The Seminary Explores

Dr. Janet Powers, Professor Emerita of Interdisciplinary and Women's Studies specializing in Indian religion and literature at Gettysburg College joins Katy Giebenhain for a conversation about her book Kites Over the Mango Tree: Restoring Harmony Between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat. Powers is a certified conflict resolution mediator and has worked with women's peace-building organizations in India, Palestine, Israel, Haiti, South Africa, and Estonia. Her PhD is from University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has received many awards including a Peacemaker of the Year Award from the Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice, the inaugural Outstanding Contribution Award by Gettysburg Connection for Mediation Services of Adams County, and a YWCA Gettysburg Adams County Callie Award. Powers is the author of scholarly articles and poems as well as three books. You can also hear Dr. Powers speak about her experience of being a woman in academia on the Tell Us A Story podcast.

Jane Nutter, the President of the Gettysburg Black History Museum, talks about the development of the museum. She emphasizes the fact that the museum goes beyond the presence of African Americans in Gettysburg during the Civil War. The museum highlights the Blacks in Gettysburg before, during, and after the War. She notes that the museum contains artifacts from various individuals and families of color including photographs, furniture, and documents. The community was enthusiastic to contribute to the collection. In a sense, due to segregation, the Black community established its own vibrant society and community life  that included its own American Legion, the Elks, and community events.

On this episode of the Seminary Explores Prue Yelinek discusses research on her familial roots which date back to 1754. Her discussion combined the history of her family in relation to the history of the Church of the Brethren in the Shenandoah Valley. That history is intertwined with the events of the Civil War in that area. Yelinek shared the surprises she found in her research as well as the published articles that emerged from her research on family members during the Civil War, “Colonel John Francis Neff – Dunker Rebel, Son of the Shenandoah” and “Uncle John Bowman’s and his Uncle Sam and Their Families are Going to Ohio”: Sheridan’s Refugee Wagon Train,” both published in the Journal of the Shenandoah Valley During the Civil War Era. At the conclusion of the interview she shared her advice to others who are interested in doing genealogical research.

Ann Bracken's book Crash: A Memoir of Overmedication and Recovery, explores mother-daughter experiences of mismanaged care for depression and chronic pain. A co-host for the Wilde Readings Poetry Series, Bracken is a contributing editor for Little Patuxent Review. Her poetry, essays, and interviews have appeared in numerous anthologies and journals. She is a correspondent for the Justice Arts Coalition, exchanging letters with incarcerated people to foster their use of the arts. Bracken holds a B.A. in Speech Pathology and Audiology from Towson University and an M.S.Ed. in Communication and Learning Disorders from Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Richard Perry, Professor emeritus of Church and Society and Urban Ministry Program, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago discussed the formation and history of the Conference of International Black Lutherans or CIBL. From the beginning, CIBL was and continues to be  dedicated to the  research, study, and examination of Lutheran theology through the African American experience. Conversation between Dr. Albert Pero (United States) and Dr. Ambrose Moyo (Zimbabwe) in the mid-1980s developed dialogue with African American and African Lutheran theologians which culminated with the first CIBL conference in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1986. Perry highlighted the contributions of this professional organization including:

1. the diverse way to experience the Lutheran faith experience,
2. the publication of scholarly works for professional and lay persons within congregations, and
3. providing space to empower other ethnic communities in the church. Dr. Perry concluded the interview by suggesting ways to cultivate another generation of Black scholars in the Lutheran church.

Dr. Teresa Smallwood, The James Franklin Kelly and Hope Eyster Kelly Associate Professor of Public Theology, United Lutheran Seminary discussed her choice of the top stories in religion for 2022. She discussed her concern for Democracy in the United States, the current role of the Supreme Court, religious freedom, the care for children and their health, and the challenges facing the Black community. She emphasized the importance of our mainline churches to educate its members in the Christian tradition in order to counter the forces that are taking away our God-given human freedom.

Dr. Tahmeena Ali, a longitudinal family physician in British Columbia, Canada has always enjoyed writing and, in 2013, obtained a creative writing certificate from Simon Fraser University's Writing Studio. Writing and medicine merged for her when she discovered Rita Charon's work in narrative medicine and attended a narrative medicine workshop at Columbia University in 2017.

The current President-Elect of BC Family Doctors, Dr. Ali writes and presents on topics including trauma-informed practice. She was awarded the Family Physician of the Year by the College of Family Physicians of British Columbia in 2020 for her dedication to her community and her profession. Her most rewarding and challenging work is raising three teenagers alongside her husband of 26 years.

Darius Potts, Chief of Police in Ankeny Iowa, discusses the challenges facing law enforcement officers during a time of distrust and gaps between the police and the community. He is the first African American to be Police Chief in Ankeny, IA.

As Chief, he feels that one of his responsibilities is to decrease the stress levels that his officers face. That is accomplished in part by promoting communication and yearly structured mental health support for every officer.

Throughout his career in law enforcement, Potts has had to strike a balance between being an officer and dealing with the experiences of those in the communities he served. He explains the importance for both officers and the community to understand the long history of mistrust of police and that it is not a new phenomenon. African American candidates in law enforcement especially must grapple with this as they consider the profession.

Ankeny is a growing community, but the recruitment of officers is down. Fewer people are taking an interest in this profession. At present, his department is down seven staff members. The department will need more women and men for a growing community. Potts is optimistic about law enforcement and would encourage young people to consider it as their life work. With all the present-day challenges to law enforcement, Potts believes it is a noble profession.

On the anniversary of the January 6, 2021 insurrection, Rev. Dr. Norma Cook Everist, Distinguished Professor of Church and Ministry, emerita, Wartburg Theological Seminary, discussed the meaning of being political, the separation of church and state or the separation of religion and government. She uncovered the meaning of Christian Nationalism and the importance of Christian education in combatting this and similar ideologies. With all the divisions within the United States, Everist suggests building a trustworthy environment so that we can be different together. She concludes with the vocation of the church in these challenging times in our nation and the world.

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.