Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Paris Encore

This note as I wait at the gate 45 at Charles deGaulle airport in Paris. It was a good trip and as always, I already miss the city. There are several highlights from this visit including meeting my friend and colleague Brooks Schramm (Professor of Old Testament at Gettysburg Seminary) in Amsterdam. Usually we meet in Europe with Kirsi Stjerna (his wife), however, this year they had to take separate research trips in Europe. So, Brooks and I were on our own. The beer and wine were flowing.

In Amsterdam, I was able to finally get into the New Church. It was the place of the opening service of the Evangelical Alliance in 1867 and Daniel A. Payne was there. The last time I was in Amsterdam, the church was under renovation so I only had outside photos of the building. It is used for a variety of events. Presently, there is an exhibition on African masks and figures from the Ivory Coast. It was extensive and included a couple of films that elaborated on a technique or an artist. One can still see the nave of the church in the midst of the exhibition, so I took some photos of the inside. Brooks and I took the cruise around the waterways of Amsterdam. It was interesting with historical and cultural highlights of the city. Again, it was a good weekend trip.

I attended a Soirée on Sunday. The topic centered on terrorism in France from the Algerian crisis in the early 60s to the most recent attacks in Paris. He speaker was a retired Foreign Service officer. So he was a knowledgeable resource for the topic. Patricia LaPlante Collins continues to have interesting guests as well as ex-pats in the group. I would recommend going to an event while you are in Paris. It will give you a different perspective on life in Paris and France, besides, you will meet interesting people. Here is the link: http://patriciasparissoirees.com/.

Another highlight of this trip came from being on the Parissoirees list. Patricia reminded all of us of the opening of the Romare Bearden exhibition that opened at Reid Hall (Columbia University's Paris Center). It was a good exhibition and highlighted Bearden's time in Paris which he reflected in his drawings, drawing, and sketches several years after his visit. The host for the event was Robert O'Meally of Columbia and the President of Columbia University.

Paris continues to fascinate me and others who come to the City of Light. Paris always give me energy for research and writing.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Christmastide 2014-2015

It is the third day of the new year and the 10th day of Christmas. On this rainy day in Gettysburg, I find it a good time to reflect on the season and the beginning of 2015. As usual, the Christmas holiday was spent in Brooklyn, New York, where I stayed with my sister and brother-in-law. I presided at the Christmas Eve liturgy at Epiphany Lutheran where I grew up. I find it comforting to return to my familial and spiritual roots. This holiday was different in that one of my aunts had surgery on Christmas day so could not come to the house for dinner with my uncle. My other aunt (the oldest in the Strobert family) decided to stay at home, so we took dinner to her. It is always a delight to visit our cousin Ricky and his family. We had dinner there this last Thanksgiving. Their sons are really young men now, 23 and 19 years old. Time really goes rapidly.

A few days after Christmas, a good friend, Salud Nieting died from cancer. She was such a gracious person and fine host. Her late husband (Lorenz) was one of my New Testament professors when I was a student at Gettysburg. When I returned to the faculty, he was my colleague. My last formal dinner as a student was at the Nieting's before I left for my first call in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Salud along with Lisa Leber (a former advisee and now pastor) gave me a retirement party which was held at Salud's. Another pleasant memory for me was the time when I met Salud and Lorenz in Paris. They were celebrating a wedding anniversary, I was giving a paper at the Sorbonne. We met in front of Notre Dame, had lunch in and walked around the Latin Quarter. Rest in Peace, Salud.

This season was the first time without receiving a Christmas letter from Kathleen Gahagen, pastor in Buffalo, New York. She died this past year but her father, Robert Gahagen remembered her words and presence in his Christmas Eve sermon at Epiphany. It was the same sense of loss with the Pasqual family upon the death of Morris Pasqual, husband, father, grand-father, and great grand-father. He and his wife Gloria, raised 6 children who continue to be good, responsible, and professional people.

My health continues to bother me but I'm going to keep going until the time I'm not able to travel and get around has freely. I'll be leaving for Paris this month for a couple of weeks. It will be good to be in the city of lights while I work on an article that centers around Paris and two African American visitors to the city in the 19th century. For some reason I get inspired and creative when I'm in Paris. I'll stay at the same apartment complex as the last two times in the 15th arrondissement. During my time there, I'll take a couple of days to go to Amsterdam where I will meet my colleague and friend, Brooks Schramm. He is on sabbatical and doing research and writing in Emden Germany. Hopefully, I can visit the church where the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance was held in 1867. Daniel Payne was there. When I was working on my Payne book, I went there to take pictures, however, it was closed due to renovations. I want to take some interior photos as I work on a PowerPoint presentation of Payne in Europe.

As the new year begins, I hope to complete my book of essays on Martin Luther King, Jr. and complete the article. In March, I will be teaching "Multicultural Religious Education" as part of the Christian Education seminar at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. I look forward to the academic involvement. At the same time, I look forward to continuing my involvement with the Adams County Adult Literacy Council as a tutor. These students are really committed to learning!

If you read this issue of my blog, I pray that you have a glorious New Year 2015.