Pastor Neil Lines Celebrate 35th Anniversary
Elsie Walker This year, Neil Lines marks his 35th anniversary as the pastor of the Mt. Olive Community Bible Church, 200 Flanders Drakestown Road in Mount Olive. “I’ve been humbled and grateful that God has sustained me in ministry…that all of these things are by God’s grace,” shared Lines. Even having a brain tumor 22 years ago did not stop Lines’ ministry. Recently, he reflected on what drew him into the ministry, some highlights of his ministry, and what about it brings him joy. Lines went into the ministry because he saw a great value in helping people understand the Bible. Being a minister would allow him to teach it publicly (Sunday worship) and privately (Bible studies). “I teach the Bible from a Jewish perspective.” He helps people see it through the eyes of a Jewish interpretation. He noted that the writers of the Bible were Jews and understanding the Jewish culture and customs makes it easier to understand what the Bible is saying. He noted that that the purpose of what he shares with people is not to give them “head knowledge” but so they can apply the teachings in the Bible to their lives. That helps them to make good decisions and live better lives. Lines attended Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Besides having a good reputation, it was his father’s alma mater. His dad had attended there in the 1950s. The younger Lines did a number of internships during school, but his heart was drawn to the Mt. Olive area. After graduating, there was a position open for an assistant minister to his dad at what is now the Mt. Olive Community Bible Church. Lines took the position in 1991 and assumed his dad’s position after his death. Lines will tell you that when he thinks of the highlights of his 35 years in ministry, they are not things like physical additions to the church or the numbers in the seats. “I think of the people who have grown in their walk with God. What encourages me as a pastor is people growing spiritually, God at work in people,” he shared. A favorite yearly event is Vacation Bible School (VBS). This year the church did something different and made it a sports VBS. “We make it fun, from teaching the Bible to game to skits, etc. It was really unbelievable.” It gives Lines joy seeing people significantly growing in God. Doing wedding and funerals both involve a type of joy for Lines. With weddings, the joy comes not just from the celebration during the reception, but from seeing two people commit their lives to each other. It shows God’s plan in marriage. With funerals, he noted there is a different mood and purpose, but still there is a deep joy. That joy comes when he knows that the person has known the Lord and is now in a better place, a place where there will be no more suffering. Now, marking his 35th anniversary as pastor at Mt. Olive Community Bible Church, Lines feels that it doesn’t seem like that long at all. He noted that even after so many years, he’s not burnt out but is full of energy and enthusiasm. “I feel like I’m just starting,” said Lines.
Tinc School Rededicates Memorial to Flight 93 Hero
By Cheryl Conway September 11 will always be a somber day of remembrance, especially at Tinc Elementary School in Flanders. Twenty-five years after Flight 93 fell from the sky on Sept. 11, 2001, the Tinc Road school community gathered Friday at 8:45 a.m. to remember one of its own — longtime paraprofessional Hilda Marcin. In her memory, the school rededicated the memorial gazebo built in her honor. The 25th Anniversary Memorial Event was held in front of the school with hundreds in attendance for the re-inauguration of her memorial gazebo. Tin Road School Principal Mark Grilo describes Marcin as “a former beloved paraprofessional who worked here at Tinc Road school and who was one of the brave souls who we lost on Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001. “Our own hero from flight 93, who we lost on 9/11.” Located right in front of the main entrance at Tinc Road school, the Memorial Gazebo was first built in 2011, in honor of the 10-year anniversary of the passing of Marcin and those lost on Sept. 11, 2001. On th e morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Mrs. Marcin had been retired from Tinc Road School for just three months when she boarded United Airlines Flight 93 at Newark International Airport. She was traveling to Danville, Calif., where she planned to live with her daughter, Carol O’Hare, and son-in-law, Tom, during the winter months. Shortly after takeoff, the flight was hijacked by terrorists. As the passengers and crew learned of the hijacking and the plane’s believed target in Washington, D.C., several attempted to regain control of the aircraft. Flight 93 ultimately crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pa. Marcin, 79, and the other 39 passengers and crew members aboard Flight 93 died that morning. In her honor, the memorial was built 10 years later with money donated by the community. With the 25-year anniversary approaching, Tinc Road leaders knew they wanted to host a special tribute of their beloved employee. “We have been planning this renovation and memorial for over a year,” shares Grilo. “Our entire school community and Dr. Bangia and district leadership attended the ceremony,” says Grilo, totaling 475 people. Marcin was from Mt. Olive and worked as a bookkeeper and teacher’s aide at Tinc. After emigrating with her parents from Germany when she was 6 years old, Marcin, settled in Irvington. She married Edward Marcin in 1943 and had two daughters. Marcin worked for 20 years as a fund manager for a waiters’ and waitresses’ union in Newark. After moving to Mt. Olive, Hilda began a new career as an instructional aid for special needs children at Tinc Road School. The energetic grandmother, widowed in 1979, loved to cook and entertain and is remembered as strong, independent and organized. Marcin was the oldest passenger on Flight 93. Grilo led the 15-minute ceremony, which included a welcome address and a remembrance of 9/11 and Marcin. Students and staff wore red, white and blue, with younger students holding flags while students in grades two through five sang “God Bless America.” Grade-level representatives also placed flowers at Marcin’s memorial inside the gazebo, with the song led by choral music teacher Jessica Pomeroy. “The day was not over and the fight was not lost, For terrorists had vowed to strike D.C. at all cost. The heroes of Flight 93 formed a plan, In the Pennsylvania skies they took one final stand.”~ excerpt from Lt. Dan Marcou’s poem “That Day in September.”
New Jersey Native Recalls Lessons Learned from 9/11
By Evan Wechman Twenty-five years after surviving the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Marlboro, New Jersey native Aaron Levenson is determined to make sure Americans never forget what he witnessed that morning. Levenson wants to share his experiences and lessons he has learned with others, whether they are adults or children too young to have first-hand knowledge of that day. Six years ago, his rabbi approached him on behalf of the United Jewish Federation, which was looking for 9/11 survivors to share their experiences. Levenson thought there was no better time to begin speaking. “The feeling that I always had is you’re doomed to repeat history if you don’t learn from it,” Levenson said. “When we have a moment of silence at work, if you don’t know why we’re doing that, then it doesn’t matter. I heard in the news recently that they’re considering not having a security check-in (at the airport) because it’s not convenient to everybody, and that the lines are too long. Why do you think that is? If you don’t know what happened in the first place, you’re making a very uninformed decision on why to take it away.” He recalls the day he got off his train at Fulton Street near the World Trade Center, hoping to take the path to Jersey City, when everything changed instantaneously. “I got to my stop,” Levenson said who was working for Merrill Lynch at the time.“We all walked out of the subway, and everything was kind of in commotion. And I was coming out of the subway. I didn’t make it to the World Trade Center yet. But If I had gotten on the subway before the one I got, I would have been in the World Trade Center.” “We didn’t know what was going on,” Levenson later added. “It was nothing that you could ever compare this to. And from the angle, we just saw the smoke and fire.” The realization of the horrors he and the other commuters were seeing soon dawned on him. “I started seeing people fall and jump, so as I’m looking up, as we’re all looking up and looking at the fire, there were thousands of pieces of paper flying in the sky, and it was hard to tell the difference how high up they were whether that was paper or a person?” he said. ”You couldn’t tell.” Though Levenson, 53, was only in his 20s at the time, the terror of the attack and of what he saw remain with him today. However, he also remembers the unity of the country in the days and months immediately after that tragic day. He recalls the beautiful commercials appearing on the television nightly of every home in the United States having a flag attached, letting us and other countries know that we were not divided, but one people, all together in this. The spirit of patriotism and respect for one another stood out for him. More specifically on that day, he recalls people of different races and religions helping one another, regardless of their differences. “Everybody was helping everybody,” he said. That’s why Levenson, who now works for Morgan Stanley, continues speaking about Sept. 11. He worries that the unity and patriotism Americans showed afterward are fading. “I was there. I will never forget 9/11 any day,” Levenson said. “I don’t need an anniversary of 9/11 to never forget. What I’m worried about is that people say never forget, but they forget 364 days of the year except one and then move on.” The New Jersey native, even 25 years ago, was aware that memories could fade with time, so he wrote an essay for himself months after so he can always be reminded of the sights, smells, and raw emotions experienced during that day. “Besides the visual sensory, it was the smell,” he said. “You can’t mimic it. It was the smell of burning rubber. It was the smell of burning bodies. I still smell it when I see pictures of the twin towers falling. I smell it more than I see it, and that’s something that’s hard to explain.” For Levenson, he will keep sharing his story so the lessons of that tragic day are not lost on today’s children. He hopes that the patriotism that rallied the country 25 years ago is still present today. The memories of that day were of course not just a lesson for others, but for himself as well. He takes time these days to enjoy the small things in life like noticing dandelions sprouting after a brief winter thaw in the middle of January, and more importantly, the people he surrounds himself with like his wife and daughter. “You realize what’s important and what the priorities are, and I will never forget that.”
National Night Out 2026
The Mount Olive Township Police Department is happy to announce another successful National night Out! We estimated over 2000 residents and neighbors were in attendance. The night was filled with fun activities including pony and hot air balloon rides, inflatables, cute adoptable puppies and dogs to cuddle, amazing music, and of course the fireworks! Thirty of our officers were in attendance ensuring that the event was a safe and fun filled event. There was a shared sense of friendship and community felt by all. We look forward to what next year’s event will bring!