The Seminary Explores

Pastor William Sowers received the Lifetime in Ministry Award from United Lutheran Seminary. He talks about the process of attending seminary and what factors informed him of his final decision to attend. Much of his years in ministry focused on social issues or social ministry. Pastor Sowers shared parts of his ministerial life.  He organized and developed the first CROP walk, studied Family Therapy, worked for Tressler Lutheran Services, and developed the program for families of gay children. He is thankful for the award and his years in ministry.

Dr. Warren Eshbach is the recipient of the United Lutheran Seminary, Called to Lead – Excellence in Parish Ministry Award from the Alumni/ai Association. He talks about his Lutheran educational history although he is a member of the Church of the Brethren. He recalls his theological studies on the Gettysburg campus and their importance as he continued in ministry over the years. He emphasizes the importance of theology in helping one to think critically. Eshbach life in ministry included: parish pastor, District Executive Minister, and adjunct faculty member. For anyone contemplating ministry, he advises them to learn to listen; try to understand “the other.”

The Rev. Dr. James Cobb reflects on his 50 years of ordained ministry. He describes the congregations to which he had been called along with their significant contributions to ministry. Many of the years in the pastorate he shared as co-pastor with his wife, Pastor Judy Cobb. While he has been centered in parish ministry, he shares his involvement in the life of the church beyond the congregations such as a member the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In addition, he published several books which developed out of his life in the parish. Cobb goes on to describe the changes and challenges he has observed over the years in parish ministry. Although he is retired, Cobb shares his continued involvement in ministry through volunteer activities, interims, and supply preaching.

This episode of The Seminary Explores features Pastor Ed Smith, the recipient of the Called to Lead – Excellence in Ministry Award by the Alumni Association of United Lutheran Seminary. Ed shared his various areas of ministry after graduating from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg.

While a pastor in the Pocono area of Pennsylvania, he developed a ski ministry. After a few years, he received a call to a parish in Colorado where he participated in the beginning years of Habitat for Humanity and worked with former President Carter. That involvement led him to similar building projects in Nicaragua amid the political strife there in the 1980s. For over 30 years, Ed was also a chaplain for the Loveland, Colorado police department.

Throughout his years of involvement in activities beyond the congregations, he shared the important support of congregational members. His advice to women and men involved in pastoral ministry is to visit, love, and respect the gifts of the people you are called to serve.

Lent 2021 also marks a full year of COVID-19 in this country. The Seminary Explores speaks with author Rev. Andrew Taylor-Troutman, pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina about his forthcoming book, what it was like to be a “Poll Chaplain” and writing for your audience. Taylor-Troutman holds an M.Div. from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia and an M.A.R. from the University of Virginia. His articles, essays and poems have appeared in Sojourners, Mockingbird, Ruminate, Bearings Online, The Chatham News Record and elsewhere. His books include Take My Hand: A Theological Memoir, Gently Between the Words: Stories and Poems, Earning Innocence and Parables of Parenthood: Interpreting the Gospels with Family.

Rev. Peter Kuhn, Director of Spiritual Care and Education, WellSpan Health joins The Seminary Explores for a conversation about spiritual care in some of South Central Pennsylvania’s hospitals. Like all hospital departments right now they are rapidly adapting to how they provide care and education in changing circumstances. Kuhn is an ACPE Clinical Educator and a Board Certified Chaplain. He studied Theology at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. His Supervisor training is from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Award-winning, classically-trained sculptor Sarah Hempel Irani opens her studio for a conversation with Katy Giebenhain from Seminary Ridge Review. She specializes in sacred art and portraiture and works in clay, plaster, bronze, and marble. She has stood at the chalk “x” marking the spot where Michelangelo stood when selecting Carrara marble. Hempel Irani works from live models with oil-based clay and armatures. She studied Fine Art and Classical Studies at Hillsdale College with sculptor Anthony Frudakis and was apprenticed to Jay Hall Carpenter, former Artist-in-Residence at the Washington National Cathedral. Her M.A. in Humanities is from Hood College Graduate School, with a concentration in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. 

In this episode Dr. Largen chats with Jono Adams, Seminary student and volunteer firefighter.  They discuss his sense of calling as a member of the Gettysburg Volunteer Fire Department, and how that enhances and expands his calling to public ministry.

Former Gettysburg Seminary student Ivan Belanji discusses the Lutheran church in Serbia and Slovakia, and describes his study at the seminary in Bratislava.

Jay Eckman, a second year student at Gettysburg Seminary, talks about his involvement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 2015 Youth Gathering in Detroit.  He explores the importance of the Youth Gathering for the life of the church as well as the importance of the gathering for his own preparation for pastoral ministry.