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
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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.