The Seminary Explores

Fresh from a day of hanging large format portraits of Garmair Marines in the woods near the National Park Visitor Center, documentary photographer and film-maker Louie Palu took time for a chat with Katy Giebenhain and The Seminary Explores. Palu has navigated combat zones, mining shafts, Arctic terrain and many other sites and situations in his role as artist and photojournalist. For his mid-July to mid-August 2019 residency on the Gettysburg Battlefield he installed the portraits (taken in Afghanistan) and began new work in response to his experience in Gettysburg. Palu’s many awards include a Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting Grant (2012) to cover the Mexican Drug War and a Milton Rogovin Fellowship at the Center for Creative Photography.

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

Jean LeGros has served as the former Director of Alumni Relations, Gettysburg College, and Major Gifts Officer at Gettysburg College and Gettysburg (now United) Lutheran Seminary and the Majestic Theater, Gettysburg.

Ms. Legros recently completed a study of women and Gettysburg College in the early years of the 20^th century, relates the stumbling blocks along the path to permanent co-education at the school.  Although the college’s charter did not designate the school as all male, the founder’s purpose to provide men for the ministry began a tradition that lasted into the 1930’s. Pressure to allow women on an equal footing with men (rather than as day students), came from local women’s groups, forceful leaders such as the noted author, Elsie Singmaster, and even the Lutheran Church which had special ties to the school.  Equally important, change came during the Depression when dollars and students were scarce.

On their own they are each brilliant. Together – doubly so. In a conversation with Katy Giebenhain poets Corey Van Landingham and Christopher Kempf talk about their current projects, the nitty-gritty details that ground creative work, the expectations of war poetry and what a learning pleasure it is to be back in Gettysburg where each of them has previously taught. The couple was awarded a joint residency in the Gettysburg National Military Park by the National Parks Arts Foundation.

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.

Many thanks to our host site for this interview, Waldo’s and Co. on the Square in Gettysburg.

Gettysburg photographer and resident Gregory Christianson talks about his new children’s book, Gettysburg Kids Who Did the Impossible. Christianson has walked Seminary Ridge and other sections of the Battlefield since he was a child. While working as an inn-keeper in Gettysburg he was frequently asked to recommend books for children about the Battle of Gettysburg. This led to his own research and discoveries, and to a book which fulfills what he had so often been asked to provide.

Thank you to Waldo’s on the Square, our host site for this episode.

Dr. Janet Morgan Riggs, the retiring president of Gettysburg College, highlights the most interesting and challenging issues during her eleven-year tenure as the president of Gettysburg College. She stresses the need for a liberal arts education, not only in literature, history, philosophy and the arts but in all disciplines, including the sciences, where critical thinking, communication, and civic awareness are encouraged. She also highlights the changing demographics of the student body and subsequent change in student needs. Not least, financing this kind of education remains a high priority, both for individual students and for the institution.

Ron Couchman, a 52-year member of the Gettysburg College staff was the former Registrar and is currently working in Special Collections and College Archives, shares his personal story of coming out as a gay man with the help of therapy and his congregation, St. James, Gettysburg.

With the leadership of a task force of which he is a member and the support of the pastors, the congregation has adopted Reconciling in Christ which emphasizes welcome, equality, and justice. The task force holds a celebration of “Reconciling” each January. He recommends a helpful resource, “ReconcilingWorks,” as a way for congregations to build community beyond itself.

Carla Christopher returns to carry on our discussion about having difficult conversations. In this episode we explore the terminology surrounding gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.  Society often perceives these topics as very binary, you are male or female, you are attracted to men or to women.  The reality is much more complicated.  Carla skillfully guides us through the terminology and how it is used and misused.  She also explains personal pronouns and why he/she and his/hers are not the only options.

Alex Hayes, Managing Editor of the Gettysburg Times, shares his belief that for a local newspaper to survive it must be local.  Despite, and perhaps because of, the competition from on-line news, people still want to read about their neighbors, their town councils, their courts, and their sports events, even if one reads it as an e-edition.  Furthermore, the newspaper, whether the New York Times or the Gettysburg Times, offers a much higher degree of reliability than on-line news which is often driven by unverified opinion or worse—a development in American history that is a major departure from the past and often disturbing as well.

Kate Braband, Senior Associate Director of Program Development, Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia describes the success that the Carter Center, initiated thirty years ago by President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter, has had in controlling guinea worm, one of the more painful and debilitating of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (WTD) in Central Africa. Not long ago, cases numbered in the thousands; today in the twenties. Guinea worm is controlled, not by vaccinations, but by changes in behavior, especially drinking filtered water. Education and supervision are largely in the hands of the locals. Other projects by the Carter Center derive from their mission of building hope, restoring health, and fighting for peace. To achieve these goals, the Center enlists national governments, the United Nations, and international corporations.

Guest host Carla Christopher spent time with Michael and Zach Zakar, authors of Pray the Gay Away, a book that chronicles their experience of coming out to their Christian Iranian mother and their own personal experiences during this process of self-discovery. They are advocates for LGBTQIA+ rights and offer support to youth who are coming out through their mobile app, My Twins Chat.

This deeply personal and at times humorous discussion will make you laugh and make you stop and think.