

The Rev. Dr. Gary L. Olin ’67 and The Rev. Saranne Nelson-Olin ’78

As graduates of United, we have found that the seminary has been integral to the formation of our faith as well as in preparation for a lifetime in ministry. Through the years the seminary has been a source of inspiration and continuing education for us as we have taken advantage of its offerings to alumni/ae and the greater Church.

For almost five decades we have wholeheartedly supported United with donations to the annual fund and its capital campaigns. In our early years in ministry, our meager gifts probably did more to keep us in touch with United than they did to help with the school’s bottom line.

Each of our late spouses, the Rev. Dr. James D. Nelson, ’59, and the Rev. Dr. Judith Stone Olin, ’67, also United graduates, had a deep and abiding love for and commitment to the seminary. When United established its new campus,each of us contributed to the building by naming rooms in their memory: the office of the president for Judy, and the James D. Nelson Room of the EUB Heritage Center for Jim.

We believe in United’s mission to recruit, educate, and nurture faithful leaders for the mission of Jesus Christ in the world, and we want to make a significant gift to its future as it faithfully serves the Church.

In 2006, when we were married and established a trust to care for the disposition of our assets, we chose to leave the major portion of our estate as an unrestricted gift to United. While we anticipate that it will be many years before United will receive this bequest, we trust our investment will bear fruit in the advancement of the work of Christ in the world through this school that we love.