AWARE
Magaz i ne Spring 2022
Master of Divinity Students Jordan Aspiras and Sarah DeHaan are reclaiming the grey space in theology and the church for those with interracial identities. Page 10
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Spring 2022 3 | Presidential Perspective with Javier A. Viera 4 | Responding to the Challenges and Opportunities Facing Theological Education Today 8 | Cutting Edges: A School that Learns
What if, in becoming more accessible, GarrettEvangelical understands itself as “a school that learns” rather than a place that teaches?
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10 | Seminarians’ Podcast Shares Stories and Reclaims Space for Interracial Identities 12 | Reverend Lou Whitmer Names Garrett-Evangelical Beneficiary of Annuity Fund 14 | Garrett-Evangelical Receives $1.25 Million Renewal Grant for Ministry Focus with Young Adults 16 | ACTS Class of 2022 Establishes Two Scholarships to Honor Reverend Dr. Gennifer Brooks
To know that my name remains in the place where I have spent almost all of my professorial life is the greatest honor I could have in my career.
18 | Alum News 19 | In Memoriam
Aware magazine is published quarterly by the offices of
development and marketing and communications for alums and friends of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, a graduate school of theology related to The United Methodist Church with an ecumenical outreach. Feedback and comments for the Aware Editorial Board should be directed to Shane A. Nichols, chief marketing and communications officer, at seminary.relations@garrett.edu.
PRESIDENT Javier A. Viera EDITORIAL BOARD Mary Bowmann Arents Katharine Duke Joseph R. Emmick Shane A. Nichols Tasha N. Sargent Maudette Watley
Presidential Perspective with Javier A. Viera As we near the conclusion of our strategic planning process, my excitement grows by the day about the future of our seminary. We’ve been in a period of discernment, dreaming, visioning, and listening—to one another, to our various constituencies, and, most importantly, to the stirring of the Spirit among us. At a moment of great uncertainty for the Church and the academy, when religious practices and habits are undergoing radical reconsideration, and when our own denomination is experiencing a seismic rupture, we’ve decided that this is not the moment to play it safe or to be timid. Instead, we feel certain that God is calling Garrett-Evangelical to a bolder witness in the world and to a greater sense of mission and purpose. You’ll learn more about our plans in the months to come, but I will share a few initial commitments that should come as no surprise for they grow out of our history and identity, and out of a sense of where we believe God is calling us to be, who God is calling us to serve, and how God is calling us to bear witness in the world. Garrett-Evangelical’s commitment to preparing pastoral leaders for the Church’s ministry is unwavering and will be strengthened, even as we expand programs that prepare Christian leaders for service in multiple vocational pathways beyond the congregation. We have long been known as a seminary that prepares excellent leaders for congregational ministry, leaders who love serving the local church and are called to strengthen, revitalize, and reimagine what congregational life and ministry can be. We remain hopeful about congregational life, even as we know that we must prepare our students for a different and rapidly transforming congregational landscape. Yet we also know that how people come to faith and experience Christian community are dramatically changing, and we need to also prepare leaders, lay and ordained, who conceive of their ministry in different professional and vocational spheres than the traditional pulpit/altar roles many of us were trained for. We do not see these two foci as in tension or contradiction with each other. Thus, we will expand opportunities for counselors and organizational leaders, for journalists and writers, for musicians and filmmakers, for movement leaders and industry executives, and for anyone who conceives of their life itself, regardless of how it is lived out professionally, as ministry. We will robustly expand our spiritual, intellectual, and programmatic offerings beyond our degree programs,
seeking to connect with a wider audience and intending to be a greater resource to and partner with the global Church and other organizations who share our values. Our degree offerings remain central to our identity and mission, yet because we believe so deeply that the research interests and programmatic offerings of our faculty speak to a broad need and hunger in the world, we want to make their wisdom and expertise available beyond our classrooms. We also want to partner with organizations who share our commitment to the thriving of the Church and the healing of the world so that together our work can be amplified, expanded, and have greater impact around the globe. You’ll see this take place through a new variety of educational programs, research projects, and public engagement as we seek to address some of the great challenges facing the Church and world. Our student body, where we do our work, who we serve, and who benefits from our programs, will expand and reflect the fullness of the people of God. As we approach the end of this year’s recruitment season, we’re seeing growth across all programs, something we should celebrate. We’re also seeing a diversifying of our student population, something that we should also celebrate, and it is something that we also intend to strengthen. Our student body should reflect the diversity of the Chicagoland area, as well as of the global nature of the church, and this is an area to which we will give increasing attention and resources. Our scholarship strategy and funding will help advance this aim, as well as our partnerships with a broader range of denominations and organizations. You can also expect to see an intentional effort to reach individuals and communities who have not traditionally been accounted for here and with whom partnerships have not materialized. Of course, much of this vision also requires a sound financial base and a generous base of support, matters to which we are also giving much careful attention. As you learn more, I hope that you too will be inspired by this unfolding vision for the future and that you will want to partner in what God is making known to us, among us, and through us at Garrett-Evangelical.
Javier A. Viera President AWARE MAGAZINE | 3
RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION TODAY An Interview with D. Scott Ostlund, Vice President for Enrollment Management Last summer, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary welcomed Reverend D. Scott Ostlund as vice president for enrollment management. A provisional elder in the Oregon-Idaho Conference of The United Methodist Church, Ostlund came to Garrett-Evangelical from Drew Theological School, where he served as associate director of theological admissions. An advocate for those who have been underserved by traditional approaches to theological education, Ostlund worked with key administrators and faculty to expand the accessibility and adaptability of Drew’s programs for a broader range of prospective students. Ostlund is currently completing a doctor of philosophy degree in theological ethics within Drew University’s Graduate Division of Religion. His research focuses on white racial formation, U.S. evangelical studies, and political theologies. In addition, he is completing a concentration in Wesleyan-Methodist studies.
What appealed to you about the job at GarrettEvangelical? At the most fundamental level, I have been committed to working within communities, be they seminaries or churches, that are deeply committed to anti-racism, deeply resistant to Christian histories of patriarchy, and deeply affirming of LGTBQIA+ folks across every position of leadership and every experience of Divine love. I was drawn to Garrett-Evangelical because the faculty and staff here are imagining what it would mean for its programs, formation experiences, and community-building practices to be transformed by these values. It is also true that I spend a lot of time thinking about the future of theological education and the changing realties of vocational ministry, so I was excited that Garrett-Evangelical’s faculty 4 AWARE MAGAZINE | SPRING 2022
was already building programs that prepare students for a variety of ministry contexts, both within traditional religious institutions like the Church and outside of them, as chaplains, organizers, educators, spiritual caregivers, and more. Students entering theological institutions like Garrett-Evangelical recognize that churches cannot conceive of themselves in opposition to, or separate from, the public square. It is both unrealistic, and it limits the impact their ministry could have if collaboration and relationality across difference are at their core. It should also be noted that as the role of Christian institutions changes throughout society, more students will be pursuing multi-vocational pathways that integrate them into their context in more ways than one, necessitating that they build up skill sets that empower their ministry within congregational spaces and beyond them.
Lastly, I would say that Garrett-Evangelical is unique in the way it fuses public ministry, social justice advocacy, and trauma-informed theologies with the work of pastoral/spiritual care and spiritual formation. Sadly, in some spaces, these two sets of commitments are seen to be doing separate or maybe even oppositional work, but not here. I am incredibly grateful for that. You mentioned that theological education is changing. What is Garrett-Evangelical doing to recruit new students? I think in the past, mainline seminaries embraced a dominant enrollment model that was almost entirely focused on remaining in close proximity to the networks and communities associated with their founding denomination. The thinking went something like this: If we continue to lean into our United Methodist roots, United Methodist students will continue to attend our seminaries in large enough numbers to sustain us moving forward. As many of us are aware, this is no longer true, no matter the denomination your institution is affiliated with. Beyond that fact, such an approach fails to reflect the ecumenical or interfaith commitments that many ministers and practitioners are feeling called to. Now having said that, Garrett-Evangelical is unique in that it has an incredibly rich relationship with The United Methodist Church that continues to be a source not just of incoming students, but also of shared ministry across a diversity of contexts. Moving forward, our plan is to build on this relationship while investing in other non-UMC denominational partners. This includes thinking more broadly about our Methodist heritage by connecting deeply with Pan-Methodist partners, inclusive of alums, faculty, and thought leaders from the AME, AMEZ, and the CME traditions, among others. What about partnerships outside the church? As I have alluded to already, a higher percentage of students are applying to seminaries Class of 2021who Members
are interested in vocational tracks that do not place them within traditional institutional or denominational spaces. In response to this, we are intentionally collaborating with communities who form leaders to serve in some of these new innovative pathways, whether they are community organizers, community development practitioners, non-profit managers, counselors, or chaplains to name a few. We are also increasing our partnerships with organizations that are creating new communities and networks for historically marginalized populations. Whether this is due to race, gender, sexual orientation, or histories of colonialism, it is no secret that traditional institutional Christian spaces are not always generative or safe for marginalized people, and so GarrettEvangelical’s commitment to partnering outside of those traditional spaces is key to developing an equitable approach to enrollment. One example would be our continued work with Faith in Place, an environmental justice organization that draws together people from a diversity of lived experiences and religious traditions to fight for those most impacted by environmental injustice. I would also say that we expect to see an increase in our partnerships and collaborations across the board thanks to the exciting work that is being led by Reverend Becky Eberhart and the Office of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships. Have we developed any new programs? Yes! This fall, Garrett-Evangelical announced two new tracks within current degree programs that we are very excited about. The first is our new “Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care” track within our master of arts in pastoral care and counseling program, and the other is our “Leadership for Social Transformation” cohort within the doctor of ministry program that will start in the summer of 2022. Both tracks create space for students who feel called to a diversity of vocational ministry contexts to be in the same classroom together. (Continued on page 6) AWARE MAGAZINE | 5
It will be common for pastors to find themselves next to chaplains, counselors next to organizers. But the biggest news to come out of our faculty’s work around program development is the launch of new hybrid master’s degrees. Starting in the fall of 2022, Garrett-Evangelical will enroll hybrid students into our master of divinity degree, as well as any of our master of arts programs. This will allow students to participate in Garrett-Evangelical degree programs without being forced to move full-time to the Evanston/Chicago area. This news of our increased hybrid offerings is exciting for multiple reasons. The average student enters seminary amidst a multiplicity of life commitments and complexities that include health, family, professional commitments, and of course issues of equity and injustice that have a disproportionate impact on people of color, women, and LGBTQIA+ students. By creating avenues for students to remain in their community, our hope is that Garrett-Evangelical’s programs are becoming more accessible and affordable, removing material barriers that consistently block students from seminary and theological study. Many of our incoming students have also already noted how these hybrid programs will allow them to fully embrace the place-based values of the Garrett-Evangelical curriculum. Like our faculty, these students recognize that one cannot be equipped as a minister, scholar, activist, or theologian unless the tools and insights that they are introduced to through their degree programs are able to speak back to their distinct context, while accounting for local histories and traditions, as well as the power dynamics that have structured their communities. These hybrid options will strengthen this approach to theological education even more. How is Garrett-Evangelical’s faculty preparing for the future? Garrett-Evangelical’s faculty is doing incredible work to prepare for the changing landscape within ministry and theological studies. One thing I really 6 AWARE MAGAZINE | SPRING 2022
appreciate is how they are approaching the future inter-disciplinarily. They recognize that students and leaders don’t encounter theological questions or obstacles within a disciplinary vacuum, and so they are creating experiences that encourage this kind of innovative reflection and practice. I am also excited about some of the place-based work that I mentioned above. Specifically, the new direction that our Office of Field Education is taking, led by Dr. Sara Williams. Field Education from this new perspective means more than dropping a student into a ministry role, where they can learn abstract skills as if they will apply the same across any distinct ministry context. Instead, students will be expected to reflect on the historical, socio-political, and contextual realities of the place and communities they are serving within. They will be asked to consider how the ministry skills or theological knowledges they have learned throughout their courses help (or don’t help) within the ministry context where they find themselves. Williams could speak to this much more eloquently, but you can trust me that this is an incredibly innovative approach to thinking about internships and ministry placement experiences within theological education. What are the challenges and opportunities facing theological education today? As cliché as this sounds, I think the challenges that theological institutions like Garrett-Evangelical face are also some of our key opportunities. The fact that denominational affiliation can no longer be a school’s only or primary missional signifier or source of enrollment means that seminaries must reflect more deeply on what it is that makes us distinctive as we do the work of the Gospel throughout the world. It also encourages offices like mine to invest deeply in networks and partnerships that are being built amongst faith leaders both within and beyond traditional institutional forms. I think the other challenge for theological education has to do with this issue of access and
the increasing precarity of many of our students that I’ve already mentioned. I was raised by community college educators. In that higher education context, it was always expected that the average learner had to balance family, jobs (or multiple jobs), issues of systemic injustice and economic inequality, health, life, and more. While growing up, I felt like those concerns were unique to the terrain of community colleges and that most of higher education failed to take those students and their systemic realities seriously. From my perspective, theological education could learn a thing or two from the community college world. When we look first at who our students are and second at what our mission is as a Wesleyan institution committed to holiness and justice, it becomes clear that we need to have a sense of urgency around removing obstacles that keep individuals and communities from living into their call in the world. The last thing I will mention is a challenge that I think faces both theological institutions and mainline denominations more generally and that has to do with the changing role of ordination throughout the institutional Church. Ordination is still the goal for many students who attend Garrett-Evangelical, but increasingly, students on those credentialing pathways are pursuing different outcomes than previous ordinands. Maybe they are finding themselves called into a bi-vocational direction, or maybe they are asking their tradition to ordain them to forms of ministry that have previously gone unexplored. I know that as a United Methodist, my annual conference in Oregon-Idaho has been taking these questions seriously. In turn, they have created space for gifted clergy who may not have been empowered by their church in the same way 5, 10, or 20 years ago. Clearly theological education is in a time of transition, but there is much to be excited about. I am incredibly grateful to be doing this work within the Garrett-Evangelical community.
Expanded Hybrid Offerings for Fall 2022 Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is launching hybrid tracks and a refined curriculum for four of our leading master’s degree programs, beginning fall 2022. Guided by the seminary’s strategic visioning process, the faculty has worked diligently to create a curriculum and modality plan that reflects enhanced hybrid options for better accessibility, affordability, and flexibility for all students. Beginning fall 2022, the following GarrettEvangelical programs will be offered in hybrid and/or residential models: • Master of Divinity (Hybrid and Residential) • Master of Arts in Christian Education, reconceived and relaunched as the Master of Arts in Faith, Culture, and Educational Leadership (Hybrid and Residential) • Master of Arts in Pastoral Care and Counseling: Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care Track (Hybrid Only) • Master of Arts in Public Ministry (Hybrid and Residential) “We are thrilled to be able to make GarrettEvangelical’s world-class education more broadly accessible and affordable,” said President Javier A. Viera. “Our commitment is to provide programs for the thriving of the church and the healing of the world, and these hybrid offerings will expand our ability to do that and to walk alongside those who are called to this work regardless of where they live out that calling. Garrett-Evangelical’s spiritually dynamic and intellectually vibrant ethos will now be available to all who can benefit from it, and that is the core of our mission.” To learn more about Garrett-Evangelical’s degree programs, go to Garrett.edu/Degrees.
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CUTTING EDGES: A SCHOOL THAT LEARNS Reverend Dr. Mai-Anh Le Tran, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean
“Theological education is local, but the local isn’t local anymore,” a senior scholar opined in a faculty conversation on the changing landscape of theological education in my early years of teaching in the 2000’s. The comment has stayed with me since, rising to mind each time I wrestle with how theological teaching and learning is simultaneously local, global, and translocal—or, put simply, both defined by place and not confined to a particular place. On March 8, 2022, Garrett-Evangelical announced the expansion of hybrid offerings to increase the accessibility and affordability of four of our master’s degree programs. The tongue-in-cheek reference is that this was a “4.0 upgrade” to our curriculum, a nod to the evolutionary developments of the World Wide Web toward more symbiotic interconnections between human and machine. If Web 4.0 is understood to be “Web meets world,” then so must our theological education be better at meeting the real needs of the real world. The faculty has always understood this principle: theological study best occurs in situ, in which learners explore the real needs and questions of concrete communities, situations, places, settings, and contexts of ministry and leadership. The challenge remains: how do we make that kind of theological education more accessible and affordable in a time when multiple pandemics have exacerbated our ability to connect across time and space, while revealing the complicated symbiosis of human and planetary ecosystems? The curricular updates that we have made are modest, yet they are inside the energy of our missional commitment to making GarrettEvangelical’s education more accessible to and affordable for individuals and communities who need it most. Far from chasing after market-driven 8 AWARE MAGAZINE | SPRING 2022
strategies to deliver “fast and cheap” options for theological learning and far from the colonial hubris of assuming that what we possess is a “gift” to the world, we are reminded that engrained in the seminary’s institutional DNA is the concern that the theological school exists to equip leaders to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable in our midst. As stated in the catalog of one of Garrett-Evangelical’s three founding institutions, the Chicago Training School for City, Home and Foreign Missions (circa 1913-1926), “A Christian training school should be in the heart of a great city for the same reason that a medical school needs to be near a hospital” (Hilah E. Thomas and Rosemary Skinner Keller, eds., Women in New Worlds, 191). Or, as a staff colleague recently asked, how is our education accessible and affordable to those who are often told, “We don’t have anything for you”? “Increasing access” is more than cosmetic retrofitting of our current norms and standards to accommodate a few individuals so that they could fit in, literally and figuratively. Rather, it requires nothing short of an overhaul of our theological and educational design and a deep exploration of the material, financial, technological, social, contextual, and lifestyle barriers that impede learners’ success and thriving. To expand “access” is to query our assumptions about what needs to be taught and learned, how it is taught and learned, and who does the teaching and learning. It begs the hard question of whether our pedagogies (theological, digital, or otherwise) reflect divergent human abilities and the many ways of knowing across cultures and contexts. It also invites us to examine whether we have, with requisite humility, learned to seek out God’s re-creative power within communities that are still unknown and unfamiliar to our dominant frame of reference—communities in our own city, in this country, and in other parts of the world. What if, in becoming more accessible, Garrett-Evangelical understands itself as “a school that learns” rather than a place that teaches?
Making our education “more affordable” is more than reducing a few financial barriers or increasing some material incentive. It requires recognition of the comprehensive cost of attendance, cumulative burden of debt, intangible taxation, and unspoken sacrifices made by individuals and communities for a seminary experience. Increasing affordability requires a comprehensive, holistic investment in each student and the communities which send them. In doing so, Garrett-Evangelical is likely to discover that there is an abundance of resources and partners. Communities that struggle with resource gaps are also the communities that know best the miracles of resource pooling. Ironically, the training schools like that of Chicago’s—designed for biblically grounded, missionally driven, communally centered, locally sourced, practice-oriented, alltogether “accessible and affordable” preparation of lay and women leaders who were often told, “we don’t have anything for you”—eventually succumbed to the formidable establishment of the colleges and universities, and, by extension, divinity schools. When we speak of “access” and “affordability,” we must begin with the fundamental questions, for whom? And for what purpose? For decades now, institutional researchers have portended seismic shifts in the contours of the theological landscape. We have heard that the pie is shrinking, the pipeline is rusting, the cost is skyrocketing, jobs are disappearing, ecclesiastical establishments are crumbling, religious leadership is losing civic credibility, and student debt will continue to be inhibiting for anyone seeking a quality graduate theological degree amid mounting barriers and opportunity costs. And yet, each time we cast our vision a little broader and draw our horizons a little wider, we see that the desire and curiosity for deeper theological study has not gone away. On the contrary, it has only multiplied alongside growing human yearnings for healing and renewal in the omnipresence of pain and suffering. As Poet Adrienne Rich put it, age after age, there are those who are perversely reconstituting this world, through powers humanly ordinary (The Dream of a Common Language: Poems 1974-1977). To strive for more “accessible” and “affordable” theological education is to cast our lot with such
work, or, more theologically speaking, to follow Jesus to the margins, believing that it is where the Spirit of God is doing radical transformative work. In this paradigm, Garrett-Evangelical would not be a place which one simply passes through for some institutional branding for authorized leadership. Nor would it necessarily be a destination center, as if theological study requires a transplantation of self from the “terroir” of one’s of rootedness. Rather, an invitation to Garrett-Evangelical would be an invitation to a journey of multiple origins and destinations, in which every learner is embraced in “a new belonging that this world longs to inhabit” (Willie Jennings, After Whiteness, 10), and therein discovers “themselves as possessing the grace of power, especially the power of re-creation, not only of themselves, but of the world in which they live” (Maria Harris, Teaching and Religious Imagination, xv). I have witnessed such grace of power in GarrettEvangelical’s students. I see it in the students who chose to join the seminary from rural Illinois, from the Pacific Northwest, from South Side Chicago, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from Mainland China, from Mexico by way of California. I saw it in the band of students who traveled to the Special General Conference of The United Methodist Church in 2019, who stood vigil while the denomination’s legislative body debated the limits of inclusion, who broke bread together and reminded each other of God’s calling upon their lives. I see it in the students who hold each other through grief. I see it in the tired yet determined eyes of those who just finished difficult shifts at challenging clinical sites. I see it in the entrepreneurial persistence of those who are multilocal and multi-vocational. Surely, other theological schools can boast of being able to provide accessible and affordable education to bright students like these. As for GarrettEvangelical, we would have done our part if we have made conditions possible for each of these leaders to realize their new belonging in God’s re-creative power, which is defined but never confined by place. *Special thanks to Daniel Smith, Research, Instruction, and Digital Services Librarian, for invaluable research information
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SEMINARIANS’ PODCAST SHARES STORIES AND RECLAIMS SPACE FOR INTERRACIAL IDENTITIES It is hard to imagine seminarians finding time to produce, edit, and promote a podcast in between classes, jobs, studying, and field education, but that’s just what Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary Master of Divinity Students Jordan Aspiras and Sarah DeHaan have been doing since July 2020 with their podcast, Mixed Kids Ministry. The idea for Mixed Kids Ministry began in their first semester of seminary when Aspiras, an interracial Filipina, and DeHaan, a biracial Latiné, were looking for a space where they could be their whole selves and struggling to find it. This missing space led to them founding Mixed Kids Ministry - a place for reclaiming the grey space in theology and the church for those with interracial identities through open conversation and storytelling.
Sarah/SD: I’m Sarah, I also go by SD, and I am a biracial Latiné. I’m a third-year master of divinity (MDiv) student here at Garrett-Evangelical. I graduated from Western Michigan University with my bachelor of science in family studies. Following my studies, I hope to pursue a call to palliative/end-of-life chaplaincy and Death Doula Certification while continuing to study the intersection of death and culture. Mixed Kids Ministry is more than just a podcast, so can you tell us about what Mixed Kids Ministry is and how it got started?
Before we dive into Mixed Kids Ministry, tell us a little about yourselves:
Jordan: We met in our first year here at GarrettEvangelical and pretty early on started having conversations about how theological approaches didn’t quite fit for our lives. I am an interracial woman; my dad is Filipino, and my mom is white, but I was raised in a community heavily influenced by Chicano/Mexican American life and identity. Because of this upbringing, my relationship to my ethnic/racial identity has always been somewhat confusing. A lot of people assumed I was adopted when they saw me with my mom - even teachers and other parents. Teachers would say, “Oh it all makes sense now,” upon seeing my dad. But this is all important to the formation of Mixed Kids Ministry because we weren’t reading or seeing stories like ours reflected in theology and theological discourse.
Jordan: I am Jordan, and I am interracial, raised in San José, California. I’m in my third year of my MDiv, and I graduated from Baylor University in 2019. I am interested in hospital chaplaincy, particularly with intensive care units and abrupt/ traumatic end-of-life care. I am also interested in exploring what it looks like to have chaplains as a part of medical schools, specifically working with residents, fellows, and medical students when they rotate off and onto the ICU.
SD: Mixed Kids Ministry was born in the first semester of our time here at seminary. We quickly realized that there were stories missing from theological education and the church, stories containing those who live and exist in the grey space of the binary, in this space in between. At the heart of it, Mixed Kids Ministry blossomed through our mutual experiences of being multiracial and has been nourished and sustained through the continual building of this community.
Over the past year, Aspiras and DeHaan have launched a website, completed two seasons of the Mixed Kids Ministry podcast, created merch, and more - all while still being full-time students. We were thrilled to get the chance to interview Aspiras and DeHaan and let them share more about themselves and their work with Mixed Kids Ministry.
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You’re both seminarians – how has your theological education played a role in your work with Mixed Kids Ministry? Jordan: It felt like I was having frequent conversations with people in having to explain why my relationship with and to my identity looks different and isn’t one size fits all, and honestly, I had enough. And I’m glad that I found someone who was willing to explore this work with me. SD: As unfortunate as it is, our theological education was seemingly the straw that broke that camel’s back. We went our entire lives struggling to live in this in between, searching for space to exist fully ourselves, and when that still wasn’t present in our theological education, we had to make it for ourselves. In Season 1, you interviewed New Testament professor, Reverend Dr. Dong Hyeon Jeong. What was it like getting to talk in-depth with a professor “outside of the classroom” so to speak? Jordan: This was one of my favorite moments of our interviewing. Getting to talk with a professor about his experience was incredible. It is one thing to hear about experiences through reading a textbook or article, but it is something completely different to get to sit down and hear it firsthand. SD: It was an experience that I know Jordan and I are both very grateful for. Being able to take classes with some of these top theology and Bible scholars in and of itself is such a privilege. So, being able to talk with Dr. Jeong outside of the classroom, pick his brain about a subject(s) that he truly has so much passion for, and also getting to know him outside of that role of educator truly was such a gift. On the podcast you’ve interviewed fellow students and professors, friends, and faith leaders. How do you go about finding guests, especially those outside of Garrett-Evangelical? Do you have a guest wish list of people you’d love to have on the podcast in the future?
Jordan: We’ve had a lot of support from people who are willing to connect us with others. So, from Colton Bernasol, we met Nathan Samayo. And through Reverend Debbie Weatherspoon, we met Reverend Kim Montenegro. In terms of a “wish list,” I think someone on the top of the list for us would be Dr. Chao Romero, who wrote Brown Church. SD: I know in passing, we’ve made comments about having people like Phillipa Soo, but after listening to an episode of “On Being with Krista Tippett,” we’ve added Mexican-American poet Luis Alberto Urrea to that wish list. What can listeners look forward to in Season 3 of the podcast? Jordan: We are planning to interview some more folks, so if anyone is interested in sharing their story, they can email us at mixedkidsministry@ gmail.com. In addition, we are hoping to get more episodes of just the two of us. We’ve talked about a “foodcast,” where we cook and talk about the importance of food. We also both celebrate Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), and we are talking about doing an episode around that and death. SD: Yes, to everything Jordan said! I am seriously looking forward to the “foodcast,” to an episode on Día de Muertos in our lives/our practice, and definitely some great new interviews coming up. We’re also hoping to bring back some of our previously interviewed people to continue conversations. If people want to learn more about Mixed Kids Ministry and how they can support your work, where can the find you on the internet? Jordan: We are on Instagram @mixedkidsministry and Twitter @MixedKidsMin and online at www.mixedkidsministry.com. Our email is mixedkidsministry@gmail.com, and we have a link to our PayPal on our website. We also have merch! On Redbubble, our store is MixedKidsMin, and we have links to everything in the bio on our Instagram and on our website. AWARE MAGAZINE | 11
REVEREND LOU WHITMER NAMES GARRETT-EVANGELICAL BENEFICIARY OF ANNUITY FUND Reverend Lou Whitmer didn’t follow a traditional path to ministry, graduating from college and then going onto seminary. In fact, she didn’t even apply to Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary’s Course of Study Program until she was in her early fifties. Nonetheless, Whitmer said she is deeply appreciative of the education she received from Garrett-Evangelical — so much so she decided to name GarrettEvangelical as a beneficiary for one of her annuity funds. “I believe so highly in the value of a broad, deep, and nonfundamental theological education,” she said. “And that’s what I received at GarrettEvangelical.” So earlier this year when Whitmer saw a Facebook post asking alumni to support Garrett-Evangelical, she started to think about giving money to the seminary’s scholarship fund. She called Reverend Dr. David Heetland, senior vice president for planned giving at Garrett-Evangelical, and told him she wanted to make it possible for other people to get the same type of education she received. “All the pastors I know who did their theological studies at Garrett-Evangelical are very balanced in their theology,” she said. “I really appreciate that about Garrett-Evangelical. Whitmer was born in Minot, North Dakota, and as a child, she moved to Hettinger, North Dakota, where her maternal grandparents lived. In about the sixth grade, Whitmer had what she referred to “as one of the most informative experiences.” One evening, as she sat around a camp fire at Wesley Acres Bible Camp, Whitmer said she felt God’s presence and realized, “God really does love me.” A few years later after her mother died and she became a de facto parent to her younger brothers, 12 AWARE MAGAZINE | SPRING 2022
Whitmer leaned into that love. “As I look back, I am glad I had that connection with God,” she said. After graduating from high school in Hettinger, Whitmer earned her associate’s degree from North Dakota State School of Science and later worked several years in Fargo, North Dakota. She moved back to Minot and started attending a United Methodist Church there. Her new pastor, Jim Pomeroy, found out she served as the church pianist when she was in high school and asked her to resume her duties there. It was Pomeroy who suggested she become a pastor. “I was about 22 years old at the time when he asked me if I had considered the ministry,” she recalled. “This was about 1976, and I had never been around women pastors. I didn’t seriously consider it at the time, but the idea never went away.” A few years later, she moved to a different Methodist church and became the church organist, a job she kept for 31 years. All the while, she continued working as an office manager in a doctor’s office and later as a gift shop owner and an administrative assistant for the music department at Minot State University. One summer day in 2006 as she was waiting for something to come out of the printer, she said aloud, “I am going to go into the ministry.” “Then, I stopped and looked around and thought, who did I just say that to?” she said. “It was such a strong feeling.” Just a few months later, she accepted an appointment in Kimball, South Dakota, a town of about 350 people. “I knew in the deepest part of myself that this was the path,” she said. “This was what I needed to be doing.”
The appointment was “a little complicated,” she said, in that three different denominations shared the church building. In her four years there, she helped bring the denominations together under one yoke. Midway through her first appointment, Whitmer started her coursework at Garrett-Evangelical. Because she didn’t have a bachelor’s degree, she was encouraged to enroll in Garrett-Evangelical’s Course of Study Program. At the beginning of each quarter, she received a syllabus and a reading list from the seminary. Independently, she would read and write papers for several courses each year. In the summer, she would meet with her fellow students and faculty on campus for several weeks at a time. Once she had completed 21 classes, she would be licensed for ministry. Although she found starting her theological studies in her 50’s stressful, she enjoyed her time on campus. “I appreciated the experience so much,” she said. “From the very first class, I realized that the coursework was an intellectual and critical interpretation of scripture, and I was getting all this depth and broadening of my theological understanding. It was so exciting.” After four years in Kimball, South Dakota, Whitmer took an appointment as an associate pastor at Mitchell United Methodist Church in Mitchell, South Dakota. She continued her Course of Study
at Garrett-Evangelical until she was appointed pastor at North Highland United Methodist Church in Aberdeen, South Dakota two years later. Because her new church had a strong Native American membership, Whitmer wanted to learn more about Native American life and spirituality. She received permission to transfer to the Native American Course of Study, where she was one of three white students. Whitmer finished her Course of Study in 2014. She went through the commissioning process and became an associate member of the Dakotas Annual Conference in 2015. Today, she continues her work at North Highland United Methodist Church in Aberdeen. Although, there were times over the years Whitmer wished she had pursued a more traditional seminary experience and master’s degree, her feelings have changed. “I am now proud of my journey and where I have ended up,” she said. “And, I am really, really appreciative that Garrett-Evangelical was there for me.” If you would be interested in exploring how you too could name the seminary as the beneficiary of an annuity, insurance policy, IRA, or a 401(k) or 403(b) plan, contact Reverend Dr. David Heetland, senior vice president for planned giving, for further information. He can be reached at 847.866.3970 or david.heetland@garrett.edu .
Estate planning can be difficult and time consuming, but it doesn’t have to be. FreeWill’s free online tool makes it easy to write your will or make beneficiary designations in less than 20 minutes. More than 300,000 Americans have used FreeWill to create or update their estate plans. To join them, scan the QR code now using your mobile device or go to the website, FreeWill.com/Garrett. While you’re there, please consider leaving a legacy gift to Garrett-Evangelical. Your generous support will help ensure that Garrett-Evangelical continues to prepare bold Christian leaders for our churches and communities for generations to come. AWARE MAGAZINE | 13
GARRETT-EVANGELICAL RECEIVES $1.25 MILLION RENEWAL GRANT FOR MINISTRY FOCUS WITH YOUNG ADULTS new focus, which centers the spiritual lives and yearnings of young adults. In phase two, Garrett-Evangelical will focus on sharing the seven themes uncovered with a broader audience while continuing to partner with six of the original congregations to disseminate learnings and further develop young adult leaders. Specifically, Garrett-Evangelical will:
Recognizing the outstanding contributions made in helping congregations strengthen their ministries and outreach to younger adults, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary has received a renewal grant in the amount of $1.25 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. The “Holy Yearning, Holy Listening, Holy Partnerships” project, established in 2017, was formed out of the Lilly Endowment’s Young Adult Initiative, which aims to help congregations develop and strengthen congregational ministries that build relationships with young adults, nurture their religious lives, and foster their engagement with religious communities. Since 2017, GarrettEvangelical has received $2.75 million from the Lilly Endowment Inc. to focus on this important work. For the past five years, Garrett-Evangelical has embarked upon a bold initiative to help congregations design and launch new ministries that would attract young adults – a population that congregations often struggle to reach. The project has been led by its director, Reverend Dr. Reginald Blount (G-ETS 2005), who also serves as the Murray H. Leiffer Associate Professor of Formation, Leadership, and Culture at GarrettEvangelical, and associate director Dr. Jennifer Moe (G-ETS 2019), and supported by a team of widely respected scholars and researchers. Through deep and intentional listening in a series of interviews with young adults, seven themes emerged and a curriculum for training teams at thirteen congregations was created. What resulted at the congregational level was new experiences and events, new ministries, new spaces, and an entirely 14 AWARE MAGAZINE | SPRING 2022
• Inform congregations, judicatories, and other collaborative partners of the themes, proven practices, and key insights gleaned from our congregations who participated in the work in phase one. This will include partnering with Garrett-Evangelical’s department of Lifelong Formation in producing podcasts, webinars, open online courses, and more. • Support, cultivate, and empower the theological and leadership development of young adults. This work will be done in collaboration with the seminary’s faculty and course offerings, the department of Field Education, and community partnerships. Blount and Moe will continue to serve as director and associate director respectively of this project. “We are confident phase two of this work will have a far-reaching impact on young adults, our organizational and congregational partners, and the Garrett-Evangelical community,” said Blount. “We will consider phase two to be of great success if we have extensively expanded our congregational reach and assisted them in developing and improving their ministries with young adults, cultivated a new cadre of young public theologians committed to putting their faith into action, and contributed to a seminarywide culture shift that builds on its expertise advocating for and ministering with young adults.” The aim of the Lilly Endowment’s Young Adult Initiative is to establish innovation hubs that will assist congregations in launching innovative ministries that nourish and encourage the spiritual and religious lives of young adults, particularly between the ages of 23 and 29. Garrett-Evangelical is one of twelve innovation hubs the Lilly Endowment helped to establish.
The hope of the Young Adult Initiative is by learning about and building relationships with young adults, congregations would be better prepared to design and launch innovative new ministries for and with young adults and begin to change this narrative. Garrett-Evangelical began its initiative by engaging in Holy Listening, a method of qualitative inquiry developed by phase one research director, Reverend Dr. Dori Baker (G-ETS 1990). The project employed ten young adults who we called Congregational Fellows in a year-long fellowship to equip them to use ethnographic methods to listen deeply and to learn from their peers about their understanding of spirituality and their relationship with the church. The interviewees came from diverse faith backgrounds. As the fellows analyzed the transcripts of the interviews they had conducted, the following themes were the ones that emerged frequently: • Welcoming and accessible. Interviewees found communities where they felt accepted being themselves and places where they felt truly seen. • Relevant and relatable leaders. Young adults value pastors who take the time to cultivate relationships, and they hoped that pastors would be approachable role models that they could emulate and with whom they could connect. • Relationships, connection, and community. Our interviewees appreciated being seen, known, remembered, and sought out. They wanted to feel cared for without judgment and connected to God in community in a way that was powerful. • Spiritual practices. Our young adults were already creating and adapting forms of prayer and rituals to fit their schedules, lifestyles, and preferences. They were interacting with prayer as a way of encountering the world and as a way of managing stress and anxiety. • Social-justice oriented. They were attracted to congregations struggling to interpret the
gospel through the lens of social issues such as racism, mass incarceration, sexual orientation, gender identity justice, poverty, and climate change. • Painful past experiences of church. Many of those interviewed had spent a period of time away from congregational life. They had experienced Christian communities that were limiting and painful and grappled with belief and belonging. • Ambivalence about the Christian label. Some young adults were hesitate to call themselves Christian, being acutely aware of the stigma of the label and wanting to avoid being associated with folks who do not share their values. There were also some who struggled with feeling like they were not Christian enough. To continue the work created in the first phase of the initiative, Garrett-Evangelical will focus on sharing the seven themes uncovered with a broader audience and continue to work with six of the original congregations to disseminate learnings and further develop young adult leaders. There are also plans to invest deeply in young adult theological and leadership development through the ongoing work of continuing education, field education, and curriculum offerings at Garrett-Evangelical. The research at the intersection of congregations and young adults unearthed a hunger for accessible practices to help people adapt and transform Christian meaning-making traditions to specific, on-the-ground contexts. Pastoral leaders desire models of ministry that take church beyond the walls and into the worlds where young adults live, work, and play. They yearn for practices of meaning making around the issues of everyday life such as vocation, activism, friendship, and justice-making. An opportunity exists for creatively engaging in a curriculum of meaning making that helps people name, revise, and reclaim gems of Christian story, tradition, and experience for better living in the here-and-now. To learn more about the Young Adult Initiative at Garrett-Evangelical, go to Garrett.edu/YAI. AWARE MAGAZINE | 15
ACTS CLASS OF 2022 ESTABLISHES TWO SCHOLARSHIPS TO HONOR REVEREND DR. GENNIFER BROOKS Those acquainted with Reverend Dr. Gennifer Brooks know she is rarely at a loss for words. But when the Class of 2022 of the ACTS Doctor of Ministry in Preaching Program told her at an end-of-the-year celebration that they established not one – but two – scholarships in her name, she was speechless. “At first, I said nothing,” said Brooks, dean of the Association of Theological Schools (ACTS) Doctor of Ministry in Preaching Program and Ernest and Bernice Styberg Professor of Preaching at GarrettEvangelical Theological Seminary. “I just stood there with my mouth open. I thought, ‘What are you talking about.’ It was mind blowing.” “I could feel myself tearing up, so I went silent,” she continued. “To have two scholarships established in my name is breathtaking and unbelievable.” Although Garrett-Evangelical was already a member of ACTS, a consortium of approximately 12 seminaries in the Chicago area, it did not participate in the doctor of ministry in preaching program until 2006. In the ACTS Doctor of Ministry in Preaching Program, students from six of the seminaries come together each summer for three years to take classes. After they finish their classes, the students work with advisors at their own seminaries to finish their doctoral thesis. When Brooks became dean of the program, she decided she wanted to recognize the third-year class. On their last night, they come together for a worship service and a program where Brooks awards them a Certificate of Candidacy. According to Brooks, the third-year class usually 16 AWARE MAGAZINE | SPRING 2022
gives a gift to the dean during the program. Because the last celebration was on Zoom due to the pandemic, the class sent her a package and told her not to open it until July 9. “I assumed that was my gift,” Brooks said. Little did Brooks know that her doctor of ministry students had a bigger idea. “My classmates and I wanted to do something different – more significant – because we knew that Dean Brooks was retiring in 2023,” said DMin Student Jeryl Salmond, pastor of Ladson Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina, and financial advisor at an international investment firm. “We wanted to do something that would honor her for all she has done,” he continued. “She has given her life so preachers can preach.” The students decided they wanted to establish an endowed scholarship in Brooks’s name that would provide financial assistance to DMin students at Garrett-Evangelical once it is fully endowed, but they also wanted to do something to help current students. Salmond called Joe Emmick, vice president for development at Garrett-Evangelical, and he helped the students establish two scholarships: the Dr. Gennifer Brooks Doctor of Ministry Annual Scholarship that would help current DMin students and the Dr. Gennifer Brooks Doctor of Ministry Endowed Scholarship, that once fully endowed, would help DMin students in perpetuity. Once the plan was in place, the students were ready for the end-of-the-year celebration. That night, Salmond told Brooks they had established two scholarships.
Seminary News “To know that my name remains in the place where I have spent almost all of my professorial life is the greatest honor I could have in my career,” said Brooks. “It is wonderful to know I have left the kind of legacy that says, I mattered to someone, I mattered to the school, and I mattered to the program.” “I feel I can look God in the face now, and say, ‘I have done my best,’” she continued. “I feel like this was a message from God saying, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’” Scholarships for doctor of ministry students are essential, Brooks said, because few seminaries provide scholarships for doctoral students and few churches have the money to help their pastors get advanced degrees. “Doctor of ministry students generally have to take out more loans while they are still paying back loans from going to seminary,” Brooks said. “And there are some programs that don’t allow students to take loans, so those students can’t afford to come. To provide funding for them is to help the church have pastors who are better informed and more knowledgeable and able to lead congregations.” Salmond said he hopes that once alumni and current students hear about the scholarships, they will contribute to them. Brooks said she will also encourage people to give. “Since I’m retiring in 2023, I’ll probably have a party,” she said. “I will tell people not to bring me anything. If they plan to buy anything – even if it is only worth $5 – I will ask them to send a contribution to GarrettEvangelical for these scholarships.” To contribute to the Reverend Dr. Gennifer Brooks Doctor of Ministry Annual Scholarship Fund and/or the Reverend Dr. Gennifer Brooks Doctor of Ministry Endowed Scholarship, visit Garrett.edu/Giving. Be sure to indicate that the gift is for the Reverend Dr. Gennifer Brooks Scholarships. You may also mail a check to Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary Development Office, 2121 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois, 60201. AWARE MAGAZINE | 17
There has been a lot of exciting news coming from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in the past few months! While it is not possible to share every item of good news in Aware, below you will find some of our highlights. To read more about these stories and catch up on all of our latest news, to go Garrett.edu/News. Faculty Members Appointed to Endowed Chairs Three members of the faculty, Dr. Wonhee Anne Joh, Reverend Dr. Reginald Blount, and Reverend Dr. Timothy R. Eberhart, were appointed to endowed chairs effective January 1, 2022. Thanks to the tremendous generosity of loyal alums and donors who have supported the seminary’s mission, these endowed chairs secure support for the teaching and research mission of the seminary. The Junius B. Dotson Institute for Music and Worship in the Black Church and Beyond Garrett-Evangelical, in partnership with Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church, is pleased to announce the creation of The Junius B. Dotson Institute for Music and Worship in the Black Church and Beyond. Made possible by a $500,000 grant from Discipleship Ministries, the Institute will be led by the Reverend Dr. Cynthia A. Wilson (G-ETS 2013). The United Methodist Foundation Sponsors a Fresh Expressions Field Education Cohort The United Methodist Foundation of the Northern Illinois Conference, Inc. has agreed to sponsor a Fresh Expressions Field Education cohort of five Garrett-Evangelical students, allowing the students to answer God’s call to ministry, fulfill their degree requirements, and serve in community-based placements. Students will receive a $4,500 stipend and the cohort will offer an immersive learning experience for pastoral ministry in exemplary Fresh Expressions communities.
Alum News Reed Hurst (GBI 1955) received the Thoburn Cane, which is presented to the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church’s oldest clergy member with the most years of service. Marvin Ceynar (GTS 1962) was awarded the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor reserved for Marquis Biographies who have achieved career longevity and demonstrated unwavering excellence. Deb Johnson (G-ETS 1981) was named a 20202021 Francis Asbury award winner by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. The award recognizes and encourages outstanding support of higher education and campus ministries within The United Methodist Church. Kent A. Lundy (G-ETS 1993) received a commendation medal for his distinguished service as a National Guard chaplain in 2020. Tracy Smith Malone (G-ETS 1993) was elected president-designate of The United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops. Evelyn Parker (G-ETS 1996) was named the 2021 recipient of the Perkins Distinguished Alumnus/a Award by Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Stephanie Perdew (G-ETS 1996, 2012) joined the the Ministry Leadership Team of the Illinois Conference United Church of Christ as an associate conference minister. Bernard Jakes (G-ETS 1999) has been selected to serve on the Chicago Transit Board. Heidi Schlumpf (G-ETS 2000) was promoted to vice president of National Catholic Reporter. Peter Mageto (G-ETS 2001 and 2004) was named the 5th vice chancellor of Africa University. Lisa Wolfe (G-ETS 2003) received third place in the scripture category of the 2021 Catholic Media Association Book Awards for her book Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes). 18 AWARE MAGAZINE | SPRING 2022
Beth Elders (G-ETS 2007) was named executive director of the Greater St. Louis chapter of the American Red Cross. Michael Jarboe (G-ETS 2014) was honored with the Young Alumni Leadership Award from Centenary College at its 2021 Alumni Awards Dinner. Annie Lockhart-Gilroy (2015) has published a monograph entitled Nurturing the Sanctified Imagination of Urban Youth (Urban Loft Publishers 2020) and an edited work entitled From Lament to Advocacy: Black Religious Education and Public Ministry (Wesley’s Foundery Books 2020), coedited by Anne E. Streaty Wimberly (G-ETS 1993), Lockhart-Gilroy, and Nathaniel D. West. Bernard Wong (G-ETS 2015) has been appointed the fifth president of the Chinese Graduate School of Theology, Hong Kong. Kit Evans-Ford (G-ETS 2017) received the 2022 Tom Lock Innovative Leader Award from the Wesleyan Investive. The award recognizes leaders who exemplify innovative spiritual leadership and missionally driven entrepreneurship across the Wesleyan ecosystem. Lizzy Case (G-ETS 2017) was named an invested faith fellow. These social innovators work to create community, do justice, and address systemic problems while building projects with sustainable financial models. B. Yuki Schwartz (G-ETS 2019) created a new Advent resource produced by the General Commission on Religion and Race called, “Reimagine Advent: Discover the Liberating Christ.” Jia Johnson (G-ETS 2020) received the John Purdy, Sr. Memorial Leadership Award from the Community Renewal Society. The award is given to a person who embodies the meaning of justice and faith in action. Cassandra Chee (G-ETS 2021) contributed graphic and layout design to a new resource called Advent Devotional: 2021 published by Brandi Miller of Reclaiming My Theology.
In Memoriam Our Christian sympathy is extended to the family and friends of the following alums who have died in Christ. 1940 Elizabeth Wren King, GBI 1946, Jemez Pueblo, NM, died June 21, 2021 1950 Rubie Butterworth, GBI 1950, Tallahassee, FL, died November 23, 2021. Charles Kessler, GBI 1950, Newport News, VA, died September 30, 2021. Lois Whitehurst, GBI 1950, Tampa, FL, died September 2, 2021. Amos Cambric, Jr, GBI 1952, El Cerrito, CA, died August 20, 2020. Clyde Galow, ETS 1952, Aurora IL, died November 13, 2021. Melvin Miller, GBI 1952, Rogersville, MO, died January 21, 2022. Howard DeVore, GBI 1954 and G-ETS 1993, Eugene, OR, died May 5, 2021. John (Jack) Wise, GBI 1954, Phoenix, AZ, died September 21, 2021. James Lantz, GBI 1956, Goshen, IN, died November 24, 2021. Andrew Noxon, ETS 1956, Lindenhurst, IL, died August 29, 2021.
Clinton Buck, GBI 1958, Memphis, TN, died October 9, 2021.
Raymond Bassett, GTS 1964, Sunrise Beach, MO, died November 7, 2021.
Daniel Buck, GBI 1958, Davenport, IA, died November 26, 2021.
David Nelson, Jr., GTS 1964, Alma, MI, died January 20, 2022.
Samuel Phillips, GBI 1958, Mill Valley, CA, died October 17, 2021.
LaVerne Howard, ETS 1965, Port Allegany, PA, died November 27, 2021.
M. Wendell Davis, ETS 1959, Columbus, NE, died October 25, 2021.
Lance Herrick, GTS 1966, Janesville, WI, died February 1, 2022.
Bob Hastings, GBI 1959, Saginaw, MI, died August 22, 2021.
John Foley, ETS 1968, Albuquerque, NM, died July 8, 2021.
Merlin Schendel, ETS 1959, Leesburg, FL, died December 4, 2021.
Barry Johnson, ETS 1968, Jupiter, FL, died May 29, 2021.
William (Bill) Wiemers, GBI 1959, Fredericksburg, TX, died November 2, 2021.
Charles McNary, GTS 1968, Albuquerque, NM, died January 18, 2022.
1960
John Rhoads, GTS 1968, Wichita, KS, died July 24, 2021.
James Corbitt, GBI 1960, Belleville, IL, died November 7, 2021. Betty Jo Jacobs, GBI 1960, Raleigh, NC, died August 7, 2021.
Alonzo Vincent, GTS 1968, Grand Blanc, MI, died January 26, 2022 1970
Ulysses Doss, GBI 1961, Missoula, MT, died August 8, 2021.
Gene Rick, ETS 1972, Maple Grove, MN, died January 15, 2022.
Richard L. Fleming, GBI 1961, Richardson, TX, died May 1, 2021.
Jack Holloway, ETS 1974, Naples, FL, died March 20, 2021.
Dale W. Brown, GTS 1962, Lombard, IL, died August 30, 2021.
1980
Marvin Rowe, GBI 1956, Oshkosh, WI, died August 29, 2021.
C. Don Ferrill, ETS 1962, Clinton, IL, died September 7, 2021.
Rudolf Trusheim, ETS 1956, Grimes, IA, died December 2, 2021.
Robert D. Koth, ETS 1962, Phoenix, AZ, died January 17, 2021.
James Bloom, ETS 1957, Sebring, OH, died November 16, 2021.
Miley Palmer, GTS 1962, Decatur, IL, died January 24, 2022.
Alvin Briggs, GBI 1957, Algoma, WI, died September 8, 2021.
Richard Near, GTS 1963, Central City, NE, died October 19, 2021.
John S. Decker, GBI 1957, Wichita, KS, died November 5, 2021.
Richard Betts, GTS 1963, Malvern, PA, died November 28, 2021.
Donald Otis Brown, COS 1989, Elyria, OH, died September 7, 2021. Judith Giese, G-ETS 1989, Dekalb, IL, died September 29, 2021. 2000 Thelma Hogg, G-ETS 2001, Chicago, IL, died September 23, 2020. Patricia Efiom, G-ETS 2015, Skokie, IL, died September 5, 2021.
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Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary 2121 Sheridan Road Evanston, Illinois 60201
New Possibilities At Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, new possibilities are everywhere! This May, we will send a new class of graduates into the world to share the good news of Jesus Christ with congregations and communities eager for hope and healing. Your financial support paves the way for many students who wouldn’t be able to pursue their call to ministry otherwise. Giving to the seminary is easier than ever. You can scan the QR code to make your gift by credit card, Apple pay, or Google pay, or you can use the enclosed envelope to mail your gift today. Thank you for partnering with Garrett-Evangelical for the thriving of the church and the healing of the world. Your generosity paves the way for new possibilities!
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