The Seminary Explores

A Conversation with the Early-rising, Prolific Author Gary Fincke

Author Gary Fincke talks with Katy Giebenhain about the work of writing. His poems have appeared in Seminary Ridge Review and many other journals. He is an award-winning writer of short fiction, nonfiction and poetry (30 books and counting). Gary Fincke is the Charles Degenstein Professor of Creative Writing at Susquehanna University. He was in town for a poetry reading in Gettysburg’s First Friday series.  

For more information about Gary visit:

https://www.susqu.edu/academics/faculty/fac/gary-fincke  

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/gary-fincke

Inside Organic Farming Today

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. 

The Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia and Slovakia

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

The Ins and Outs of ELW, from Someone who was There!

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.

How we See: Facial Recognition, Make-up, and Beauty

In this episode, Dr. Richard Russell, Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at Gettysburg College discusses his work on prosopagnosia [facial blindness] and super-recognizers, and how differently we all “see.”  He also shares some of his current work that involves standards of beauty, the use of make-up, and both cultural differences and similarities.  His work raises larger questions about what we view as “normal,” and how we view ourselves in relationship to others.  Don’t miss this interesting episode!

A Masterwork of Doubting Belief: R.S. Thomas and His Poetry

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

Health Care Ethics in the Finnish Context

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

Staying Amazed – Important for Preachers and Poets

Dr. Robert Randolph, the 2015 minister-in-residence at Gettysburg Seminary spent a week on campus this fall. He is an award-winning poet, pastor of a Presbyterian church and Chair of the English and Foreign Languages Department at Waynesburg University in Waynesburg, PA.

For more information on his publications visit: http://elixirpress.com/ 

Genetics, Immunology and Microscopic Worms: The Natural Curiosity of a Scientist

In this episode, a part of our ongoing series about Science for Seminaries, geneticist Dr. Jennifer Powell describes her work and the importance of genetics for understanding life.

Looking into the Heavens with an Astrophysicist

Astrophysicist Dr. Craig Foltz makes physics come alive in this engaging discussion of the origins of time, how telescopes work, and what it all means for our knowledge of the world and ourselves.