The Seminary Explores

Think you know everything there is to know about the founding of this country?  Think again!  This year, to celebrate July 4th, listen to this fascinating conversation with Gettysburg College history professor Tim Shannon as he talks about the role of Native Americans during the Revolutionary War, and their varied relationships with the British, the French and the Colonists.  Don’t miss the discussion of Jefferson and his views of Native Americans.

Dr. Kenneth Mott, Professor of Political Science, Gettysburg College; author of “The Supreme Court and the Living Constitution” takes us on a tour of the U.S. Constitution.  In addition to a structure and a process for an American government, the Constitution assumes a distinction between permanent principles and occasional demands, between the “permanent” will of the people and the “whim” of frequent change. Thus what is left unsaid is the key to the endurance of the Constitution. The role of the Supreme Court becomes critical in keeping this dialogue alive and well.

Sculptor Marlene Alt and Katy Giebenhain from Seminary Ridge Review talk about Alt’s sited sculpture outside the National Park Service Museum and Visitor Center in Gettysburg. “Traces: A Gathering Up” features wax imprints of horse hooves. How do we pay tribute? What is the difference between land and home? How can we imagine the scope of the Battle of Gettysburg? Aside from human casualties there were over 1,000 horses and mules killed here. Alt describes her installation project and her approach to other historical themes in her artwork. She is the May-June 2016 Artist-in-Residence at the Gettysburg National Military Park.

Mary Ann Oyler of Oyler’s Organic Farms and Market discusses the process of converting a 6^th generation family fruit farm into an organic farm.  She explains the motivations and challenges of organic farming.  Mary Ann also  details the day to day operations that make an organic farm different from a traditional non-organic farm. 

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

In this episode Mark Mummert takes us behind the scenes of the creation of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, explaining why certain decisions were made [The Lord’s Prayer!  The hymns!  The Psalter!], and how ELW serves as a window onto who we are as a church today, past, present and future, both locally and globally.

When it comes to poet/priests, R.S. Thomas is about as good as it gets. This Seminary Explores conversation includes insight into his relevance and the brilliant tensions in his work by John McEllhenney, author of A Masterwork of Doubting Belief: R.S. Thomas and His Poetry.

For more information on the R.S. Thomas Literary Festival visit: http://www.st-hywyn.org.uk/rst.html

In this episode, Pastor Karoliina Nikula discusses the larger field of Bio-Ethics, using the specific example of cochlear implants in Finland.