Sunday, December 8, 2013

Advent 1

Gettysburg had 4 inches of snow today. It was snowing very lightly when I left to worship at Christ Chapel - Gettysburg College. By the time worship ended, the snow was falling rapidly so I shoveled. I wonder if this is a foretaste of the winter.

Most of my time in the past few weeks has been planning for teaching a Doctor of Ministry Seminar at Philadelphia Seminary in January. I am enjoying reading more of the literature and hope that students will enjoy the readings as well.

I have continued to participate in professional meetings. From November 8-10 I attended the annual meeting of the Religious Education Association in Boston, Massachusetts. The quality of the sessions was quite good. I am always amazed at the various areas of research by junior and senior scholars in the field. I attended the American Academy of Religion for one day, Saturday 23. Again there were good sessions. At both meetings I heard research on religious education in prisons. As always, I marveled at the book display. I was also able to meet and have conversations with Dr. Richard Stewart and Dr. Beverly Wallace. Professional meeting are great for catching up with friends and colleagues.

 On Remembrance Day, 19 November, I delivered the Benediction. Each year thousands come to Gettysburg to remember the Gettysburg Address. This was especially significant this year as the 150 Year of the Address as well as the Battle at Gettysburg during  the Civil War. Along with Governor Corbett, Chief Justice Scalia was there to swear-in 16 new citizens. I found this to be a moving symbol of focus of the day. This was my second swearing-in of new citizens. I attended the swearing-in of my friend and colleague, Dr. Kirsi Stjerna in Philadelphia.


Saturday, November 2, 2013

Autumn Reflections

This was a different Fall season for me...I didn't return to the classroom after 25 years on the faculty at Gettysburg Seminary. Anticipating the change, I made my plans. I attended the Opening Convocation of the semester which was a joyous event. My friend and colleague Dr. Brooks Schramm was installed in the Kraft Chair in Biblical Studies. It was an excellent lecture by a great scholar.

On September 6 I took a flight to France and was there for three weeks. It was good to see friends and see the Paris during the fall season which was a first for me since I was always teaching. I went to two museums I had not visited before, Musée du quai Branly and Musée des Arts Deco. A friend, Dr. Bruno Vercier, was on a panel at the Branly discussing the writer Pierre Loti. Dr. Karen Bohleke of Shippensburg University and Gettysburg Seminary, wanted my to pick up the exhibition catalogue from the Art Deco, hence, I took the opportunity to browse the exhibitions. Both places were interesting to visit and I'll definitely have to return for extended visits. It was definitely autumn with lower temperatures than when I left the U.S. so I had to buy a jacket to keep comfortable. Going to the Parissoirée each Sunday evening was fun. One meets a number of ex-patriots as well as visitors to France and French men and women. Each week was unique (vocalist, film producer, and motivational speaker) and great food produced by Patricia LaPlante-Collins, the organizer of the group. I left the cool days of Paris for a day trip to the warmth of the southern France in Avignon to see Le Pont (Bridge) and the Palace of the Popes which dates back to the 15th century.  I will have to spend more time in the Provence region. At the end of September I returned to the states but leaving France is always bitter sweet for me. I enjoy returning to my home yet I want to be in France as well, however, I always enjoy the custom officer's words, "Welcome back to the United States."

For the Fall Academy at Gettysburg Seminary, I gave a lecture on my research on "Black soldiers, the Civil War and Education" I am enjoying this research and hopefully will develop into a journal article. I think the lecture was well received.

I am presently developing my course on African American Religious Education for Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. If anyone reads this blog and has any bibliographical suggestions, please don't hesitate to share them with me.

One additional note...On October 28, I was awarded an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, from Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio. It was an unexpected event in my life. I am humble by this honor.


Saturday, August 10, 2013

Summer and Spring Musings

It has been some months since my last postings and much has happened in my adjustment to retirement. I'll list my thoughts and highlights of the recent past.

The death of a colleague. Dr. Susan Hedahl, professor emerita died in July from brain cancer. We were both senior members on the Gettysburg Seminary faculty upon our retirements. She was dedicated to her field, homiletics and tried to instill that passion in her students. I will always remember her "Recalculating" sermon in chapel. She had a gift for the English language as well as being able to speak Swahili and Arabic. We often talked about retirement and what we hoped to do. It was an honor to be able to be a lector at her funeral and to sing in the choir led by the composer and music scholar, Nancy Galbraith.

My time in France this spring was particularly memorable in two ways. First, I gave a talk on my Daniel Payne book for Parissoirée on Sunday 26 May. I think it was well received. I am thankful to Patrice LaPlante-Collins for giving me the opportunity to share my research with the group of French and ex-patriots from around the globe. Secondly, I went to Brittany (in western France) to visit my friends, Maryvonne and Christian who live in Erquy. We celebrated our retirements with great eating and champagne. We also took a trip to Mont St. Michel. I had not been inside the abbey in over 40 years. We also went to the grave of Madame Ortensia Reyntjes. The mother of my friend Henri who died nine years ago and the mother-in-law of Maryvonne. Ortensia died in April. She had known me since I was 19 years old during my first trip to France and Brittany in the summer of 1967. She kept the letters I had sent to Henri while in college and in seminary. She also had pictures of me from that time. After Henri's death, I would visit her and Maryvonne each summer. Her grave as well as that of Monsieur Reyntjes is in the town/parish cemetery in St. Méen le Grand where I had worshipped with her. I was certainly blessed to know the Reyntjes family.

On July 14, I ventured down to the Washington Cathedral for evensong. I had not attended evensong there since my seminary days. The reason for going on that Sunday was the fact that St. Matthew-St. Luke Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, New York

I was invited to do a book-signing at Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio on June 28, 2013. It was a delightful time. My faculty host, Dr. Charles Brown, was very gracious and made me feel a part of the community. I was surprised at the reception by the presence of Ms. Jacqueline Brown, librarian and archivist at Wilberforce University. She was very helpful when I began my research on Payne. In addition, the mayor of Xenia, Ohio was there as well.

The Seminary Ridge Museum opened on July 1. This was an historical event in that the museum is in  Old Dorm which housed wounded soldiers from the first day of the battle at Gettysburg. The governor attended as well a the presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Mark Hanson. The previous day, there was a dinner and vesper service where Bishop Hanson preached. I hope that interest in the museum grows. The museum emphasizes the first day of the Gettysburg battle, the hospital work, the role of religion, and the life of African Americans in the town during the war. Daniel A. Payne was highlighted for being the first African American to attend Gettysburg Seminary and spoke out against slavery during the antebellum period.

On July 14 I attended evensong at the Washington Cathedral. I attended that Sunday as the choir from St. Matthew-St. Luke was there on a bus trip. My sister and brother-in-law was with the group. The guest choir was the Christ Church Cathedral Girls Choir, Lexington, Kentucky. I will have to attend Evensong at the Cathedral more often. It was a delightful Sunday afternoon.

On April 17, I conducted two workshops on Payne for the Annual Spring Convocation at Gettysburg Seminary. I also presided at the Eucharist. It was good seeing seminary classmates and former students.

At the Annual Recognition Dinner at the Seminary, I was given a Gettysburg chair and the faculty and Board minutes upon my retirement were read. It was indeed an honor. I could not have accomplished those years in the teaching ministry without the years of support and prayers from family and the members of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Brooklyn where I was nurtured in the faith. In addition, the members of the Lutheran Churches on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and Advent Lutheran Church in Cleveland, Ohio. I have truly been blessed by their presence in my life.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Endings and Beginnings

So much has happened the past few months that I haven't had time to reflect. With the death of my friend's mother, I feel that I need to take stock of the changes that have taken place.

On the 31 July 2013, I finished 25 and a half years of teaching on the faculty at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. With most of the books off the shelves and most of the papers, etc. shredded, I transitioned into the world of those who are retired. It was also the first day of the spring semester and I felt awkward seeing the coming and going of faculty, staff and students and I was not a part of it. At 1:30 in the afternoon, I had a ride to Dulles International Airport for a 5:15 flight to Paris. I needed to be in a place that was familiar and comfortable yet where I could be alone or with friends.

In the last hours in the office as a full-time member of the faculty, was greeted by a former student who is in the AME Church who was on campus for an event. She had taken a few courses with me. At the airport, one of the TSA attendants came over to greet me, he was a former student at Gettysburg from my first years on the faculty. Beginnings and ends are a part of our lives. I had my last Martin Luther King travel seminar during the January Term. It was a good and lively group of students who ventured with me to Atlanta, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama. Life was not dull after that for in February I gave two talks on my Payne book, one for the Gettysburg Public Library and one for the Seminary Ridge Museum. Although my teaching ended, it was good to be a part of Black History Month activities.

The past weeks can certainly be called "transitions."

In Memory of Madame Reyntjes

This morning, about 30 minutes ago, I received an e-mail from Maryvonne, the widow of my friend Henri in Brittany, France, Otensia Reyntjes, Henri's mother died last night in the hospital in St. Méen le Grand (a town just north of Rennes, France). I called Ortensia, my French mother. I have known her since 1967. When I went to visit her after Henri's death, she showed me all the letters that I have written while I was in college and in seminary to Henri. She also showed me the pictures that were taken when Henri and I were at L'Abbaye de Boquen at the international work work sponsored by the World Council of Churches. Ortensia was a fabulous cook and gracious host. I always enjoyed her theological questions which always demanded a stretch in my French vocabulary. I will miss my visits to her home when I go to Brittany. May she rest in peace!