The Seminary Explores

Writer and community advocate Will Lane joins Katy Giebenhain for a conversation about the questions we ask ourselves in complex times, especially in a place like Gettysburg.  

Lane is the author of 5 poetry collections: Moonlight Standing in as Cordelia, Elegy for Virginia Redding, In the Barn of God, Trust Rust, and Kin. As an undergraduate he studied Classical Greek at Gettysburg College. For over a decade he worked in the building trade before earning an MA from the Graduate Institute at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. He taught for many years in the English and Environmental Studies Department at Gettysburg College. Lane currently serves on the St. James Lutheran Church Council and is integral to Adams County organizations such as the long-running Green Gettysburg Book Club and Democracy for America (DFA). One of the founders of the Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice and Project Gettysburg Leon (the town’s sister city in Nicaragua), he lives in Adams County with his wife and partner in Democracy, Anne.

A downloadable transcript was generated using otter.AI.

NOTE (2026-08-10 14:49): We discovered an error in the uploaded file and have uploaded a corrected version. The transcript may have a gap in the transcription and will be updated once we are able to do so.

NOTE (2026-08-12 11:42): Transcript file has been updated.

Dr. Richard Perry, Prof. Emeritus of Church and Society, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and Dr. James Thomas, retired Prof. of Church and Ministry, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary Lenoir-Rhyne University discuss the life and ministry of Dr. William Herzfeld.

Dr Herzfeld was the first African American to be presiding bishop of a Lutheran denomination in the United States. They discussed his years as parish pastor, Civil Rights leader(worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Southern Christian Leadership Conference), bishop of the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and executive position in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. They also describe him as a synthesizer, nurturer, liberator, and community builder who showed his faith. In his life and with his organizational skills, he created space for Black Lutherans. He had a commitment to the global church. They both conclude that his life and ministry continues to inspire them and their work.

Bishop Herzfeld photo: https://coslutheran.org/bishop-will-herzfeld-1937-2002/

Dr. Jon Pahl, Professor of the History of Christianity, United Lutheran Seminary discusses his thoughts on the top stories in religion for 2025. He covers both national and international areas including interreligious peacebuilding in the global village, the changing dynamics of civil religion, the election of Pope Leo, the rise of misogyny, the GAZA protests, and the Epstein scandal. While some of the issues discussed and described are difficult and painful to hear, Dr. Pahl counters them with words of hope as we embark on 2026.

Dr. Mark Tyler, Historiographer of the AME Church, and the Inaugural Daniel A. Payne Lecturer, highlights the life and work of Daniel A. Payne and the importance of his years at Gettysburg Seminary.

He emphasizes the importance of and the role that education exhibited in Payne’s life as an African American intellectual in the 19^th century. Tyler also discusses Payne work as the first  historiographer of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; he (Tyler) is the 15^th person to hold that position. While a true intellectual, Tyler notes the fact that Payne’s life emphasized the use of Head and Heart in ministry. The intellect and the emotional commitment are inseparable; they inform one another.

Dr. Tyler's full lecture can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n6aoWutn20

Dr. Mark Tyler

Thumbnail image source: By C M Bell - https://www.loc.gov/item/2016690322/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103021368 

Tom Jolin, a folk musician, introduces this episode by sharing his love of folk music that developed in the 50s and 60s in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. Using a dulcimer, banjo or accordion, he then describes a brief history of each of the songs or melodies for the listeners.

This segment includes: “Love from the Heart/Marching Through GA by Henry Clay Work whose father spend three years in jail for abolition work; “No More Auction Block for Me” by the 1^st South Carolina Volunteers. This was the first authorized Black regiment with Black men coming from South Carolina and Florida; “Deportee” (Crash at Los Gago Canyon) by Woody Guthrie tells the story of migrants who were deported from California and the plane crashed in 1948. These and the other songs/melodies are significant for what we are experiencing today.

Recorded at the Adult Discussion Class at St. James Lutheran Church, this episode is centered on the career of Kristin Rice who recently retired as the Chief Public Defender of Adams County in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. She  defined and described the role of the Public Defender’s Office: the type of cases the office  must take, the unique structure of the Pennsylvania Public Defenders Office, and the caseloads of the lawyers in the office (from DUI and immigration to death row). Listeners will be privy to two cases that illustrate the work of the Public Defender’s Office and highlights her 21 years as the county’s chief Public Defender.

Dr. Russell Dalton, Professor of Religious Education, Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas, discussed his interest and research in social justice in preparation for a forthcoming book. He shared that his motivation for this research came from the lack of religious education addressing social justice praxis.

In general, religious education may advocate for social justice but not give congregational members the practical tools for addressing social justice in their respective locations. As a model, he has used the educational method of the Freedom Riders of the Civil Rights period in presentations on social justice as well as the of Jim Lawson workshops in Nashville. Both require critical reflection on what participants anticipate happening in their actions It is important for people to know the risks in social justice work and to trust their fellow co-participants in the work. At the conclusion of the conversation, Dalton gives some practical ideas that congregations can use to equip themselves to work on social justice.

As a college student, Dr. David Crowner a Professor Emeritus at Gettysburg College, participated in the March on Washington in 1963. There were busloads of people who attended the peaceful demonstration. However, that was not the beginning of his interest in social action. His father who was a pastor, shared his work in Hispanic communities on Sunday afternoons with David. This experience helped make him aware of differences in how people lived. Dave also discussed his involvement with CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) and SNCC (Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee). Those seminal experiences helped to continue his interest in social action  throughout his adult life. Dave emphasized the importance of social involvement to changing one’s worldview and encourages young people to continue to be involved in social action.

March On Washington 1963 (Trikosko, Marion S., photographer)

The YWCA in Gettysburg has a special relationship to United Lutheran Seminary. Its main facility has been located on the grounds of the Seminary’s Gettysburg campus since 1981.Gretchen Stuempfle and The Rev. Herman Stuempfle, Jr. (then president of the Seminary) proposed the site in the late 1970’s when the nonprofit was looking to expand. Two faculty members currently serve on its board of directors.

Just before the July 4th weekend The Seminary Explores caught up with the newest Executive Director of the YWCA Gettysburg & Adams County. Dotty Dalphon has her first year behind her, and what a year it has been! Leading a nonprofit with the broad scope of this particular YWCA’s offerings through a pandemic outbreak and a household move across state lines have made for a whirlwind of a welcome to Adams County. She’s pictured here with her daughter who completed her first half-marathon in Gettysburg.

Award-winning vocalist, writer and multi-genre performing artist Queen Esther joins Katy Giebenhain for a conversation about her developing one person show and what’s been visible and not visible in her first impressions of Gettysburg. A winter artist-in-residence at the Gettysburg National Military Park, Queen Esther is based in New York City. Jazz, Blues, Black Americana, alt-rock, swing, gospel and beyond – these are the musical waters she swims in. Among her extensive collaborations is the avant-blues duo Hoosegow she formed with guitarist Elliott Sharp. Blues Matters Magazine calls her “… modern, yet not flashy while holding true to herself with firmness and a forthright approach and style.”

Many thanks to our host site for this interview, Waldo’s and Co. on the Square in Gettysburg.  The Artist-in-Residence program is made possible by the Gettysburg Foundation and The National Park Arts Foundation, with support from the National Park Service.

Special thanks also to The Seminary Ridge Museum.