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An exploration of church and society produced by the United Lutheran Seminary with campuses in Gettysburg and Philadelphia, PA.
Episodes
Monday Mar 11, 2024
Top Stories in Religion for 2023
Monday Mar 11, 2024
Monday Mar 11, 2024
Dr. William Avery, Professor Emeritus of Stewardship and Parish Ministry, shares his thoughts on three top issues from the previous year, 2023: The Hamas-Israel conflict, the exit of from church participation, and clergy burnout. He reminds us that that the Middle East conflict is not recent but has its roots from the biblical period. From his years of teaching and research, Avery suggests that the membership in our American congregations started to decline in the early 1960s. Avery indicates that the issue of clergy burnout has developed from lack of communication between the clergyperson and the congregation. While these issues are troubling, Avery leaves the conversation with words of hope.
Monday Feb 26, 2024
An American Theologian Teaching in Ghana
Monday Feb 26, 2024
Monday Feb 26, 2024
Dr. James Thomas, Retired Associate Professor of Worship Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary of Lenoir-Rhyne University, talks about his recent experience in teaching at the Good News Theological Seminary in Ghana. He shares his experience with students in the classroom as well as in the field experiences. Although he had been to Ghana previously, this experience exposed him to the deep division between Muslims and Christians. He also comments on his taking more time to listen to various individuals he encountered. In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Thomas talks about the various congregations he attended where he preached and taught during his semester of teaching. His comments on his experience and his suggestions to considering teaching on the African continent will be helpful to faculty members considering teaching there.
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Global Lutheranism: The Lutheran World Federation 2023
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Andrew Taminger, a third-year seminarian at United Lutheran Seminary, talks about his attendance at the Lutheran World Federation Assembly (LWF) in Krakow, Poland. After a brief introduction to the history of the Federation, he continues by sharing his personal highlights of the Assembly along with some of the discussions including climate change, women’s rights, disabilities, and gender issues. He goes on to discuss the tensions that were present in the deliberations including the use of languages and the concerns of youth. He describes a youth strike that took place at the Assembly. He concludes the by sharing some of the seventeen resolutions that were passed for the ongoing work of the LWF.
Monday Nov 06, 2023
Reflections on 50 years of Pastoral Ministry
Monday Nov 06, 2023
Monday Nov 06, 2023
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.
Monday Apr 11, 2022
A Pope Retires: What Went Right; What Went Wrong
Monday Apr 11, 2022
Monday Apr 11, 2022
Dr. Christopher Bellitto, Professor of History, Kean University, author of 101 Questions and Answers about Popes and the Papacy suggests that the resignation of Pope Benedict and the election of Pope Francis had few if any precedents to follow. It will encourage future popes to do the same because of age or infirmity, but we’ve learned that some mistakes must be addressed to avoid uncertainty over who is true pope: dress and insignia, name and forms of address, publishing or being interviewed on controversial topics.
Dr. Bellitto is the author of ten books, including most recently Ageless Wisdom: Lifetime Lessons from the Bible (Paulist Press, 2016), along with 101 Questions and Answers on Popes and the Papacy (Paulist Press, 2008), and the companion volumes, The General Councils: A History of the 21 Church Councils from Nicaea to Vatican II and Renewing Christianity: A History of Church Reform from Day One to Vatican II (Paulist Press 2001-2002).
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.
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 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 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.