Harrisburg Region

Beginning around one hundred years ago, three strong African personalities had such an impact that the churches they began continue to this day. William Wadé Harris in the Ivory Coast (1915), Simon Kimbangu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (1921), and Johane Marange in Zimbabwe (1932) had visions for starting churches that had virtually no missionary involvement. Why were they so successful? What can we learn from them, both positively and negatively?

The formation of the powerful Hollywood studios turned Hollywood into a worldwide phenomenon. These “factories” included rosters of extremely talented actors, directors, writers, cinematographers, and a whole host of other creative departments that churned out so many wonderful films. During the Golden Era that spanned the late 1920s until the late 1940s, each studio developed its own specific “personality” or style. We will look at each of the major studios: MGM, Paramount, Warner Brothers, RKO, 20th Century Fox, and the minor ones: Columbia, Universal and United Artists. We will watch scenes from many of their great films. We will also learn how they started to lose their grip on the industry that they created.

Whether you’re a native or a newcomer, Pennsylvania’s history offers you a rich smorgasbord of people, events, and ideas. This three-part course hits all the highlights of the Keystone story –  from William Penn’s “Holy Experiment” and the Revolutionary War, through the political turmoil and industrial growth of the 1800s, to the perils and progress that shared the spotlight in the 20th century. Along the way, we’ll explore some icons of Pennsylvania culture, including the Amish, the polka, and the pretzel. You’ll also learn about the best museums and historic sites in the state, where you can experience Pennsylvania’s dramatic and colorful past for yourself.

This course will have four sessions: Session 1. (March 5) An Escaped Slave and a President for White Men (Frederick Douglas on Abraham Lincoln).Session 2. (March 12) A Reactionary President and a Radical Republican Congress (Andrew Johnson 1865-1869 and the 14th and15th Amendments)Session 3. (March 19) An Affirming President disarmed by Corruption — the Shadow Darkens (Grant, Hayes & Tilden)Session 4. (March 26) The WilmingtonMassacre1898 — the triumph of Jim Crow, the end of the Republican Dream for Black Americans.     

Beginning with a short consideration of the nature of poetry, this course will introduce students to the lives and writings of such poets as Phillis Wheatly, Francis E. W. Harper, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, and Maya Angelou as they expressed in poetry the experiences of black people in America -- their sorrows, joys, despairs, hopes, frustrations, and triumphs.

The British Empire once held a quarter of the world’s land and people under its sway. At the center of this imperial colossus lay the seething, vibrant city of London. Founded as a humble Roman army camp, London grew over the centuries to become a world-class capital of commercial, intellectual, and artistic life. This program takes you on a lively tour through London’s dramatic past and delightful present – from the Black Death and the Blitz to the British Museum and Buckingham Palace. You’ll also meet some of the city’s most famous residents, including George Frideric Handel, Sherlock Holmes, and Charlie Chaplin.

This lecture will enable listeners to understand the many ways in which the American people transformed during the course of the Second World War. In addition to building a mighty arsenal - including army, navy, and air force to fight a global war - they transformed their thinking about their role in the world. Moving from isolationism to global leadership in a few short years, the American people had to reinvent their national identity and develop a new relationship to the wider world.

The Digital Harrisburg project, in partnership with Messiah University, has compiled multiple data sets which include historical Census data, building footprints, and Sanborn maps. Geospatial processes were performed on each of these data sets and ultimately, an online interactive web map was constructed. The work done on Digital Harrisburg improved Census data, allowing a more accurate spatial analysis of the City of Harrisburg. As a result of the spatial analysis performed, trends of ethnicities and race movements across the city became apparent. This presentation will look at the population across Harrisburg from 1900 to 1930, exposing individual resident details such as race, immigration status and employment, and the patterns and trends of this population through time.

The history, practices, and traditions of the Orthodox Christian faith will be the focus of this three-session course. Presentations will include a basic approach to the belief system and way of life as lived out by followers of the Orthodox Church.

Are you interested in finding out about your family history and climbing your family tree? The class will be an introduction to online genealogy resources that are free to use and easily accessible to anyone with internet access. Find census, birth, marriage, military, and death records with ease and without spending a dime. This class will energize you to make discoveries on what makes your family unique, special, and downright interesting. All participants will receive a resource packet to organize and keep track of their findings. In addition to a resource packet provided for this session, Messiah University’s Murray Library will provide an online virtual help desk for one evening (details to be shared during the class) to help you one-on-one with your individual family history research questions.

The formation of the powerful Hollywood studios turned Hollywood into a worldwide phenomenon. These “factories” included rosters of extremely talented actors, directors, writers, cinematographers, and a whole host of other creative departments that churned out so many wonderful films. During the Golden Era that spanned the late 1920s until the late 1940s, each studio developed its own specific “personality” or style. We will look at each of the major studios: MGM, Paramount, Warner Brothers, RKO, 20th Century Fox, and the minor ones: Columbia, Universal and United Artists. We will watch scenes from many of their great films. We will also learn how they started to lose their grip on the industry that they created.

Whether you’re a native or a newcomer, Pennsylvania’s history offers you a rich smorgasbord of people, events, and ideas. This three-part course hits all the highlights of the Keystone story –  from William Penn’s “Holy Experiment” and the Revolutionary War, through the political turmoil and industrial growth of the 1800s, to the perils and progress that shared the spotlight in the 20th century. Along the way, we’ll explore some icons of Pennsylvania culture, including the Amish, the polka, and the pretzel. You’ll also learn about the best museums and historic sites in the state, where you can experience Pennsylvania’s dramatic and colorful past for yourself.

This course will have four sessions: Session 1. (March 5) An Escaped Slave and a President for White Men (Frederick Douglas on Abraham Lincoln).Session 2. (March 12) A Reactionary President and a Radical Republican Congress (Andrew Johnson 1865-1869 and the 14th and15th Amendments)Session 3. (March 19) An Affirming President disarmed by Corruption — the Shadow Darkens (Grant, Hayes & Tilden)Session 4. (March 26) The WilmingtonMassacre1898 — the triumph of Jim Crow, the end of the Republican Dream for Black Americans.     

The life and work of Mira Lloyd Dock, the first woman to serve in Pennsylvania state government, provides many insights into the Progressive Era conservation movement and women’s roles within that movement. Dock was heavily involved in the conservation movement at the local, state, and federal levels. Her most ardent supporters said she did more for forests than any woman in the United States. As a member of the Pennsylvania State Forest Commission, Dock helped formulate policies that served as models for other, northeastern industrial states. She also worked tirelessly for women's rights to have meaningful careers, enroll in institutions of higher education, and vote.

Race is a socially constructed social category based on physical appearance that has been used to put people into separate groups. Racism builds social structures which bring advantage to some groups and disadvantage to others. The most obvious one is slavery, but most every aspect of social structure and the economy is affected. The course will focus on what white people need to know about race in America. We will use videos, lectures, and class discussion to look at ways race has been used in American society historically and currently to build social and legal structures which disadvantage persons of color. Strategies to dismantle racism will be suggested.

The biochemical covering of our chromosomes allows most all external elements and forces to activate or alter our basic DNA, thus shaping and forming our lives individually. This is what we call NURTURE - contrasting it with our internal NATURE, which is structured by our heritable genes. Thus though as humans we’re identical, no two of us are alike. How and why are you unique in the world?

In this course we will look at the history of virtual reality, the technology involved, its usage, and how its effects on the brain are revolutionizing modern industries.

The history, practices, and traditions of the Orthodox Christian faith will be the focus of this three-session course. Presentations will include a basic approach to the belief system and way of life as lived out by followers of the Orthodox Church.

The formation of the powerful Hollywood studios turned Hollywood into a worldwide phenomenon. These “factories” included rosters of extremely talented actors, directors, writers, cinematographers, and a whole host of other creative departments that churned out so many wonderful films. During the Golden Era that spanned the late 1920s until the late 1940s, each studio developed its own specific “personality” or style. We will look at each of the major studios: MGM, Paramount, Warner Brothers, RKO, 20th Century Fox, and the minor ones: Columbia, Universal and United Artists. We will watch scenes from many of their great films. We will also learn how they started to lose their grip on the industry that they created.

Whether you’re a native or a newcomer, Pennsylvania’s history offers you a rich smorgasbord of people, events, and ideas. This three-part course hits all the highlights of the Keystone story –  from William Penn’s “Holy Experiment” and the Revolutionary War, through the political turmoil and industrial growth of the 1800s, to the perils and progress that shared the spotlight in the 20th century. Along the way, we’ll explore some icons of Pennsylvania culture, including the Amish, the polka, and the pretzel. You’ll also learn about the best museums and historic sites in the state, where you can experience Pennsylvania’s dramatic and colorful past for yourself.

This course will have four sessions: Session 1. (March 5) An Escaped Slave and a President for White Men (Frederick Douglas on Abraham Lincoln).Session 2. (March 12) A Reactionary President and a Radical Republican Congress (Andrew Johnson 1865-1869 and the 14th and15th Amendments)Session 3. (March 19) An Affirming President disarmed by Corruption — the Shadow Darkens (Grant, Hayes & Tilden)Session 4. (March 26) The WilmingtonMassacre1898 — the triumph of Jim Crow, the end of the Republican Dream for Black Americans.     

Beginning with a short consideration of the nature of poetry, this course will introduce students to the lives and writings of such poets as Phillis Wheatly, Francis E. W. Harper, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, and Maya Angelou as they expressed in poetry the experiences of black people in America -- their sorrows, joys, despairs, hopes, frustrations, and triumphs.

The life and work of Mira Lloyd Dock, the first woman to serve in Pennsylvania state government, provides many insights into the Progressive Era conservation movement and women’s roles within that movement. Dock was heavily involved in the conservation movement at the local, state, and federal levels. Her most ardent supporters said she did more for forests than any woman in the United States. As a member of the Pennsylvania State Forest Commission, Dock helped formulate policies that served as models for other, northeastern industrial states. She also worked tirelessly for women's rights to have meaningful careers, enroll in institutions of higher education, and vote.

Race is a socially constructed social category based on physical appearance that has been used to put people into separate groups. Racism builds social structures which bring advantage to some groups and disadvantage to others. The most obvious one is slavery, but most every aspect of social structure and the economy is affected. The course will focus on what white people need to know about race in America. We will use videos, lectures, and class discussion to look at ways race has been used in American society historically and currently to build social and legal structures which disadvantage persons of color. Strategies to dismantle racism will be suggested.

The dark years of the Middle Ages were ended by the Bubonic plague, giving rise to the Renaissance in Europe in 1700. The Black Death in London led to sweeping municipal regrowth and development in 1666. The Coronavirus pandemic so far in 2020 has brought about ultra-modern systems of community, industry, education, and health.

This will be a Zoom discussion of the book: Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande. Participants will need to obtain and read the book on their own. In order to facilitate good discussion, specific discussion questions will be assigned in advance of the session. This book is about end-of-life matters so participants will be encouraged to share their thoughts, concerns, and personal plans for the end of life with other class members after reading the book.

The history, practices, and traditions of the Orthodox Christian faith will be the focus of this three-session course. Presentations will include a basic approach to the belief system and way of life as lived out by followers of the Orthodox Church.

The formation of the powerful Hollywood studios turned Hollywood into a worldwide phenomenon. These “factories” included rosters of extremely talented actors, directors, writers, cinematographers, and a whole host of other creative departments that churned out so many wonderful films. During the Golden Era that spanned the late 1920s until the late 1940s, each studio developed its own specific “personality” or style. We will look at each of the major studios: MGM, Paramount, Warner Brothers, RKO, 20th Century Fox, and the minor ones: Columbia, Universal and United Artists. We will watch scenes from many of their great films. We will also learn how they started to lose their grip on the industry that they created.

This course will explore the state of the news media and their audiences today, attempting to examine whether or not truth can be found there, and if so, how people of faith and people in general might be more successful in extracting it.

This course will have four sessions: Session 1. (March 5) An Escaped Slave and a President for White Men (Frederick Douglas on Abraham Lincoln).Session 2. (March 12) A Reactionary President and a Radical Republican Congress (Andrew Johnson 1865-1869 and the 14th and15th Amendments)Session 3. (March 19) An Affirming President disarmed by Corruption — the Shadow Darkens (Grant, Hayes & Tilden)Session 4. (March 26) The WilmingtonMassacre1898 — the triumph of Jim Crow, the end of the Republican Dream for Black Americans.     

I will discuss how confusing diets and nutrition labels can be! Come and learn why diets are so confusing and how to read through the misleading marketing techniques on packaging to assure you are making the wise choice for your health.

How can you tell if something is credible or fake news? Reliable information helps us make good decisions but with the proliferation of social media, sometimes it is hard to tell if we should believe it or delete it. We tend to want to believe those things that align with our world view, but is it true just because we want it to be? What is opinion and what is fact? Let's sharpen our critical thinking skills and discover some tools that we can use to help us figure it out. We will learn what drives fake news, how to recognize it, and how to not pass it on.

Throughout their history, humans have sought remedies to ameliorate or cure ailments. Various potions were developed by different cultures using locally available materials and folklore. Some worked; many did not. This presentation will deal with some of these so-called “cures.” From soft drinks to other elixirs composed of exotic ingredients, all with supposed health benefits. It will also feature a few of the people who were part of this enterprise, including Franz Mesmer, James Graham, William Radam, Lydia Pinkham, Senator Dudley J. Le Blanc, and the Kellogg brothers.

The formation of the powerful Hollywood studios turned Hollywood into a worldwide phenomenon. These “factories” included rosters of extremely talented actors, directors, writers, cinematographers, and a whole host of other creative departments that churned out so many wonderful films. During the Golden Era that spanned the late 1920s until the late 1940s, each studio developed its own specific “personality” or style. We will look at each of the major studios: MGM, Paramount, Warner Brothers, RKO, 20th Century Fox, and the minor ones: Columbia, Universal and United Artists. We will watch scenes from many of their great films. We will also learn how they started to lose their grip on the industry that they created.

This course will explore the state of the news media and their audiences today, attempting to examine whether or not truth can be found there, and if so, how people of faith and people in general might be more successful in extracting it.

The American westerns represent the quintessential contribution of American film history. In this course we will follow the rise of this genre from the B-Film days of the silent era and the 1930s, the emergence in the 1940s with darker, serious films, the golden era of the 1950s and the revisionist shift in the late 1960s and beyond. We will examine the iconic characters of these remarkable films: the rugged men and the strong women. We will also look at the core issues of the mythical American West and pioneering spirit that infused this real and imagined world.

This course provides participants with the information and experiences needed to become more resilient as individuals and as groups. Building on the most recent advances in the psychology of Wellness, students will receive an introduction to recent breakthroughs in the science of personality. This lens of personality will be used to guide participants through a personalized approach to building individual and group resilience.