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 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.

“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.

Seminary News

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.