Advent Photo-A-Day

We all know there’s a little thrill in finding the appropriately numbered square cardboard door, peeling it back to reveal the world’s smallest chocolate Santa, and savoring the taste of mediocre chocolate for a few seconds – before we’re back to making lists and decorating the tree and wrapping gifts. But this year, Gettysburg Seminary invites you to mark the days of Advent a little differently. We invite you to look for God in the little things you do every day, and in the unique excitement of the holiday season. At home in the faces of family and friends, in shopping malls and grocery stores, in your faith communities, and beyond.

The word for each day comes from prayers written by members of the Gettysburg Seminary community as a part of our annual Advent Star Devotional. Scripture passages and prayers will be posted each day, or you may request your own Advent Star by calling 1-800-MLUTHER ext. 3011. As we watch and wait for the birth of our Savior, we pray that you will experience Advent through a new lens.

To receive reminders and see the posted daily prayers, like us on Facebook at Lutheran TheologicalSeminary at Gettysburg, and follow us at GettSem on Twitter and Instagram. And don't forget to include the #watchandwait hashtag!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I participate? Save the photo above to your phone, tablet, or computer, and each day, take a photo that corresponds to the prompt for that day. Post the photo to your own Facebook page, Instagram account, or Twitter feed, and include the prompt and the hashtag (for example, to caption for your photo on December 1 should include #anticipation and #watchandwait). There are no rules for what the photo must contain – it’s up to you. That’s all there is to it!

When is this happening? From December 1-25, 2013. The first day of Advent is also conveniently the first day of December, so the numbers match both the date of the month and the day of Advent!

How do I see the photos others have posted?  If you click on the #watchandwait hashtag on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, you will be taken to a page that includes all posts containing that hashtag. You can also search for the word of the day or the hashtag on those social networks. We will be collecting all the photos we can on our Pinterest page, so you can browse them there too.

I’m super busy and a little forgetful. How can I remind myself to take a photo each day? We recommend saving the prompt to your phone and setting it as your lock screen. At the bottom of the post, there is a wallpaper version of the prompt (1136 x 640) to make scaling a bit easier.

What if I miss a day? That’s okay! You can play catch up by posting a few photos in one day, or you can simply move onto the next prompt – whatever works for you.

This one will work better if you are trying to set it as your lock screen on an iPhone 5:

Social Media Ministry Moment

From the Rev. Kevin Clementson

Social media has forever changed the world and how we do ministry. This was brought home to me this morning as I sit with my coffee and bagel in the comfort of my neighborhood Panera. A message bubble pops up from a member of my congregation in Afghanistan. "Hey Pastor! Keep me and my buddies in your prayers today. We are about to go out on a mission." Suddenly what can at times seem so far away was brought to my table... the easy comfort of my space at the table suddenly feels different as I prayed for that young man and father of two who along with his buddies drive off base and into a world of purposeful violence. The world feels very small and dangerous today.

Kevin, MDiv '82, is Co-pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Westminster, MD

Advanced-Practice in Ministry --

Exceptional. Practical. Enduring.

Gettysburg Seminary Offers the new six course certificate in
Advanced-Practice in Ministry 
              

Designed for today’s challenging ministry settings at Gettysburg Seminary
Ministry isn’t what it used to be. The 21st century church is not your father’s (or mother’s) church, and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg now offers a course of study for rostered leaders to meet the new challenges of ministry.  In a rapidly changing world, we need places to vision and to be equipped for the challenges before the church.  Gettysburg Seminary created Advanced-Practice in Ministry certificate geared toward practicing pastors and other rostered leaders ready to engage practical and theological concerns on an advanced level in this new reality.

With intentional focus on real world challenges in current contexts for ministry, participants will be able to focus critical and creative energies on advancing their ministries. The Advanced-Practice program offers collaborative work, exploration of new models for ministry, and leadership formation in a six course intensive, residential learning schedule. Courses will be offered in October and January, and participants may begin at any stage of the course cycle.

More information, applications and course descriptions are available at the Seminary’s website
www.LTSG.edu/advanced-practice . You may also contact the Director of Lifelong Learning and Certificate Programs Rev. Dr. Michelle Holley Carlson at mcarlson@ltsg.edu.  Or leave a phone message with Ms. Danielle Garber at 717.339.1322.
 

Finding Straight Talk in the English Translation of a Modern-Day Psalm

 

Katy Giebenhain, Poetry + Theology Editor, Seminary Ridge Review

Four translated poems from SAID were included in the Spring 2013 issue of Seminary Ridge Review. The full 99 Psalms was just published in English by Paraclete Press. You’ll hear more about the book in the Spring 2014 issue. Here’s a taste of what’s to come. As part of a Paraclete Press blog tour this week, I would like to look at the text of the fifth poem in the book by SAID, the Iranian poet who makes his home in Germany, translated from the German by Mark Burrows. It appears on page 21. Poems in this collection have a relationship to the three Abrahamic religious traditions, yet are entirely their own.

 

[5]

lord
let me be a water puddle
that mirrors your heavens
and murmurs your prayers
so that the cicadas might understand me
show yourself o lord
even if you have no other choice
than to come in the fierce coursing of blood
and take in the refugees
because every fleeing ends in your eye
even if those who flee forget you in their time of need
because only those who doubt in you
seek you

The “psalms” we tend to repeat most often are chosen for comfort, but that’s not what a psalm is limited to. It can bring us closer to God and closer to seeing ourselves as people of God in the world. A psalm can wear spurs. This psalm, thanks to SAID and to the attentive translation of Mark Burrows does not make nice. It also does not criticize or posture. This psalm, like the others in the collection, feels genuine and it offers what I crave in poems and in sermons: straight talk.

I appreciate the cadence and brevity. I appreciate the tolerance of a complicated God. I appreciate the tolerance of complicated people. A puddle is not grandiose or beautiful. It’s just a puddle. Familiar and small-scale. I appreciate the reminder that I should seek to reflect God, even to be aware of the idea of that reflecting, rather than to stay in the scope of my routines and identity. The emphasis is on the seeking. I love the combination of unending reflecting, back and forth, and the presence of cicadas without mentioning their sound.

Other examples of straight talk: acknowledging that we forget God, in times of panic. We doubt. But we are supposed to doubt. We are thinking creatures! Faith, in its broadest sense is meant to be a living, developing faith. I am relieved when reading the last two lines “because only those who doubt in you / seek you.” What about the art of demanding without being bossy? How does SAID do that? How does Burrows keep this tone?

I could go on unpacking each line of the poem, especially for the indirect tangents it sets me off on, but I mostly react with gratitude. Herzlichen Dank. Unpunctuated, this self-contained poem leads seamlessly to the next one in the collection, and to each of its 98 lean siblings, related yet distinct in their straight-talking wisdom.


Visit Paraclete Press at www.paracletepress.com/.
Visit Mark Burrows at www.msburrows.com/.
Visit SAID at www.said.at.
Visit Seminary Ridge Review at www.ltsg.edu/SRP/Seminary-Ridge-Review. 

 

Largen Posts "Real Islam" from Instanbul

"Real Islam"

Gettysburg Theologian Kristin Largen reports from an Instanbul interfaith conference via her blog.

As usual, it is worth the read: http://happylutheran.blogspot.com/2013/09/real-islam.html

 

Luminaries Honor the Memory of Those Injured and Treated in the Seminary Fixed Field Hospital

Seminary Transition from Field Hospital Observed by Founders Day with Luminaries

Luminaries, Dearest Home to Set the Tone for Seminary Ridge Museum Observance 150 Years After Field Hospital Closed

With a touch of Autumn in the air and the schools back in session, the Seminary Ridge Museum commemorates the soldiers who were patients in the Seminary hospital from July 1-Sept 16, 1863. The public joined Seminary Ridge Museum Founders at Day's End this Saturday, Sept. 14 for a program on the East porch of the museum featuring remarks by Dr. Carol Reardon.

A musical performance by Dearest Home began at 7:30pm and the formal program followed at 8pm. Luminary candles linking one civil war soldier to one living sponsor will be illuminated as darkness settles on the hallowed ground which 150 years ago was instantly and concurrently both a fierce battleground and a sanctuary for healing.

Dr. Monica Melanchthon to Offer Special Lecture on Biblical Interpretation and Indian Feminisms

Norma Schweitzer Wood Lecture at Gettysburg Seminary

Mark your calendars
"Fracturing the Iconic Feminine: Biblical Interpretation and Indian Feminisms" is title of Melanchthon's public talk on November 20th.


The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg is pleased to announce that The Rev. Dr. Monica Melanchthon will deliver the Norma Wood Lecture on Wednesday, November 20 at 2:15pm. Mark your calendars!

“Don’t miss this year’s Norma Schweitzer Wood lecture, delivered by one of the most well-known international Lutheran scholars in our 21st century global context" said the Rev. Dr. Kristin Johnston Largen, faculty Theologian at Gettysburg Seminary.

Church worker, theological educator, and a student of the Bible, Dr. Monica Jyotsna Melanchthon belongs to the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church, India. A graduate of the United Theological College, Bangalore, and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (Ph.D.), she currently teaches Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at the United Faculty of Theology, MCD University of Divinity, Melbourne.

Largen added, "Dr. Melanchthon is sure to enlighten, challenge and inform our understanding of justice, particularly as it relates to women and the Lutheran faith.  She brings an incisive interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures, and a deep awareness of women’s oppression in her native India.  Come and hear how the Bible can speak to us today in ways both fresh and faithful!”

The Norma Schweitzer Wood lecture is an occasional offering of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg in honor of the Dean Emerita exploring subject matter of social justice. 

Schramm to Lecture at Opening Convocation and Conferred with Kraft Chair

Brooks Schramm to Lecture at Opening Convo and Conferred with Kraft Chair of Biblical Studies

Schramm Lecturer for 2013 Convocation
LTSG13-47
Opening Convocation at Gettysburg Seminary Features Conferral of Kraft Chair of Biblical Studies Upon Brooks Schramm

 The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg will open its 188th academic year Wednesday, September 04, 2013 with the conferral of the Kraft Chair in Biblical Studies upon Professor Brooks Schramm.

The 11:55am event will include the traditional academic procession and lecture by Schramm, elected by the faculty to open this academic year. The lecture and convocation is open to the public and takes place in the Seminary’s chapel, 147 Seminary Ridge.

Professor Brooks Schramm has taught Bible, Hebrew and particularly courses related to the Old Testament at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg since 1994. He received a B.A. in German and History from Texas A&M University in 1979, an M.Div. from Wartburg Theological Seminary in 1984, and a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from the University of Chicago in 1993. He served as Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Augusta, Illinois, from 1987-1994. Dr. Schramm was inducted into the faculty with tenure in 2000 and as a full professor in 2010. Active in the life of the local and wider church, he is a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Gettysburg.

Schramm’s scholarly interests include the history of the Hebrew language, Jewish biblical interpretation, and biblical theology. He edited the work of 23 colleagues in a festschrift entitled Raising Up a Faithful Exegete: Essays in Honor of Richard D. Nelson, his most recent predecessor in the Kraft Chair. His most recent book, Martin Luther, the Bible, and the Jewish People: A Reader was co-authored with his spouse, Kirsi Stjerna. He is currently working on Luther’s 1543 anti-Jewish treatise, “On the Ineffable Name and On the Lineage of Christ.” Schramm serves as editor of Gettysburg Seminary’s scholarly journal Seminary Ridge Review and has engaged with colleagues in collaborative work, including translations for two musical works: “Psalm 122: A Pilgrimage Song for David,” commissioned for the 275th anniversary of Christ Lutheran Church, York, Pennsylvania, and “Psalm 22: for the Maundy Thursday Stripping of the Altar,” both set to music by The Rev. Dr. Stephen P. Folkemer.

The Kraft Chair of Biblical Studies was made possible by a gift from the Kraft Foundation in 1955, resulting from the generous bequests from two members of First Lutheran Church, Wheeling, West Virginia, Ms. Julia Kraft and Ms. May Kraft. The gift was made to the Lutheran Theological Seminary in memory of Caroline Schmidt Kraft and Charles Christians Kraft. Previous holders of the Kraft Chair of Biblical Studies include Howard N. Bream, Lorenz Nieting, and Richard D. Nelson.