Concord, NC

Pastor Hahn's Thoughts...

From our Interim Pastor,
The Reverend Dr. Norbert F. Hahn:

My dear Calvary church family,

Who is Gricor F. Seragen? If you have participated in worship in the building or online during the past two weeks, you know who he is: Calvary's "purpose porpoise."
What is a "purpose porpoise"? I like to think of Gricor, our "purpose porpoise," as being similar to how I saw a "totem animal" described: "a totem animal is a spirit being or symbol that represents a group of people, such as a family, clan, or tribe, often believed to provide guidance and protection. Each totem animal is associated with specific qualities and characteristics that reflect the values and heritage of the group it represents."

In other words, Gricor F. Seragen, Calvary's "purpose porpoise" is a symbol that provides guidance to the Calvary congregation by reflecting Calvary's values, vision, and mission. It's also a quick and helpful summary of what Calvary is all about.
I am reminded here of "Smokey, the Bear" and "Tony, the Tiger," to mention just two examples. You can probably think of others examples where a particular symbol serves as a shorthand connection to a cause, product, or company.

How does Gricor F. Seragen, Calvary's "purpose porpoise," accomplish this? It's his name; specifically, the meaning of his name: Gricor = Growing in Compassionate Relationships, F = Faith, Seragen = Service and Generosity. In other words, Gricor F. Seragen encapsulates Calvary's mission: "Growing in Compassionate Relationship, Faith, Service, and Generosity."

Of course, Gricor is not replacing the ultimate symbol at the heart of Calvary: the cross of Christ, but serves in a complementary fashion.

God's Peace,

Pastor Hahn
InterimPastor@CLConcord.org






The other book is "The Love Languages of God," also penned by Gary Chapman. (This one may be out of print but can be obtained used from Ebay or Goodreads.

Clearly, there is too much material in these two volumes for just one day. But maybe Valentine's Day can be the starting day for a journey of discovering the human and spiritual wisdom contained in these two books. Perhaps your relationship with your significant other and with God will receive a nice boost. And, as they say, that's not nothing!

God's Peace,
Pastor Hahn

P.S.: Please keep turning in your spiritual gift assessments! Put them in my mail box in the workroom or hand them to me on Sunday. Thanks in advance!

On Sunday, August 4th, Pastor Hahn began serving Calvary as our interim pastor.

The Rev. Dr. Norbert Hahn—who likes to be called “Pastor Hahn”—brings an international perspective with him as he has been educated, lived, and served in both the United States and Germany.

He completed his graduate education at the University of Muenster in Germany (Master of Theological Studies), Harvard University (Master of Divinity), and Emory University (PhD in Theology and Psychology). In addition, he has been trained as a church coach, a church growth consultant, and an intentional interim pastor.

He has served as parish pastor in Georgia, North Carolina (including twelve years here in Concord), Pennsylvania and Northern Germany and as campus minister at three different universities in the U.S.

Pastor Hahn will be serving as Calvary’s interim pastor on a part-time basis while continuing to serve as part-time Lutheran campus minister at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC.
He enjoys walking, cooking, and gardening with his wife, Lyn, playing his guitar, reading, and, occasionally, binge-watching an interesting TV series.

He and Lyn serve as staff to their cat, Lulu.