Garrett-Evangelical

Programs & Content

Degree Programs

Garrett-Evangelical offers a comprehensive set of degree programs for those seeking preparation for ministry in congregations or in community leadership, service, and ministry. The Seminary also offers degree programs for those preparing for teaching and research in theological seminaries, colleges, universities, and the church. In fact, Garrett-Evangelical is one of 20 schools that prepares the great majority of faculty in theological seminaries.

Though Garrett-Evangelical is a seminary related to The United Methodist Church, students come from many denominational traditions. Those seeking ordination are supported in meeting denominational requirements.

MDiv

Master of Divinity
Our new MDiv curriculum is responsive to the needs of the church and the world as it prepares graduates who are grounded in spiritual practices and who will be adaptive leaders equipped with skills for a variety of ministerial duties and contexts. The curriculum is relevant to the needs of today’s world and it reflects our commitment to preparing public theologians seeking the well-being of all persons and creation.

The foundational courses are interdisciplinary and include attention to developing cross-cultural competencies, understanding sexual and racial identities, ensuring spiritual formation, increasing self-awareness, and discerning the ethical dimensions of many aspects of ministry. It also provides practice in thinking theologically across the variety of situations and contexts experienced in ministry.

There are more open electives and a variety of concentrations possible in the MDiv, including: child advocacy, LGBTQ studies, ecological sustainability, social justice, and peace studies.

MAPM

Master of Arts in Public Ministry
The purpose of this program is to provide theological formation to potential learners who aspire to fulfill their Christian vocations to love God and serve neighbor through public ministries of advocacy, organizing, and justice-making in collaboration with other communities of faith and conscience working for racial justice, economic equality, ecological flourishing, gender equity, and a democratic society that works for all. In particular, the MAPM helps laity serving in community, social, or justice-oriented organizations (e.g. non profits, NGOs, para-church or civic organizations) who seek to enhance their public work by engaging the resources of theological education and formation.

Program goals/outcomes:

Apply biblical, theological, and ecclesial traditions in diverse public spheres to realize justice in solidarity with those who are made poor, the exploited, disinherited, excluded, and oppressed.
Engage in critical and constructive theological exploration of the major socio-political, economic, and cultural ideologies, institutions, and forces shaping various publics today.
Understand, evaluate, and implement diverse ministry models (e.g. direct action, community organizing, policy advocacy) for attaining social justice and promoting the common good.
Lead organizations, groups, and movements with administrative, financial, interpersonal, and online/digital competence.
Inhabit and promote spiritual wisdoms and practices to sustain personal and communal struggles for public justice.

MACE

Master of Arts in Christian Education
The Master of Arts in Christian Education will prepare you to lead Christian education programs for adults, youth, and children in a wide variety of settings. You will study human development, Christian tradition in Scripture and history, theology, and Christian education theories. This program can be tailored to your needs to include academic training for certification in Christian education, youth ministry, and for ordination as a Deacon in The United Methodist Church.

MAPCC

Master of Arts in Pastoral Care and Counseling
The Master of Arts in Pastoral Care and Counseling (MAPCC) provides academic and professional training needed in order for persons to provide ministerial support and counseling within a variety of settings. This program will equip you with the skills necessary to effectively integrate theology and pastoral education (inclusive of, but not limited to the study of human development, crisis intervention and counseling, and pathology) into your ministerial practice.

Clinical Track Option
For those seeking licensure as a professional counselor in the state of Illinois, coursework required for licensure is available through The Center for Religion and Psychotherapy of Chicago (CRPC). Those who chose the clinical track option will be required to complete 63-credit hours to fulfill the requirements of the MAPCC, including two courses at Northwestern University and clinical courses at the Center for Religion and Psychotherapy of Chicago (CRPC).

Students must first apply to Garrett-Evangelical's MAPCC program and following their first semester, they will apply to CRPC's program.

Please note: Acceptance into the Garrett-Evangelical MAPCC program does not guarantee acceptance into the clinical program at CRPC. Each institution has its own admissions process and students are are strongly encouraged to discuss their career goals with one of the Pastoral Care professors as they apply. Once accepted into the MAPCC program, students should meet in early September with their advisor to discuss interest in clinical training.

MTS

Master of Theological Studies
The Master of Theological Studies offers six areas of specialization that allows students to pursue rigorous and critical theological study. Students will build a strong academic foundation for future graduate-level research, for professional enhancement, or for personal enrichment. It can also be combined with another professional degree, such as law, journalism, or social work, to provide a solid foundation for a career in religious leadership.

The Garrett-Evangelical Master of Theological Studies (MTS) program provides the background for preparation for the doctoral study of religion. It can also be combined with another professional degree to provide the foundation for a career in religious leadership in a variety of ministry settings. This two-year degree program allows for specialization in a chosen area of research and a thesis or project that reflects your vocational goals.

While the program is taught by faculty of Garrett-Evangelical, students may also take courses at Northwestern University and at any of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS) in the Chicago metropolitan area. The Styberg Library and the Northwestern University Library, just steps away, provide an extraordinary collection of print and digital resources. In addition, MTS students come from all over the world to form an exciting and diverse classroom experience.

Area of Specialization
At the heart of the curriculum is the master's thesis, which acts as the capstone to your research. Your faculty advisor will normally be in the field of specialization. Advisors in other fields may be made with the approval of the program director in consultation with the field of specialization.
Areas of specialization include:

New Testament
Old Testament
History of Christianity
Theology and Ethics
Liturgy
Religion, Personality, and Culture

Courses Integrating Faith and Service

Introduction to Theological Education
The first course taken in the curriculum, it assists students to develop the writing and analytic skills for theological education, identify their role as interpreters of traditions and contexts, and gain critical self-awareness, with particular attention to how theological education addresses systemic evil, racism, and injustice.

Practice and Theology of Christian Spirituality
An introduction to the practice and theology of Christian spirituality. Particular attention is given to experience with spiritual disciplines, the imbedded theology of those practices, and the vital connection between spiritual practice and engagement with the needs of the world. Special attention is given to approaches arising out of the Wesleyan tradition.

Church and Community
This course is designed to help students understand and develop their own theological positions about the mission of the local congregation in its neighborhood and community settings and about how this mission can be made effective for the work of justice. It seeks to explore motivations, provide resources, and demonstrate methods for such a mission. We will use Biblical/theological sources, social theory, and other resources for developing and evaluating effective ministries for the work of justice. (e.g., parity, equity, figuring out what belongs to whom and giving it back).

The Bible, the Church, and HIV/AIDS
The purpose of the course is to delve more deeply into biblical perspectives on gender and sexuality, the Christian traditions that have developed from those biblical texts, and their relationship to the current HIV/AIDS crisis. As part of this class, students will learn about those traditions and evaluate their effectiveness in today’s contexts. Most important, students will be challenged to ask whether those traditions need to be modified to respond more effectively to the pandemic and to offer creative solutions situated within different biblical and Christian traditions, if warranted.

Interrupting Violence: A Case Study into a Power and a Principality
The purpose of this course is to help students [lay, clergy, seminarians] understand the theological, sociological, and economic roots of violence. We want students to understand the range and depth of what we mean when we say “violence,” including economic, political, interpersonal, religious, and state-sponsored dimensions. We also want to educate students to help them stay safe and to help stop the cycle of violence.

Educating Christians for Social Change
Educational approaches for social justice and mission. Educational and ministerial designs that inform about social issues and involve persons and congregations in mission through constituency building and strategic planning and action.

Christian Moral Theology
To introduce students to the principal historical, theological, and philosophical sources of Christian moral theology. Particular attention will also be devoted to examining moral questions within the context of Christian community and ministry.

Race and Religion in Contemporary America: The Devil in Ferguson
With news headlines of African Americans murdered in their church during Bible study and protests in cities across the U.S. announcing that “Black Lives Matter,” this course will explore how racism operates within systems and institutions within U.S. society. Students will gain insight into the ways racism has developed, especially as it affects Black and Latino/a communities, and explore models for ministry to address the injustice and discrimination inflicted by racism.

Spirituality in the USA Today
Become acquainted with the many and diverse forms of spirituality alive and well in contemporary America. Focus is on types of spirituality outside of the Christian tradition, which will be explored from within it.

Cross-Cultural Immersion
The course provides first-year students with the foundational building blocks needed for cultivating meaningful, effective, and transformative ministry in a culturally diverse world. To this end, the course offers instruction in concepts and approaches basic to intercultural understanding and learning, including biblical and theological resources; virtues, skills, and strategies for meaningful intercultural engagement; opportunities for substantive immersion in a cultural context not one’s own; and assessment tools to enable effective feedback and continued growth as a Christian leader.

Global Christianity in an Interfaith World
The course provides first-year students with the foundational building blocks needed for cultivating meaningful, effective, and transformative ministry in a culturally diverse world. To this end, the course offers instruction in concepts and approaches basic to intercultural understanding and learning, including biblical and theological resources; virtues, skills, and strategies for meaningful intercultural engagement; opportunities for substantive immersion in a cultural context not one’s own; and assessment tools to enable effective feedback and continued growth as a Christian leader.

Chiapas, Mexico: Liberation, Autonomy, Interdependence
This course will offer contextual theological-ethical engagement on issues of indigenous sovereignty, economic and ecological justice, and alternatives to neoliberal globalization, with a focus on the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico and the role of the church in struggles for liberation. The majority of time will be spent in and around the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas meeting with community and religious leaders, with several excursions into the surrounding regions.

Ecological Theology: God and Creation in Travail
This course is a survey of major figures and ideas in the field of Christian ecological theology over the past half century. Students will examine the development of contemporary theological reflection on the promises, dynamics, and sufferings of God and the creation by reading primary texts from a diversity of perspectives, including from Lutheran/Reformed, Trinitarian, Feminist, Catholic, Liberation, Evangelical, Womanist, and Process theologies.

Ethics of Hope in an Age of Crisis
The context in which the Good News of Jesus Christ is to be lived and proclaimed today is marked by an increasing number of distinct but interrelated crises. Environmental devastation. Economic inequality. Political corruption. Financial indebtedness. Climatic disruption. Cultural disorientation. It is clear that serious Christian responses can be defined neither by naïve optimism, despairing cynicism, nor willful ignorance. But what is the lived witness of hope that Christians might offer the world, as individuals and congregations, amidst the krisis of this present age? This course draws upon a range of theological and critical perspectives in seeking to affirm an ethics of hope that is grounded in the promise of the resurrection, the history of faithful struggle, and the inbreaking energies of God’s new creation.

Food, Faith, and Justice: Holy Communion for the Whole Creation
This dynamic course integrates a theology of holy communion with an examination of how “our daily bread” and “common cup” are produced, distributed, and consumed in the global market economy. Through a combination of classroom engagement with lectures, media presentations, and discussion and outdoor learning at area community gardens, permaculture farms, food cooperatives, and more, participants are immersed in the critical questions, spiritual energies, and regenerative practices bound up in the emergence of a more ecologically sustainable and economically just food economy.

Oikos of God: Economy & Ecology in Global Household
This course is an introduction to theological reflection on economy and ecology in a globalized world. There is growing awareness that the interconnected households we inhabit are increasingly marked, not by the kind of sustaining relations on which home life depends, but by various forms of injustice and degradation. There is also a growing recognition that the ecological and economic crises facing people worldwide are mutually constitutive and that singular, disconnected responses are therefore inadequate. The goal of this course is to draw upon diverse theological and ethical resources in thinking critically about the economic and ecological crises facing our common global household and constructively toward a more charitable, just, and sustainable future.

Resisting Biocide: Environmental Ethics for Discipleship
The environmental crises facing human communities worldwide present a host of difficult moral questions for the Christian life. The overlapping problems of ecological degradation, resource depletion, climate disruption, and more–especially in relation to those already victimized by poverty and other forms of oppression –require critical, systemic reflection as well as transformative changes within each sphere of our personal, economic, ecclesial, and public lives today. This course will survey key thinkers and themes within the field of environmental ethics, examine proposals for faithful Christian action, and challenge students to articulate a hopeful vision for discipleship today that accounts not only for the breadth of sin and evil but also the depth of God’s redemptive love for the world.

Field Education Connecting Faith and Justice:

A key aspect of the Field Education Program at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is the intentional consultation that takes place between each M.Div. student and the Field Education staff.

We do our best to understand the call, vocation, and passion of each student so their experience in contextual education can be maximized. We are mindful of students’ learning goals and objectives, their professional development, the style of supervision that will be most helpful to them, and the opportunities for them to be challenged and supported in their skills and character formation. With this key aspect in mind, here are some examples of Field Education internships that connect faith and justice.

Business Meets Faith

Andy majored in business in undergraduate school and, while in seminary, developed his interest in ethics—specifically in business ethics. In conversation with the student, we discovered that Andy would like to bring a Christian perspective to the decision-making of the business world, either in the non-profit or for-profit arena. Through denominational connections, the Field Education staff was able to negotiate an internship for Andy at Wespath, The United Methodist Church General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits global office. There, Andy was assigned to an international team of employees that has the responsibility for developing socially-responsible investment decisions for the denomination’s multi-million dollar pension fund. Andy, the only theologically trained member of the team, was able to participate and contribute to the on-going dialogue between faith and justice.

Politics and Ethics in Public LifE

The Chicago Sunday Evening Club (CSEC) is a non-profit organization that seeks to educate and inform Chicago-based business and political leaders about the role religion and ethics plays in public life. Through documentaries, forums, prayer breakfasts, pod-casts, and other forms of social media, CSEC identifies and highlights social justice issues that impact the lives of the people of Chicago with suggestions of the role and responsibilities that business and political leaders can bring to bear on positive change. With significant interest and experience in social media and with a creative outlook on how media can be used to pursue social justice, Taylor was placed as Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary’s first student intern at CSEC. Of particular strength was the weekly theological reflection that Taylor had with her site supervisor in which she could contextualize her experiences, grow in her understanding of professionalism, and process the complex connection between faith and justice.

Building Bridges: Language and Culture

Anna and Michael were interns at a cooperative five-church experiment in Barrington, a suburb of Chicago. The cooperative consists of two English-speaking congregations and three Spanish-speaking congregations. The five churches are working organizationally and programmatically to deal with cultural, racial, and economic differences in a collegial and equitable way. In addition to the two interns, there are five pastors on the multi-church staff: an African-American, a Korean-American, a Hispanic-American, and two Euro-Americans. Every week this field education experience for Anna and Michael has encouraged them to make connections between faith and justice.

United Church of Rogers Park

The United Church of Rogers Park (UCRP) is closely connected with the ethnically diverse Chicago neighborhood in which it is located. After-school and summer education programs, a community garden, a restorative justice project, community organizing, and developing small businesses are just of few of the projects that distinguish the work of this congregation. Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary has a long relationship with this church because of the ways in which the congregation and pastors demonstrate a public witness of their faith and values. For the past two years, Sean has worked closely with the ordained deacon at UCRP, developing his skills in transforming the lives of children and youth, helping them to see possibilities and finding hope in the midst of difficult social and family situations. This internship has provided a very real context in which the connection between faith and justice is challenged on a regular basis.

Urban Village Church

Student Engagement

Extra-Curricular Opportunities

In additional to field education, students have opportunities to participate in the below student groups, centers and programs while they are in school which increase their engagement with the local community and world.

Seminarians for Justice

Seminarians for Justice is a Garrett-Evangelical student group that seeks to provide a community where students can learn about justice work and what it means to actualize public theology. This includes providing education about social/environmental justice issues, connecting with other organizations and seminaries that are working on social/environmental change, and taking part in public actions. Seminarians for Justice values both robust existential reflection on the issues of our time and substantive public work that furthers the commonwealth of God. We are a social action and group education network. Taking seriously the notion of the Word as flesh, we will strive to embody what Christ looks like today by educating ourselves on, and engaging with, contemporary social and/or environmental issues in a public way.

sustain-GETS

Garrett-Evangelical's commitment to environmental sustainability includes empowering students, faculty, and staff to be good stewards of the earth and its resources in their daily lives, while seeking out institutional collaboration with environmental groups in the Northwestern, Evanston, and Chicago communities. Because the ecological crises we face are interconnected with matters of human justice, and since the poor and marginalized are often hardest hit by realities like climate change, toxic waste, and resource depletion, Garrett-Evangelical encourages efforts to tie our commitments to creation care with the seminary’s longstanding commitments to racial, gender, and socio-economic justice. To see the activities sustainGETS sponsored in the spring of 2017, go to http://www.garrett.edu/GoGreen.

Sacred Worth

Sacred Worth at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is a student group that seeks to advocate for the dignity, rights, and issues of the LGBTQ+ communities and their allies. It is a place of fellowship and support for all persons. Sacred Worth affirms that all persons are of sacred worth, created in the image of God and every effort is made to recognize the rights of all people and to celebrate each person regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Asian/Asian-American Ministries Center

Established by the seminary in 1984, this center serves the needs of Asian American students, pastors, and churches. The office provides services to churches throughout the North Central Jurisdiction by recruiting students for ordained ministry and by training seminarians, pastors, and lay leaders for effective ministry in cross-cultural settings. For more information, contact Wonhee Anne Joh, faculty director, at 847.866.3974.

Center for the Church and the Black Experience

Instituted in 1970 as one of the primary emphases of the seminary, the Center for the Church and the Black Experience (CBE) focuses on African American experience and ministry. This center responds to the needs of the African American students, pastors, and churches. Its purpose is to ensure the integration of black religious experience into all aspects of seminary life, including student recruitment, faculty development, curriculum planning, and special programs. Its aims are instituted by incorporating the African American experience into existing curricula, rather than establishing separate black studies programs; by the endowment of scholarships for black students; and by the establishment of a parity committee made up of equal numbers of black and white faculty. For more information, contact Angela Cowser, faculty director, at 847-866-3984. To learn more about CBE, go to www.Garrett.edu/CBE.

Hispanic-Latinx Center

Established in 1988, this center seeks to bring Hispanic culture and experience into the life of the seminary and provide continuing education to the church. It strives to serve the needs of Hispanic and Latin American students, pastors, and churches. The office provides services to churches throughout the North Central Jurisdiction by recruiting students for ordained ministry and by training seminarians, pastors, and lay leaders for effective ministry in cross-cultural settings. For more information, contact Débora Junker, director, at 847-866-3871.

Stead Center for Ethics and Values

An endowed center, the Stead Center for Ethics and Values draws on the resources of the Seminary, Northwestern University, and diverse parishes and agencies to address the compelling ethical issues facing contemporary society; e.g., technological interventions at the beginning and ending of life; war and religion; the plight of children in the cities; the environment; and human experimentation. It seeks to bring a theological perspective to these issues of ecumenical and international scope. Special lecture series and seminars are among the settings which will bring religious communities, seminary scholars, and university colleagues together with the Garrett-Evangelical community. You can contact Brent Waters, faculty director, at 847.866.3915 or stead.center@garrett.edu.

Women's Center

The Women’s Center contains a large selection of books and other printed materials about the contributions women have historically made and continue to make in ministry. Women are welcome to come there to relax, have lunch, or just “be” at any time. It is also used as a meeting room for small groups and other gatherings. The center housed the feminist theory work group. For more information, contact Virginia Lee, faculty director, at 847-866-4549.

Children's Defense Fund Freedom Schools Program

Garrett-Evangelical is an official partner of the Children's Defense Fund Freedom Schools® program and, in partnership with the Evanston community, will be offering this high-quality, literacy-rich program free to underserved children in the Evanston community in the summer. The six-week program helps children fall in love with reading and makes learning fun. It has proven to curb summer learning loss and help close achievement gaps. You can read the news release here.

Service-Based Scholarships

At Garrett-Evangelical, every master degree student receives a scholarship. Scholarships are available for full-time and part-time students and are designed with an eye toward each student’s passion and our mission. Scholarships range from 25% of tuition up to 100% of tuition with stipends and are awarded for the number of hours to complete the degree program. We do not have a separate application for scholarships; a student’s application for admission will be reviewed holistically for admission as well as scholarship. We award over 2.2 million dollars in scholarships each year

Asian & Asian-American Scholarships

For applicants who are Asian or Asian American and who are interested in multi-ethnic ministries and organizations with a focus on social justice. Students who receive these scholarships have opportunities to work with and help shape the activities of the Asian/Asian American Center. Learn more about the Asian/Asian American Center here. Priority is given to international Asian and first- and second-generation Asian Americans, persons engaged with NEXUS UMC, and others called to serve in Asian/Asian American ministry contexts.

Church and Black Experience (CBE) Scholarships

These scholarships are for applicants of African and African American descent who are called to lead congregations and associations prophetically and in the service of justice, and equity. Students who receive these scholarships have opportunities to work with and help shape the activities of the Center for the Church and Black Experience. Learn more about the Center for the Church and Black Experience here. Priority is given to students and graduates of HBCUs and those committed to racial justice.

Community Engagement Scholarships

For applicants who have called to Public Theology and are, therefore, engaged in community building, advocacy, and activism for the common good. Garrett-Evangelical has a history of preparing faith leaders who are engaged in the wellbeing of all persons and of creation. To learn more about our current public theology initiatives, click here. Priority is given to students who have experience working with and/or a passion for racial justice, child advocacy, environmental/ecological justice, and/or LGBTQUIA inclusion.

Deacon Fellows

Hispanic-Latinx Center Scholarships

These scholarships recognize the unique gifts of our Latinx applicants who will be ministering in bilingual settings and/or who have significant contributions to make to the global religious landscape. Students who receive these scholarships have opportunities to work with and help shape the activities of the Hispanic-Latinx Center. To learn more about the Hispanic-Latinx Center go here. Priority is given to bi-lingual and/or first and second generation Hispanic-Latino/a students.

Mission & Service Scholarships

For applicants who have served in a year-long volunteer mission or service program and are interested in service and non-profit ministries. To learn more about how Garrett-Evangelical is serving the church and the world through its redefined master of divinity degree program, click here. Additionally, go here to learn more about our Public Theology initiatives. Priority is given to students who have completed programs such as: US-2, Global Mission Interns, Teach for America, AmeriCorps, City Year, DOOR, Peace Corps, Presbyterian Youth Adult Volunteer (YAV), Jesuit Volunteers Corps, Luther Volunteer Corps, Brethren Volunteer Corps, or as a year-long campus ministry intern.

Core Commitments

Environmental Q&A: How does Garrett-Evangelical practice and promote environmental stewardship and sustainability?

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is committed to integrating ecological perspectives and sustainable practices throughout the curriculum, worship and spiritual life, programming, buildings and grounds, and administrative operations of the seminary. Our commitment to environmental sustainability also includes empowering students, faculty, and staff to be good stewards of the earth and its resources in their daily lives, while seeking out institutional collaboration with environmental groups in the Northwestern, Evanston, and Chicago communities.

Garrett-Evangelical's environmental sustainability efforts are ongoing and expanding. Through our various partnerships, practices, LEED certified Loder Hall, academic course offerings, and sustainGETS Committee, a lot of small efforts are making a huge impact.

Partnerships

The Seminary Stewardship Alliance is a consortium of schools dedicated to reconnecting Christians with the biblical call to care for God’s creation.
The Green Seminary Initiative encourages schools of theology to be participants in, and keepers of, God’s creation in all its human, biological, geological, and ecological manifestations.

Academic Courses

Sustain-Gets Committee

The sustainGETS Committee promotes the just and wise care of God’s creation in all areas of our seminary life together.

sustainGETS Student Group
The sustainGETS Student Group offers educational, advocacy, and spiritual formation opportunities for students, faculty, and staff committed to ecological justice and regeneration.

Sustainable Practices

Campus wide recycling
Recycling bins at seminary-owned apartment buildings
Campus wide use of green cleaning products (no bleach or harsh chemicals)
Updating air conditioners with energy efficient options
Putting in energy efficient pipe insulation
Designating a hybrid car parking spot in visitors lot
Updating lighting to be more energy efficient
Use of green products or products made with recycled content

LEED Certification

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary was awarded a LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for the renovation of Loder Hall in November 2012. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Building Rating System is a feature-oriented rating system that awards points for satisfying specified green building criteria. Some of the improvements that qualified the building for LEED certification were: geo-thermal heating, motion sensor lights, wall and roof insulation, dual disposal water conservation commodes, and ENERGY STAR building materials.

Hope For creation endowment campaign

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is committed to addressing the urgent environmental crises facing the world’s peoples today and to promoting the just and wise care of God’s creation for the flourishing of all. This commitment is rooted in an affirmation of God’s love for the world, an embrace of our human vocation to be faithful stewards of the good earth, and an active hope in God’s promise to establish justice and righteousness throughout the land.

Through the pioneering work of faculty emeritus Rosemary Radford Ruether, Garrett-Evangelical has long been associated with a critical eco-theological perspective, viewing the aims of environmental sustainability as inseparable from struggles for racial, gender, and socio-economic justice. In recent years, the seminary became a founding member of the Seminary Stewardship Alliance,[1] achieved LEED Gold certification for Loder Hall, and formed a sustainGETS student group and administrative oversight committee. Additionally, Garrett-Evangelical hired assistant professor of theology and ecology Timothy R. Eberhart to teach in the areas of ecological theology, environmental ethics, and food justice. Eberhart was recognized for his work in the recent “Report on Faith and Ecology Courses in North American Seminaries.”[2]

Even so, the times call for even deeper levels of commitment and response. The human-related crises of climate change, ecological degradation, biodiversity collapse, and resource depletion are already the sources of devastating social and ecological harm worldwide. Unless we see widespread, profound changes in humanity’s relationship to nature and to one another, we can expect an ecological collapse of the earth and human society as we know it.

Theological education has a unique role to play in the great work of transitioning toward a more life-sustaining and socially just future. In the September 2014 issue of Science magazine, scientists Partha Dasgupta of Cambridge University and Veerabadran Ramanathan of the University of California write that “finding ways to develop a sustainable relationship with nature requires not only engagement of scientists and political leaders, but also moral leadership that religious institutions are in a position to offer.”[3] In a separate article, Ramanathan writes, “eight decades of research…on the natural and social science aspects of environmental changes has led us to the doorsteps of moral leaders of religions to rescue humanity from climate change.”[4]
Garrett-Evangelical is poised to meet this urgent challenge. In particular, we aim to strengthen our longstanding commitments to ecological justice in three distinct but overlapping ways: 1) by educating ecologically literate leaders for faithful service to the church and the world, 2) by integrating sustainable practices and ecological awareness throughout the life of the seminary, and 3) by expanding our public engagement for the sake of environmental and social regeneration.

I. Education
a. An Endowed Chair in Theology and Ecology
A fully endowed chair will ensure that ecological justice remains central to the seminary’s curriculum offerings at the certificate, master, and doctoral levels, support the development of an MA focus in environmental theory and practice, and solidify the seminary’s leadership in the fields of ecological theology and environmental ethics. Garrett-Evangelical is seeking $2 million to permanently endow a chair in theology and ecology.

b. Endowed Student Scholarships for Eco-Cohort
Financial support for students drawn to study ecological theology/philosophy and environmental ethics in a setting of experimental learning will help nurture faith leaders equipped to address the environmental challenges of our time. Garrett-Evangelical is seeking $5 million to support full-tuition scholarships for five students a year (at the endowment cost of $400,000 per student per year) for up to three years as part of an eco-cohort of no more than 15 total students.

II. Integration
a. The Greening of the Seminary
The integration of sustaining ecological practices and a robust ecological consciousness across the seminary’s entire operation spans the following areas: administration (e.g. coordination, purchasing and investments, metrics), buildings and grounds (e.g. energy, dining services, cleaning supplies, waste and recycling), faculty and curriculum (e.g. faculty training, new course development, library resources, field education opportunities), seminary culture (e.g. community life, worship, student groups, programming), and institutional collaboration (e.g. Northwestern, Seminary Stewardship Alliance, Green Seminary Network, Faith in Place, Citizens Greener Evanston). Garrett-Evangelical is seeking $1 million to support the implementation of the sustainGETS Environmental Stewardship Plan, which identifies key sustainability goals across all areas internal to the seminary’s operations.

III. Engagement
a. An Endowed Center for Ecological Regeneration
The historic social commitments of Garrett-Evangelical are embedded in our many centers and institutes: e.g. Center for the Church and the Black Experience, Hispanic/Latino/a Center, and Reuben P. Job Institute for Spiritual Formation.[5] At present, the seminary does not have a related center/institute focused upon ecological justice. Garrett-Evangelical is seeking $2 million to endow a Center for Ecological Regeneration to support an annual budget for staffing, research, conferences/ workshops, an online Journal for Bioregional Discipleship, and public eco-theological engagement with the Evanston community, Chicago area, and Midwest region.

Q: What makes Garrett-Evangelical unique?

We equip our students to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel, to foster deep spirituality in the lives of others, to serve with cultural competence and commitment to racial equity, and to lead transformative change for the wellbeing of all persons and creation. At Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary we want our graduates to thrive as public theologians in their communities. Being a public theologian means being able to bring the resources of our faith to the public square with concern for “the common good.” We have pursued work in three focal areas: race/non-violence, child advocacy, and environmental sustainability. The following are updates in each area:

Race/Non-Violence

The Center for the Church and the Black Experience (CBE) under the leadership of its director, Dr. Angela Cowser, Assistant Professor of the Sociology of Religion, is one of the main conduits attending to our work in race/non-violence. This year CBE celebrated its 45th Anniversary as a beacon of hope and inspiration for Black students, pastors, churches, and communities. CBE has been instrumental in expanding learning and understanding for the entire seminary. While it seeks to address the unique challenges facing Black people, the center also works to educate and inspire all persons who live, work, and study at the seminary.

It recently marked its 45th Anniversary with a Generations Gala honoring the CBE 45 Outstanding Alums and the Garrett-Evangelical Black Seminarian 2017 graduates. They welcomed 260 guests to the celebration, which included a keynote address by Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram of the First Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. This gala also marked the first phase of CBE’s effort to raise $1 million to permanently endow its work. This will ensure that academic and vocational initiatives focused on the multifaceted nature of Black life remains an essential component of the seminary’s institutional identity and curriculum. To learn more about CBE or to give, go to www.Garrett.edu/CBE.

Our Hispanic-Latinx Center is growing in its presence and influence on our race/non-violence work. Dr. Débora Junker, Director of the Hispanic-Latinx Center, has revived the work of the center including re-naming it, adding new volunteer activities, and offering “lunch and learn” discussions. In 2016, the center installed the Cátedra Paulo Freire, which promotes educational events, research activities, and the enrichment of dialogue among students, faculty, religious leaders, and community members. The Cátedra is a resource for Latinx communities encouraging their engagement and interaction with the realities and contexts of the Latinx population in the U.S., and at the same time enhances relationships with the Garrett-Evangelical community.

The theme of this year’s Cátedra was “Liberating Hope within a Traumatized World” and featured Dr. Antonia Darder as the keynote speaker. Her address was titled, “Friere and the Struggle for Our Humanity: Toward a Decolonizing Pedagogy.” She is a distinguished international Freirean scholar and a public intellectual, educator, writer, activist, and artist. Garrett-Evangelical faculty members Drs. Nancy Bedford, Angela Cowser, and Timothy Eberhart participated in panel responses and led group discussions on Friday related to their own disciplines. Dr. Bedford’s group discussion was titled, “Latin-x and Latin American Perspectives on Liberating Hope; Dr. Cowser’s, “Hope and Power in the Midst of Violence and Trauma;” and Dr. Eberhart’s, “Regenerating Hope: Biocultural Pedagogy in the Age of Anthropocene.” This is a wonderful annual event serving as an expression of our commitment to public theology and the Hispanic/Latinx community within and outside our walls. To learn more about the Cátedra, go to www.Garrett.edu/Catedra.

Related to immigration concerns, our community has also been exploring how we may collaborate with Northwestern University student groups and Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl and upon her retirement Evanston’s new mayor Steve Hagerty in supporting the sanctuary movement.

Child Advocacy

In summer 2016, we opened the Garrett-Evanston Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools® program in partnership with Friendship Baptist Church and the Evanston community thanks to the work of its co-directors, Garrett-Evangelical’s Christian Education professors, Drs. Reginald Blount and Virginia Lee. The CDF Freedom School’s program is a six-week, high-quality, literacy-rich program free to underserved children that has been proven to curb summer learning loss and help close achievement gaps. Thirty-five children in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade participated. These scholars were from Evanston’s Fifth Ward, a ward of primarily Black and Brown people and the only ward in Evanston without its own elementary school. The program was a resounding success. Parents saw their children fall in love with reading and excited to go to school each day. And, we were excited to learn in January, that the Garrett-Evanston CDF Freedom Schools program was again approved for summer 2017 in the fifth ward, with the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center as a new partner.

In honor of the 20th Anniversary of the Order of Deacons, Garrett-Evangelical launched a new Deacon Fellows Program. The first cohort starts fall 2017. As a Deacon Fellow, a student will be a part of a cohort that has meals together with the Director of Deacon Studies, Dr. Virginia Lee, once or twice a semester; has opportunities to network with deacons in the Chicagoland area; connects through a Garrett-Evangelical Deacons Facebook group; is invited to the Deacon Dialogue –a gathering for deacons from around the country, every other year, for workshops, worship and networking; and has opportunities for internships both inside and outside the local church, including an internship at the Garrett-Evanston CDF Freedom Schools program.

Environmental Sustainability

Garrett-Evangelical’s commitment to environmental sustainability is to integrate ecological perspectives and sustainable practices throughout the curriculum, worship, and spiritual life programming; buildings and grounds; and administrative operations of the seminary. Much of this work is branded sustainGETS including a student group sharing this name. The initiative touches a number of academic and institutional areas within and outside our walls and is led by Dr. Timothy Eberhart, Assistant Professor of Theology and Ecology, with the support of Ms. Erin Moore, Director of Strategic Initiatives. In 2016-17, Eberhart and Moore hired Ms. Liz Lwanga, an MTS student, as the first sustainGETS Associate to ensure greater progress on the seminary’s sustainability plans.

Dr. Eberhart made significant contributions to further curricular offerings, worship/spiritual life, and programming. In addition to his normal teaching load, in January Eberhart offered a special course/trip with MTSO professor, Dr. Timothy Van Meter: “Chiapas, Mexico: Liberation, Autonomy, and Interdependence.” The course provided contextual theological-ethical engagement on issues of indigenous sovereignty, economic and ecological justice, alternatives to neoliberal globalization, and the role of the church in struggles for liberation. Eberhart also wrote the “Hope for Creation” endowment campaign statement to position Garrett-Evangelical for ecological renewal.

The campaign will seek to raise funds to strengthen our long-standing commitments to ecological justice in three distinct but overlapping ways:

By educating ecologically literate leaders for faithful service to the church and the world;
By integrating sustainable practices and ecological awareness throughout the life of the seminary; and
By expanding our public engagement for the sake of environmental and social regeneration.

To read more, go to www.Garrett.edu/sustainGETS and then select, “Growing for the Future.”

Careers that Change the World

Q: What are some of the innovative or non-traditional jobs/careers recent grads have landed?

Lamon Caldwell, MDiv’17, Thornwood High School, Character Development Instructor Works with high school students to develop positive character traits, social-emotional skills, restorative practices, and team building.
Sean Crews, MDiv’17, Project Transformation: Pacific Northwest, Program Director
Chris Roe and Jonathan Shotwell, MDivs’14, Owners of Books & Mortar Bookstore. The mission of Books & Mortar is to be a community-minded independent bookstore that enhances the quality of life for the people of Grand Rapids, Michigan through promoting a literacy culture, curating a socially conscious book selection, providing community space for open dialogue, offering retail space for local artists and affirming the freedom of speech.
Pat Efiom, DMin’15, Equity & Empowerment Coordinator at City of Evanston Illinois Government
Nick Joyner, MDiv’16, ACT Recovery Counselor at Trilogy Behavioral Healthcare

Q: Profile three alum who are integrating faith and service in their current ministry/career fields.

Kentina Washington-Leapheart, MDiv 2013

Director of Programs for Reproductive Justice and Sexuality Education at Religious Institute
“We are an organization dedicated to advocating for sexual health, education, and justice in faith communities an society. My position affords me the tremendous blessing to work with seminaries and seminarians around topics of sexuality education and faith, and I also get to engage in great advocacy work with people of faith around full-spectrum reproductive justice.”

Jonah Holm, MDiv 2016

Church Planting Pastor, Zao MKE Church
Jonah has been sent out by The United Methodist Church to plant a new, radically inclusive Christian church in the city of Milwaukee, WI. By spending time embedded in communities of art, activism, and liberation across the city, Jonah reaches people not often found in traditional settings. The gathering that has emerged from Jonah’s work is made up of people of many backgrounds, races, genders, and orientations. Together they have committee to building Zao MKE as a Jesus-rooted, justice centered, radically inclusive church.

Rachel Neer, MDiv 2016

Executive Director, Project Transformation: Pacific Northwest, an extension ministry of the UMC. The mission of Project Transformation is to engage young adults in leadership and ministry, support underserved children and families, and to connect churches to communities in need. We do this through avenues of literacy, social-emotional learning, and intentional relationship building. The hope of the program is that we can target and break down root cycles of childhood poverty to provide children and families with the support and community they need in order to be successful. A large part of my role is building community and church partnerships, fundraising, and finding new ways to tell the story of Project Transformation to people who have not yet heard about us (or to people who have heard about us, but still have a hard time grasping what we are doing).

The President's Q&A

Q: How is Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary changing the world?

Dr. Lallene Rector

President, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

We begin with a vision statement that informs all of the strategic priorities at the seminary with its declaration of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary as a “servant seminary” dedicated to serving the community around the seminary, to partnership with the local and global church, to hospitality and welcome for all persons, and to generational stewardship. This understanding of the institution as servant is critical to the ethos - its values and its actions - in which our students are immersed for several years.

The embodiment of this is shown in part by the school’s mission to educate and equip graduates who understand themselves as public theologians committed to work for the wellbeing of all persons and creation – and to lead others in doing so. We expect them to work not only with Christians, but also with persons of other faiths, and persons of no faith – to work with all those who share a commitment to the common good and to leading the kind of transformation that is necessary to change the world.

This work as public theologians does not begin following commencement, but begins with recruitment, and then more actively upon enrollment with the explicit goals of formation (being), theological education (knowing), and skill building (doing). Formation happens during the whole tenure of a student, but receives specific attention in discernment work focused on understanding call and the theological underpinnings of what it means to love God with all one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength – and then to engage what necessarily follows, the love of neighbor.

It is in the expression of love of neighbor that the knowing and doing aspects of the curriculum come to play most visibly in “changing the world.” This can be seen in a number of ways:

Field Education Placements

Field Education Placements in which students work in congregation and community assessing the particular needs of a community and then taking action. Dimensions of this are experienced, for example, in community organizing courses in economically challenged communities torn apart by racial conflict, gang life, gun and police violence - faculty, clergy, laity, and student all working together to make a specific difference in a community. Our collaboration with the United Methodist Church’s “Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st c.” initiative is another example.

Curriculum

Specific Courses taught by our faculty in community: Community Organizing courses; Public Theology courses; Travel Trips for course credit focused on environmental sustainability; courses that include experiences of constructive protest against inequity, racial discrimination, immigration bans, and environmental degradation.

Children's Defense Fund Freedom School

Sponsorship of a Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School for elementary children in an underserved ward of Evanston. The 6 week summer literacy program serves as many as 50 children each summer and engages a number of our seminary students and faculty as well as community members, parents, and clergy in a program that has been transformative for all involved. The work of the CDF Freedom School is ongoing during the academic year with supportive course work and preparation that includes learning about racial and economic discriminations that must be systemically challenged.

Commitment to Diversity

Commitment to Racial/Ethnic Diversity as embodied in our curriculum, our recruitment and hiring practices, as well as in our Center for the Church and the Black Experience (45 years of preparing black clergy, as well as being a leading source in the country of Black PhD scholars in religion); our Hispanic/Latinx Center, and our Asian/Asian American Ministry Center. The school is dedicated to recruiting a diverse faculty and student body – one that reflects the world in which our graduates will serve. Our student body is about a 50/50 balance of white and persons of color and as such, provides a community of formation that helps, along with the curriculum, to instill personal knowledge and cultural competence in navigating these differences. We believe this is part of what it means to be servant seminary with the capacity to prepare leaders who will “change the world.”

Our application goes into to greater detail, but from a presidential perspective, I want to convey the depth of our institution’s commitment to not only preparing leaders who will change the world, but also to being an institution that makes a difference in our surrounding community while we are educating and equipping those leaders. It is part of our institutional DNA to participate in John Wesley’s call to “social holiness” (love of neighbor) based upon vital piety (love of God and the practices that support deepening this love of God). We are grateful for the ways in which being recognized as “a seminary that changes the world” strengthens our ability to continue doing so!

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