10.3K
Downloads
239
Episodes
An exploration of church and society produced by the United Lutheran Seminary with campuses in Gettysburg and Philadelphia, PA.
Episodes
Monday Mar 14, 2022
Hospitality, Bravery, and Doonesbury: A Conversation with Rev. Eric Shafer
Monday Mar 14, 2022
Monday Mar 14, 2022
The Seminary Explores catches up with The Rev. Eric Shafer, Senior Pastor of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Santa Monica, California before his upcoming retirement. He’s worn many hats in the past decades, including those of parish pastor, communications and fundraising executive leader, mentor, and partner in interfaith initiatives.
An ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, he is graduate of Muhlenberg College and Hamma School of Theology (now part of Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capitol University). Rev. Shafer was recognized with a 2021 Partnership Award from The Westside Coalition for Housing, Hunger and Health in Santa Monica. He serves on the President’s Council of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), is a member of the Santa Monica Bay Area Human Relations Council and is a founder and board member of Students 4 Students Homeless Shelters.
Friday Mar 11, 2022
A Pivot Point in History: The Situation in the Ukraine
Friday Mar 11, 2022
Friday Mar 11, 2022
Dr. Christianson speaks with Ambassador Lawrence Taylor who provides his assessment of the current war in the Ukraine. Ambassador Taylor emphasizes the need for an immediate pause in hostilities and expresses deep concern that there is no easy way back or no quick resolution to this conflict.
For reference you may also want to listen to some of our past episodes on the Ukraine.
- 10/14/2014: http://seminaryexplores.uls.edu/e/the-conflict-in-ukraine/
- 12/5/2019: http://seminaryexplores.uls.edu/e/why-is-ukraine-important/
Monday Feb 28, 2022
Educating for Social Justice
Monday Feb 28, 2022
Monday Feb 28, 2022
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.
Monday Jan 17, 2022
Epiphany and Insurrection: Educational Challenges
Monday Jan 17, 2022
Monday Jan 17, 2022
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.
Monday Dec 20, 2021
Music for the Advent/Christmas Season
Monday Dec 20, 2021
Monday Dec 20, 2021
This is a musical broadcast. Tom Jolin played and sang familiar and not so familiar Christmas and Advent carols from the United States and abroad. He accompanied himself on the hammer dulcimer, banjo, and accordion. He introduced each carol with the instrument he would use. The familiar carols are so inviting that the listeners will want to sing. Tom choose the carols he played based on the good Christmas memories from childhood that inspired him. He shared some of those memories in the introduction to the performances.
Monday Nov 08, 2021
Grief, Change, Icebergs and a little Northern Exposure
Monday Nov 08, 2021
Monday Nov 08, 2021
A Conversation with Poet Faith Shearin on the Eve of All Saints’ Day.
Poet Faith Shearin has received awards from The National Endowment for the Arts, Yaddo, The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and elsewhere. Her poems have been featured on The Writers Almanac and American Life in Poetry and have appeared in journals such as New Ohio Review, Nimrod International Journal, Ploughshares, Alaska Quarterly Review and The Autumn House Anthology of Contemporary Poets. Her most recent collection is Lost Language. She grew up on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. She now lives in Massachusetts.
Monday Oct 11, 2021
Christians and Muslims Together
Monday Oct 11, 2021
Monday Oct 11, 2021
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.
Monday Aug 02, 2021
What Love is About: Hospice Care at the End of Life
Monday Aug 02, 2021
Monday Aug 02, 2021
Dr. Leonard Hummel is a Chaplain Hospice at Allina Health Care in Ulm, MN and is also Professor Emeritus at United Lutheran Seminary. He shares with us the nature and importance of the hospice chaplain in the end-of-life process including how it is integrated into the healthcare system and each patients support and medical team. He also shares some of the more specific challenges of shepherding people through the end-of-life experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. He reminds us that the end-of-life is a universal experience, that while shared, is also unique for each individual.
Monday Jun 07, 2021
More than Meets the Ear or the Eye
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Poetry, Theology, and Art from North Wales via a Special R.S. Thomas Festival
Susan Fogarty, director of the R.S. Thomas & M.E. Eldridge Festival in Aberdaron, shares highlights of the upcoming Festival with The Seminary Explores. Both the poet-priest and the artist were prolific, wise, talented and steeped in rural realities. First held in 2014, the Festival has featured distinguished speakers including Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. The 2021 Festival will be held live online in association with Church Times on June 19.
View a virtual exhibit of the "Dance of Life" mural. Also see the Millennium Center text in Welsh and English from Gwyneth Lewis.
Monday May 10, 2021
Christian Education and the Pandemic
Monday May 10, 2021
Monday May 10, 2021
Susan Tarr, retired librarian from the Library of Congress and active layperson discusses her activities in the church during Covid-19. The pandemic prompted a number of changes in providing Christian education for members at The Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian) in Arlington, VA. As an active layperson in the congregation, she described her interest in Christian education. With the development of the Covid-19 she was challenged to expand her familiarity with technology. She talked about involvement with two classes within the congregation: the adult Bible class and the confirmation class with youth. Her particular concern was for the youth. After her retirement from the Library of Congress where she was the Executive Director of the Federal Library and Information Center Committee for the last 10 years of a 30 year career in the system, she completed a Theological Studies degree at Wesley Seminary in D.C. In the program she discussed how that educational experience prepared her for the challenges of teaching during this pandemic.