Pastor Saurman Message on Marty

“Being a Lutheran congregation we wanted to get a bear and decided we would make it a Lutheran bear. So we had the bear designed to appear and look like and represent Martin Luther the father of the Protestant Reformation back in 1517. The name of our bear is Marty.”

Bear Tradition in New Bern

Bears hold a special significance in New Bern, North Carolina, as they are deeply rooted in the city's history, culture, and community spirit.

In 1710, New Bern was founded by a group of settlers from Bern, Switzerland which was a city named after the first animal a group of hunters first came upon -- a bear.

New Bern adopted the animal as a mascot and placed about 58 fiberglass, ceramic bears throughout the city during its 300th anniversary in 2010.