Norman A. Hjelm, pastor, Christian theologian, writer, editor, and educator, has died at 92
An expert on poetry and Lutheran philosophy, he studied theology and English at Princeton, and championed a global union of Christian churches.
Norman A. Hjelm, 92, of Wynnewood, Lutheran pastor, Christian theologian, writer, senior editor, and educator, died Tuesday, Feb. 13, of respiratory failure at Lankenau Medical Center.
The son of a Lutheran pastor, the Rev. Hjelm was an energetic intellectual who combined religious scholarship, leadership, education, and writing into a never-ending career that featured consequential positions in Philadelphia, New York, Cleveland, Switzerland, Sweden, and elsewhere in the United States. He championed the union of Christian churches around the world, attended global assemblies in Brazil and China, and said in a 2003 sermon that the unity of all people is “a goal to be cherished.”
He was drawn to the work of both theologians and poets. So he read deeply the religious writings of Gustaf Aulen and Reinhold Niebuhr, and called his senior thesis at Princeton University “Theological Reflections on T.S. Eliot and W.H. Auden.”
He was quoted about a variety of religious matters in The Inquirer, Daily News, and other publications, and wrote dozens of papers, essays, and book chapters about global Christianity, the church’s role in the Cold War, and countless other topics. His life’s work, his family said in a tribute, “reflects his faith and a career devoted to Christian theology.”
Rev. Hjelm moved to Philadelphia from Illinois in 1962 to become theological editor, senior editor, and director at Fortress Press in Germantown, and he edited and published early works by Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann, civil rights leader Coretta Scott King, and other notable authors. He left for five years in 1985 to work for the Lutheran World Federation in Geneva, Switzerland, as director of communications and then acting deputy general secretary for planning and acting.
He returned to the United States in 1991 and was director of the Commission on Faith and Order for the National Council of the Churches of Christ in New York until 1996. After that, he coordinated continuing education programs for parish priests at Lutheran seminaries in Philadelphia and St. Paul, Minn., and for the Church of Sweden.
Most recently, he had been an editorial consultant and series editor for several publishers. “Retirement held little interest for Norman,” his family said in a tribute.
Rev. Hjelm earned religious degrees at Augustana Theological Seminary in Illinois and Union Theological Seminary in New York, and he received an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University in Sweden. He was ordained in 1960 into what became the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and served for two years as pastor at All Saints Lutheran Church in Orland Park, Ill.
He also preached later at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral and the Church of St. Asaph, and was one-time president of the Lutheran Student Association of America and the Philadelphia Publishers Group. He was chairman of the United Student Christian Council of America in 1955 and a member of many boards and societies.
“It was my great joy and honor to work with Norman directly for many years and on many projects,” a colleague at the Lutheran World Federation said in an online tribute. “Norman was always a great influence and encourager in my work. … He was an extraordinary companion.”
Norman Arthur Hjelm was born Nov. 20, 1931, in Worcester, Mass., and moved later with his family to Washington. He earned a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and English at Princeton in 1953, bachelor’s degree of divinity at Augustana in 1957, master’s degree in sacred theology at Union in 1960, and honorary doctorate from Uppsala in 2009.
He met Ingalill Hellman on a transatlantic voyage from New York to Sweden, and they married in 1957, and had sons Krister and Lars, and daughter Maria. They lived in Sweden, Switzerland, Illinois, and Ohio over the years, and moved to Havertown in 1962 and later to Bala Cynwyd and Wynnewood. His wife died in 2006.
Rev. Hjelm was an engaging conversationalist and often talked more than he ate at the dinner table, his family said. He was active in Democratic Party politics and the civil rights movement, and attended the March on Washington in 1963. He played piano, enjoyed classical music, and had season tickets for years to the Philadelphia Orchestra.
He was a lifelong baseball and football fan, and he followed the teams in Washington as a boy, and later rooted for the Phillies, Eagles, and 76ers. Somehow, he could recall tiny details of long-ago sports events and amaze his family by reading and speaking backward.
He was also as kind as he was smart, his children said. His son Lars said: “He was extra kind.”
His daughter said. “He was so sweet. He loved people and was amazing at finding the goodness in others.”
In addition to his children, Rev. Hjelm is survived by 11 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and other relatives. A sister and a brother died earlier.
Services are to be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 19 S. 38th St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19104.
Donations in his name may be made to the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral Table Ministries, 3717 Chestnut St., Suite 200, Philadelphia, Pa. 19104.