Reverend Norm Erlendson

On February 4^th, we welcomed our new minister, Pastor Norm Erlendson, to the pulpit at Third Congregational Church. Pastor Norm, and his wife Barbara, come to us from Snohomish, Washington, where he served as minister of the Maltby Congregational Church since 1990. He was actively involved in the Pacific Northwest Association of Congregational Churches, the Interfaith Association of Snohomish County, the Maltby Community Food Bank and served as Chaplain of the Snohomish County Fire District #7 since 1998.

He graduated from the University of Washington (1971), did graduate work at Regent College in Vancouver, BC and earned a Masters Degree in Christian Ethics at New College in Berkeley, CA in 1988. He was ordained at Maltby Congregational Church in 1990.

He and his wife of 8 years, Barbara, enjoy cooking, reading, studying, traveling and dancing. They also like to discover museums, baseball and spend time with their families and friends. They each have 2 adult children from previous marriages. Though none of the children live with them, they were supportive of their move to Connecticut and to Third Church.

Pastor Norm is committed to the Congregational Way, has a common sense approach to scripture and has a kind and gentle way about him. He enjoys the calling of pastoral ministry, especially teaching and preaching, as well as making pastoral calls. In a brief statement to the Search Committee, he wrote, "I bring academic excellence, practical application, personal faith commitment, enthusiasm and good humor to my Bible studies and sermons."