Staff
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Dr. Jeremy Mims
Director of Music Ministries
Email: music@gracerockhill.com
Dr. Jeremy Mims grew up in Texas and moved to Rock Hill in 2017 for a faculty position in the music department at Winthrop University, where he is the Director of Choral Activities. Jeremy earned his Doctorate in Musical Arts in Conducting at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music & Dance and has served as musical director, chorus master, and accompanist of shows for various professional, collegiate and local theatres and opera companies. A musician of multiple talents and diversity, Jeremy has appeared on national and international concert and opera stages as a conductor, collaborative pianist, violinist, and a tenor chorister. Under Jeremy’s leadership, the music program at Grace is thriving. Jeremy and his husband, Craig, live in Rock Hill.
Katherine Romero
Parish Administrator
Email: parishadmin@gracerockhill.com
Katherine has been working with us since 2023 and we are thrilled to have her as part of the Grace team!
The Rev. Dr. Norbert Hahn
Campus Minister for Winthrop Ecumenical Lutheran Campus Ministry (WELCM)
Email: cm@welcm.org
Pastor Hahn, as he likes to be called, was born and raised in what formerly was West Germany. His educational journey began in Germany where he earned a B.S. equivalent in Physics and German Literature and a Master of Theology equivalent. He continued his education at Harvard University where he earned a Master of Divinity and Emory University where he completed a Ph.D. in Theology and Psychology. His dissertation focused on how congregations foster or inhibit the faith development of their members and friends.
While at Harvard University, he fell in love with the Lutheran Church in America and felt God’s call to ordained ministry in the LCA, a predecessor body of the ELCA. Since his ordination he has served congregations in Georgia, North Carolina, and, most recently, Pennsylvania. His ministry included campus ministry at three different universities, developing German-speaking congregations in Atlanta and Charlotte, serving two tours as Conference Dean in Northeast Philadelphia as well as two terms as president of an international network of German-speaking congregations. Before coming to Grace and WELCM he spent three months on a mission trip in Germany. In a previous chapter of his ministry, Pastor Hahn was trained and served as a church growth consultant.
For a while, he kept one foot in academia through teaching, publishing, and translations of academic works both from German into English and from English into German. His field of studies in graduate school was Faith Development where he worked with the pioneer of that field, the late Prof. James Fowler.
Although trained as an amateur church musician on the French horn, he eventually learned to play electric guitar and bass which led to his founding of Christian worship bands, mostly with other Lutheran pastors. After he has rebuilt the calluses on his fingers, he is willing to play guitar for the campus ministry, if necessary.
Pastor Hahn is married to Lyn who grew up in Rock Hill and his happy to return to the South. Together they enjoy gardening, taking walks, cooking, and repairing and updating the house of Lyn’s late mother where they now reside. They serve as staff to two cats, Lulu and Inky Poe.
Pastor Hahn can be also be reached at 704.425-2614.
The Rev. Dr. Jan Setzler
Interim Pastor
Email: jansetzler@gmail.com
Pastor Setzler is a native of Kingstree, South Carolina. He is a graduate of Presbyterian College, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
Throughout his ministry, he has served congregations in Clinton, South Carolina; Trenton, New Jersey; Columbia, South Carolina; and Greenwood, South Carolina. He also served on the faculty and staff of Newberry College for 14 years, concluding his time there as Dean of the College and Vice President for Academic Affairs before returning to parish ministry.
Pastor Setzler retired after 40 years of rostered ministry in the church and 27 years of active and reserve service as an Army Chaplain (Colonel). From 2010 to 2024, he traveled throughout the Southeastern United States as part of the NovusWay Development staff and has also served several interim ministries.
He is married to Deacon Staci G. Setzler, a trauma nurse, and is the father of two sons, six grandchildren, and three stepchildren.
Church History
Grace Lutheran Church was founded in 1923 to serve Lutheran students at Winthrop College. The gray stone church on Oakland Avenue cost $38,000 to build and opened its door on May 2, 1926. The first pastor was H.A. Schroder. For two decades, Winthrop students and local community members each made up half the congregation. The congregation acquired a parsonage in 1954 and later purchased a house adjacent to the church. In 1955, the congregation painted the doors red to symbolize "Blood of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit." The red doors continued to be a landmark for the town and a welcome to all those who wished to worship within. In 1963, the year Grace Church celebrated its 40th anniversary, there were 238 baptized members and 158 confirmed members. Extensive exterior and interior renovations were done in 1968. The congregation installed a Zimmer pipe organ in 1975 and purchased more surrounding property in 1979. In 1987, a second Sunday morning service was added, a handicap ramp was installed, and handbells were purchased for the music program. In 1989 property for increased parking was purchased, and in 1998 the house behind the church on Aiken Avenue was given to the congregation. Known as the "White House," it currently serves as our campus ministry center. During the 2002 renovations, the church's original sanctuary, seating 230 people, was enhanced with a new chancel arrangement and a magnificent pipe organ. At that time 14,000 square feet of new space, including a fellowship hall, was added to the existing building. In 2013 the congregation purchased "A Place of Grace," an adjacent building that now houses a variety of local non-profit agencies.
Detailed church history from 1923 to 1998 is available here. (Written by Naomi Bridges and Martha Seigler) For additional information, consult History Matters, Congregational Histories 1824-2017, published by the South Carolina Synod in 2017.
Pastoral Leadership
H.A. Schroder, 1923-31
C.B. Caughman, 1931-33
J.W. Roof, 1934-38
H.S. Petrea, 1938-54
Everett Lineberger, 1954-58
C.J. Shealy, Jr., 1959-69
John Ebenezer Boyd, Jr. 1970-75
Hollis A. Miller, 1976-81
Rufus E. Lybrand, Jr., 1982-88
Guy Shealy, Interim, 1988
William Cobb, 1989-90
Carveth Mitchell, Interim, 1990
A. Glenn Boland, 1991-95
Gary Lyerly, Interim, 1996
E. Ray Mohrmann, 1996-2010
Linda Anderson, Interim, 2010-2011
Christine Stoxen, 2011-2017
David Ludwig, 2013-2015
Rebecca Lord-Phillips, 2015-2018
Ken Gillikin, Interim, August 2017-August 2018
Scottie Burkhalter, Interim, September-December, 2018
Gregg Hoffman, December 2018 - June 2025
Rachel Hoffman, December 2018 - June 2025
Jan Setzler, Interim, February 2026 - present