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   Rev. Paul N. Svingen, former Intentional Interim Pastor at Salem Lutheran Church, will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of his Ordination into the Ministry of the ALC/ELCA. The public is invited to the 9:30 a.m. Celebration Service at Zion Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, MN., on Sunday, July 27, 2025. Rev. Paul was ordained on July 27th, 1975, at Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church in South Minneapolis, the site of his first Call. 

   Over the course of five decades, Pr. Paul has served 40 ELCA congre-gations across ten states as Intentional Interim Pastor and Transition Consultant. Over a period of 32 years, he led the professional training ministry for Intentional Interim Pastors at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota. Over those years more than 1,000 pastors participated in the leadership training offered through The National Association of Lutheran Interim Pastors (which Pr. Paul co-founded) and the Ecumenical Interim Ministry Network. Paul served the ecumenical community in major leadership and training roles through the Interim Ministry Network, Baltimore, Maryland, for 20 years.  

   Pastor Svingen’s congregations served included: Newport Beach, CA; Lake Oswego, OR; Ann Arbor, MI; Lincoln, Neb.; Fargo, N.D.; Sioux Falls and Aberdeen, S.D.; Madison, Appleton, River Falls, New Richmond, Roberts, Mosinee, and Hudson, WI.; Dixon, Ill.; Cedar Falls and Ankeny, Iowa; Cherry Hills Village, CO; and Minnesota congregations in Duluth, Grand Rapids, Edina, Richfield, Minnetonka, Long Lake, Mounds View, Dodge Center, Crookston, Stillwater, Bemidji, Chisago City, and several others within the Cities of Minneapolis and St, Paul. 

   Asked if he ever wanted to serve a long-term call, Paul said. “I had one call from the Lord to serve his congregations experiencing pastoral leadership change. That was, is, and remains my call to serve as an ordained pastor”. Having received his Master of Divinity Degree in 1975 and his Doctor of Ministry Degree from Luther Seminary in 1990, he authored the thesis “Intentional Interim Ministry” in/for the people of Christ’s Church. The 50-year ministry journey bore out the truths of the assumptions offered in the doctoral thesis.  

   Paul said, “Asked by numerous folks when I would be retiring, my standard answer is best contained in the wise response of an anonymous writer:” “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body; But rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, - and loudly proclaiming: “WOW, What a ride!”

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