The Rev. Olin K. Sletto serves as vicar of the Episcopal Churches of Christ the King and Holy Nativity. Father Olin was raised on a farm in central South Dakota. He attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., where he received a BA in English, and Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., where he received a Master’s of Divinity degree. He was ordained in the Lutheran Church in 1973. Fr. Olin also has a Master’s of Theology degree, and an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humane Letters.
He and his wife, Connie, accepted the call to serve as missionaries in the Central African Republic (CAR). After a year of French language study in eastern France, they arrived in the CAR to begin their ministry, working in teaching and literature production/distribution. After serving for 15 years in CAR, the Slettos returned to the U.S. where Fr. Olin accepted the call to serve as “Program Director for French-speaking Africa and Madagascar” for the Division for Global Mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Fr. Olin was responsible for the work in four African countries, and made annual visits to each country.
After 12 years in the global mission office, Fr. Olin accepted the call to serve as pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, in Elgin, Ill., where he served for 12 years. Fr. Olin and Connie retired in the summer of 2014 and moved to their home in Jacksonport, Wis. Fr. Olin accepted the call to serve Christ the King and Holy Nativity in June 2016. This ministry is made possible through an agreement between the Episcopal Church and the ELCA, signed in 1999, titled: “Called to Common Mission.” This covenant supports and encourages the exchange of clergy between the two denominations.
The Slettos have two married children, and six grandchildren.