{The Lutheran Ladies' Lounge} Book Club Wrap Up: George Herbert's 'The Temple' with Dr. Erik Ankerberg

Dr. Erik Ankerberg joins Sarah, Erin, and Rachel to discuss the latest Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club pick: George Herbert’s The Temple.

An expert on Herbert’s poetry (as well as a longtime fan), Dr. Ankerberg shares a depth of insight as he helps the Ladies unpack this beautiful but obscure volume of devotional verse.

Who was George Herbert? To what extent was his Anglican faith influenced by Lutheran theology? What makes his poetry feel so fresh and relevant for Christians today?

Poems discussed in detail in this episode include the following:

“The Pulley”
“The Collar”
“The Holdfast”
“Love (3)”

At the conclusion of the episode, the Ladies announce their next book club pick: Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.

Dr. Erik Ankerberg is president of Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor. Prior to his inauguration in 2023, he earned his Ph.D. in Renaissance Literature from Marquette University (dissertation: Toward a Re-Formed Confession: Johann Gerhard’s Sacred Meditations and “Repining Restlessnesse” in the Poetry of George Herbert) and spent many years as an English professor.

Click to learn more about Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor or to read Dr. Ankerberg’s inaugural address (which includes George Herbert’s sonnet “The Holdfast”).

Learn more about George Herbert and sample his best-known poems at PoetryFoundation.org.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

The Lutheran Ladies Lounge is the podcast produced by KFUO Radio and hosted by Sarah Gulseth, Erin Alter, and Rachel Bomberger. Created for Lutheran ladies to have a place to escape to with inviting conversations, laughter, and fellowship with Lutheran sisters, we invite all of you Lutheran ladies to join Sarah, Erin, and Rachel on the sofa in the Lutheran Ladies Lounge to sit, rest your feet, and stay a while. If you’re a Lutheran lady, join us in our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge.

Sarah Gulseth

A proud Michigan native and fan of anything with the Mitten State on it, Digital Media Manager Sarah Gulseth is also a lover of historical war movies and anything with the label PBS Masterpiece. An avid bicyclist and women’s biking advocate, she rides her bike to work year-round and has the massive bike clothing and accessory collection to prove it. If it’s the weekend, she and her husband Luther are probably out riding bikes, or finding the next awesome coffee shop to frequent, or rehearsing for the next choir concert. You may also find her down a new rabbit hole on Google, researching the latest random fact she found on social media, while eating an unhealthy amount of apples (Macintosh from Michigan, of course) and raw almond butter.