The Seminary Explores

Dr. Grafton, Academic Dean and Professor of Christian and Islamic Studies, Hartford Seminary, discusses his newest book which he edited, More Than a Cup of Coffee and Tea which was published this year. The book explores some of the important documents and themes that have emerged over the years in the area of Christian-Muslim relations. The book is accessible to both church leaders and laypersons. The global perspective of the book highlights programs and experiences around the world where Lutherans and other Christians encounter and build on the experiences of their Muslim neighbors. In his reflections on seminaries and Muslim issues, Grafton was enthusiastic about the number of seminaries who are including Islamic studies in their courses of studies. He feels that such additions to the curriculum help rostered church leaders to educate congregational members against Islamophobia.

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)

Mark S. Burrows joins The Seminary Explores to talk about his recent teaching on wonder and its significance in a pandemic – with some Mary Oliver and Rachel Carson in the mix. Burrows has taught at graduate theological schools in the U.S. and Europe, most recently The Protestant University of Applied Sciences in Bochum, Germany. His Ph.D. and M.Div. are from Princeton Theological Seminary. An historian of medieval Christianity, his research and writing have focused on those creative minds among the mystics, visionaries, and poets who often found themselves living and working at the margins of Christianity.

This podcast was the final Seminary Explores program with Dr. Gerald Christianson who announced his retirement after 44 years of being a host of the program. He discussed the goal of the program, the types of interviewees the program sought to interview, and the theological underpinnings which guided the program.

He also talked about the justice issues he wish he had pursued. In addition, he recalled excitement on doing live shows in which an adult Sunday school class would observe the interview and then be able to ask the guest speaker questions following the recording. The podcast ended with him signing off for the last time. (Or is it?)

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.

Seven years ago, Phoebe Doscher and her family experienced the shooting in Sandy Hook first hand. Phoebe’s younger sister attended elementary school there. Fortunately, she survived, but twenty other children and seven adults did not. When Phoebe arrived at Gettysburg College, the emotional impact of this experience came rushing back, and she resolved to respond by founding a chapter of Students Demand Action. Her top priority is “to get a conversation going” so that all sides can understand the need to take sensible steps--not the removal of all guns, but universal background checks and restrictions on automatic, military-style weapons.

Pastor Andrew Geib, Associate Pastor, St. James Lutheran Church in Gettysburg, identified nine top stories in religion for the year 2019: ELCA Church Sanctuary issue, United Methodist possible split, Women in the Church, Collapse of Christianity, the burning of Notre Dame in Paris, and more. While the stories were mostly grim, he ends with word of hope for listeners.

Ukraine is more than a late-night punchline or a pawn in U.S. domestic politics.  It is a country rich in resources and history.  Dennis Carter, recently retired career foreign service officer after 38 years in the Department of State, including postings in Kuwait, Peru, France, Jordan, the United Kingdom, and Grenada takes deep into the the history and the importance of Ukraine on the world stage.  Strategically, it abuts western Russia. Other nations have coveted its territory for centuries because it is the “breadbasket of Europe, has rich mineral resources, and lately, technology. In recent years Ukraine has had to resist Russian incursions, especially a take-over of Crimea and threats to the Donbass region.

Also listen to our 2014 interview with Ambassador Lawrence Taylor on the conflict in Ukraine.

Dr. Christian B. Keller, Professor of History and General Dwight D. Eisenhower Chair of National Security, Department of National Security and Strategy, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, PA, and author of The Great Partnership: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and the Fate of the Confederacy, argues that the Christian connection between Lee and Jackson was a significant glue that bonded the two generals’ friendship, and this in turn supported their strong professional relationship. Although one was Episcopal and the other a Presbyterian, they were both firm believers in Divine Providence, and as evangelical providentialists, were not that different from many Americans of that era.

Dr. Susann Samples, Professor of Foreign Languages at Mt. St. Mary’s University, discusses her Delaplaine Seminar professorship at Mount St. Mary’s University. The professorship’s faculty seminar centered on “The Black Diaspora in Europe” with the goal of introducing this topic to a wider audience and to begin the process of “decolonizing” the curriculum.

In this conversation she explores the historical background and readings relevant to the study of the African Diaspora in Europe. She also discusses the importance of the seminar for a Catholic University and the desired outcomes of the seminar.