Donor Stories Archives - Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary

Dreams and Dollars

Marketing and Communications — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 18:46:53 +0000

How accessible and affordable education empowers leaders in the global church

“Giving a scholarship to an international student is giving them the world.” Rev. Juliet Chirowa doesn’t mince words when talking about the barriers people face when seeking to study in the U.S., and the impact of donors’ generosity. “It makes life manageable; you only need to find money for accommodation and food. If I had to fund the whole program without a scholarship, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Prior to attending Garrett, Rev. Chirowa served as a pastor in Zimbabwe for 29 years. In that work, she had become acutely aware of a need and desire to learn more about pastoral care, to better walk beside her congregation. “I’ve always been a person who aligns with suffering people,” she explains. “Yes, part of being a pastor is sharing the Word. But what I love most about ministry is offering presence to those going through trauma, those who are sick—to help anyone enduring challenges know they are not alone.” The scope and magnitude of that pain, however, requires more than a compassionate heart—she needed training as a chaplain. “I knew the United States was foundational in the field of pastoral care and counseling, especially Clinical Pastoral Education” she says, “and particularly wanted to learn from the expertise here at Garrett.” But turning that dream into a reality is easier said than done.

“Even just accessing the information is a real challenge,” she explains. “Most of us in Zimbabwe don’t have computers. And that’s before you get into the difficulty of navigating the immigration office to apply for a visa.” While Garrett’s admissions team was able to assist her in the process, there are structural hurdles that the U.S. demands from anyone seeking to obtain a student visa. “You need money to do that,” she continues. “You need to have all your information at your fingertips, and even after all of that, you’re going to be coming to the United States with the last dollar in your pocket.” For someone like Rev. Chirowa, who also needs to fund her three children’s education, it takes an entire community’s resources and support to pursue a masters degree, even with a scholarship. Despite her diligence jumping through the State Department’s many hoops, she was still denied a visa in her first year. Fortunately, Garrett’s expansion of online, accessible classes meant she wasn’t forced to defer her dreams. “Garrett helped me access books and classes online that first year,” she says. “They even gave me mock visa interviews with the dean so I could prepare, walking beside me while I was still in Zimbabwe.”

That diligence paid off: Her second year, Rev. Chirowa secured the visa she needed to study in Evanston. “Student Life prepared everything for my landing,” she says with joy. “A student picked me up from the airport. When I got to my room, I had sheets for my bed, blankets to sleep on, a full refrigerator that fed me those first few days.” Programs like Eliza’s Kitchen and Closet offer yet more assistance: free winter gear, household appliances, and other essentials for on-campus living.

All this support costs money to offer and sustain, but Garrett is blessed with alums and friends who are passionate about ensuring that material obstacles don’t stand between folks like Rev. Chirowa and their ministry. Peggy Ferrell attended Garrett for a year, where she also met her late husband, Rev. Charles Ferrell (GTS ’54). “Those classes at Garrett prepared me so well for my life as a minister’s wife, in addition to my own continued studies,” she says. “But more than that, Charlie and I were blessed with lifelong friendships made at Garrett. My three seminary roommates and I not only met our husbands at Garrett, but also remained close no matter the geographical distance, and for 7 decades were caring sounding boards for each other.” When the Ferrells considered how they could honor their deep gratitude, they felt powerfully called to pay it forward to the next generation of clergy. Therefore, they funded an endowed scholarship in their names.

“Charlie and I always kept our eyes out for what we were able to do. We knew we were not going to save the world, but that’s not our assignment. Thankfully, God put someone else in charge of that,” she laughs. “I still look for ways I can be of service to God and that’s why I gave to support Garrett’s international students. We had international students live with us many times over the years”. She recalls fondly an experience of using the Bible to transcend a language barrier. “The woman didn’t speak English, I didn’t speak Albanian, and we were alone. What could we do?” Ferrell remembers. “The woman brought out her Albanian Bible and would point to scriptures that were meaningful to her, and I would do the same—that’s how we conversed. After a few exchanges, the Albanian woman put her hands together and looked toward the sky, offering the few English words she knew: ‘Thank you, Jesus.’ It was quite a touching thing.”

Moved by this experience and others, Ferrell made a significant donation to support Garrett’s international students at a critical juncture when that generosity is needed more than ever. “I see students caught in emergency situations not of their own doing and I thought, ‘Aha, God is telling me that I can do something about that,’” she says. “It may not be everything, but God takes what we can offer and increases it by grace. That’s what makes life exciting.” Through gifts from the Ferrells and many others, Garrett can offer significant scholarships to students like Rev. Chirowa that make a difficult dream an attainable reality. “We are coming from poor communities and cannot afford those fees for ourselves,” Rev. Chirowa notes. “A scholarship lifts that burden.” For Ferrell, it also creates at Garrett the kind of learning environment God desires. “Obviously, God loves diversity,” she quips. That’s why we can pick a variety of flowers and form a beautiful bouquet. And, when we rotate crops, we get a healthier soil. If you go through your life only seeing things from one perspective, all you’ll ever see are the walls of your own tunnel. We need students from all types of cultures to expand our view of God’s world.”

Increasing accessibility in theological higher education births community in which Rev. Chirowa can joyfully learn. “Garrett is a place where culture is not an issue,” she says with a smile. “It allows me to be who I am as much as I accommodate someone from somewhere else. When I looked on the website, I thought the absence of discrimination might just be words. But when I came here, I discovered it’s true: You feel so secure on campus.” After graduation, Rev. Chirowa wants to pursue additional pastoral care training in a local hospital but then wants to put those skills to use in her home country. It’s a journey that mirrors what Ferrell sought to seed with her gift. “My hope is that they will do God’s will for their lives wherever they are.” she concludes. “That’s certainly what our world needs.”

To learn more about how to give your gift and support students like Rev. Chirowa, visit our giving website.

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Fundraising Is People

Marketing and Communications — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 14:38:58 +0000

Reverend Dr. David Heetland reflects on 42 years of service

When the Reverend Dr. David Heetland took the podium at a trustee dinner celebrating his 42 years serving Garrett, he would have had every right to boast about his many accomplishments. In his capacity as vice president for development, and most recently senior vice president for planned giving, Heetland helped raise more than $200 million—perhaps the person most singularly responsible for the seminary’s secure financial foundation.

In this moment affirming that legacy, however, Heetland spoke of gratitude. “I am grateful,” he said, “for this sacred work to which I was called—to help people grow in their own spirituality by investing themselves in something bigger than themselves, and in the process discovering the joy of giving and the truth of Jesus’s words—that when they invest themselves in something greater than themselves, in the causes of Christ, they discover life at its deepest, richest level.”

“But it is not just the donors who grow spiritually,” Heetland continued. “So too do we. I have grown in my own faith journey as God has taught me much about life and giving through the donors I have come to know.” Those words embody what makes his understanding of stewardship so powerful: He never treated development as just asking for money. Instead, he rightfully lived this calling as a ministry.

Heetland noted that, too often, ministers are not trained with this perspective; therefore, the prospect of fundraising elicits fear and anxiety. “Seminaries have not done a great job of teaching pastors about the importance of financial stewardship,” he said. “And talking about money is one of the last taboos we have, so many ministers simply aren’t comfortable asking people to give.” A study some years ago confirms this assessment. When pastors were asked what part of their jobs they felt least prepared to do, fundraising was the resounding consensus.

The way to alleviate this sense of fear, Heetland suggested, is to shift the focus from securing donations to cultivating relationships. “Oftentimes, we have the idea that asking for money is convincing someone to do something they don’t want to do,” he said. “But actually, our mission is to plant seeds of awareness. Before ever asking people to consider a gift, I want to hear their stories. I need to understand their interests and values and where they may intersect with our mission.”

This change in approach can transform fundraising into a process of deep mutuality and unexpected joy. It can also lead to what Heetland likes to call “happy surprises.” One time, for example, a colleague recommended Heetland talk with a gentleman he had met. Heetland visited the man at his home several times and learned of his deep commitment to his local church and his willingness to learn more about Garrett. On the anniversary of their first visit, the gentleman indicated his intention to give $5,000 a year for five years to establish a scholarship in his name. Unfortunately, he died a few months later. Shortly after his death, however, Heetland was notified that the gentleman had included the seminary in his will for a gift of $300,000—enough to permanently endow a leadership scholarship in his name. It was a very happy surprise!

Time and again, Heetland discovered that when he focused on building long-term relationships, amazing things happened. “I saw donors in their fullness, with many different gifts,” he noted, “including perhaps the gift of financial resources. I saw them as our partners, collaborating with us on projects that would give them, as well as us, great joy. I saw them not just as donors, but as friends—friendships built on mutual trust and respect. And more often than not, it is when these long-term relationships are nurtured that happy surprises result.”

Heetland concluded his remarks at the dinner by telling those gathered that he grew up on a farm, and that one of his favorite parables is the parable of the sower. “We are reminded,” he said, “that some seeds fall on rocky ground, some seeds fall on thorny ground, some seeds fall on good soil. The sower does not cause the seeds to grow. The sower simply plants the seeds, knowing that God will cause some to grow and bring forth grain, some a hundred-fold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

“And so it is with us,” Heetland noted. “We are called to diligently plant seeds of awareness about Garrett’s mission day in and day out. We never know for sure which seeds will sprout and produce gifts, some a hundred-fold, some sixty, and some thirty. We simply know that if we are faithful in our work, the Word is our promise, and we can rest in the knowledge that God will cause some to grow and bring forth grain. These are our happy surprises—and they never fail to delight because they remind us that God is always at work in our midst.”

If you would like to honor David Heetland’s 42 years of ministry at Garrett, you are invited to contribute to the David and Kathy Heetland Endowed Scholarship.

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A Lifetime of Commitment

Marketing and Communications — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 02:33:04 +0000

An interview with Rev. Jenny Weber

When Rev. Jenny Weber (G-ETS 1997) was approached by Garrett to create a student scholarship in her name 13 years ago, she didn’t have all the money she needed. Few lifelong pastors do. And yet, Rev. Weber knew that she felt called to invest in the next generation of ministers so she worked with Garrett’s development office to create a legacy plan, combining both gradual donations over time and a will commitment naming the seminary, so another student could attend seminary debt-free. “I was one of those fortunate scholarship recipients,” Rev. Weber says. “I’m so deeply grateful for that, especially as I hear about so many others who grapple with such large debt. As a recipient of such generosity, I was raised in a family who taught me that giving back is part of what we do.”

This personal window has given her an intimate look at the kind of transformative ministry a Garrett scholarship can enable. She has served as a parish minister across a wide variety of congregations—urban, suburban, and rural alike—and eight years ago also co-founded the Morning Retreat Center in Hampshire, Illinois. In this most recent call, she has created space for other people to find restoration. “I’ve led women’s retreats, guided people through different prayer practices, organized grief groups and more,” Rev. Weber explains. “The Center is in a country farmhouse—a cozy space where people can come to rest, read, pray and find what they need. We just create the space to ensure they have what’s necessary to do that.”

It’s fitting, because space to sit, reflect, and study is also a gift that seminary scholarships enable. Seminary education is a rigorous experience under the best of circumstances and it’s even more difficult when students must work part- or full-time to match the cost of tuition or take on debt that will limit their future choices. This is particularly true for the increasing number of Garrett students who are second-career ministers, international students, and first-generation college graduates—groups that face more difficulty to afford a masters-level education. “It can be so stressful when you’re in the midst of wanting to learn and grow if you’re also worried about finances,” Rev. Weber notes. “I hope this scholarship helps folks do their education in a timely manner and be able to begin their call.”

In addition to alleviating financial anxiety, reducing students’ monetary pressures also helps them take full advantage of seminary learning that happens outside the classroom. “When I was at Garrett, some of my favorite memories were attending community meal in Loder, spending time freely in conversation,” she says. “I was in a covenant group, as well. That feeling of connectedness is so important—forming friendships, just being able to hang out, learn, and grow.” These informal networks are also essential to sustain the ministries students pursue after graduation, particularly in early career years. “It’s crucial to have that support from people who understand what we’re going through as clergy,” she confides

While it took years to build the money needed to sustain a scholarship, Rev. Weber found other ways to nurture Garrett students while she donated funds. “I’ve been so blessed to be the field education supervisor for several students,” she shares. “Garrett’s focus on practical, hands-on experience is such a strength of the seminary. Particularly working in Chicagoland, it creates a diverse context that informs students as they learn everything from caring for homeless populations to preaching.” One blessing Rev. Weber feels she received from her own field education were lessons about the administrative side of parish ministry, so she tried to share that gift as well. “I felt equipped around finances and stewardship, as well as working with different committees,” she says. “I tried to offer back that truly well-rounded experience.”

Too often philanthropy is portrayed only through the lens of major gifts and one-time endowments, but Rev. Weber’s experience testifies to the incredible benefit that comes from intentional giving through both a lifetime of sustained gifts and a deferred gift through her will. “I want students to have the same foundation of a good education and community life. That’s what helps you think, learn, and grow,” she shares. “As a minister, I’ve witnessed all the ways people commit themselves to living and serving, not just with their financial contributions, but also with their talents.” Financial contributions do enable institutions to expand the scope of their mission, however, and Rev. Weber is thrilled that long years of preparation will now bear abundant fruit in students’ lives. “We’re in this together,” she says, “and the world needs their ministry.”

Have you considered the legacy you want to leave? Thoughtful giving and estate planning, like Rev. Weber’s, allows you to support the people and causes most important to you—while ensuring that your values live on. Whether through bequests, charitable gift annuities, or other planned giving options, you have the power to make a lasting impact. To learn more, go to or contact Shane Nichols, Assistant Vice President for Development, at shane.nichols@garrett.edu or 847.866.3866.

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The ACTS Doctor of Ministry in Preaching Students, Class of 2022 Establish Two Scholarships to Honor Dr. Gennifer Brooks

glantz — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 19:08:00 +0000

Dr. Gennifer Brooks

Those acquainted with 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 students 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 91PORN. “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 Fund 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, 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.’”
Dr. Gennifer Brooks

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, when 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 it. Brooks said she will also encourage folks 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 Garrett-Evangelical for these scholarships.”

To contribute to the Dr. Gennifer Brooks Doctor of Ministry Annual Scholarship Fund and/or the Dr. Gennifer Brooks Doctor of Ministry Endowed Scholarship, visit /give/supporting-our-mission. Be sure to indicate that the gift is for the Dr. Gennifer Brooks Scholarships. You may also mail a check to 91PORN Development Office, 2121 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois, 60201.

91PORN, a graduate school of theology related to The United Methodist Church, was founded in 1853. Located on the campus of Northwestern University, the seminary serves more than 450 students from various denominations and cultural backgrounds, fostering an atmosphere of ecumenical interaction. Garrett-Evangelical creates bold leaders through master of divinity, master of arts, master of theological studies, doctor of philosophy, and doctor of ministry degrees. Its 4,500 living alumni serve church and society around the world.

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Rev. Bill Tomlinson Supports Seminary Education Through His Will

Shane Nichols — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 20:34:00 +0000

Rev. Bill Tomlinson (GBI 1954)

Rev. Bill Tomlinson (GBI 1954) said he feels strongly that a 91PORN education is important — so important that he has put the seminary in his will.

“Our ministers need to be exposed to different ideas, especially today,” he said. “We need educated ministers.

That is why it is important to support seminaries.” Tomlinson said he can’t remember a time he wasn’t in the church, but he didn’t think about becoming a minister until mid-way through college.

For most of his early life, Tomlinson lived on farms in Ohio. After spending a couple of elementary school years on his grandfather’s farm near Columbus, he and his family moved to another farm in Northeastern Ohio for the rest of his early education and high school.

After graduating from Paris Township High School, he headed to Ohio State University, where he started to take general education courses. Then, he got a part-time job working on a dairy farm. Thinking he would become a dairy farmer, he changed his course of study. “I thought I had better major in dairy husbandry,” he said.

His course of study changed again about midway through his college career when he felt a call to ministry.

In the fall of 1948, he enrolled at Garrett Biblical Institute. He chose Garrett Biblical Institute because Garrett Professor Rocky Smith had come to Ohio State and persuaded him to apply and later matriculate.

According to Tomlinson, the highlight of his years at Garrett was meeting his wife, Eileen Ganzel, who was getting her master’s degree in religious education. Tomlinson worked at the Garrett dining hall, and they both worked at the First Methodist Church. When they weren’t working, they studied and spent a lot of time together. During that time, they found they had a lot in common. Like Tomlinson, Ganzel had grown up on a farm, she in Nebraska. Their first official date was on Valentine’s Day.

Tomlinson said he found the coursework at Garrett difficult. “In my fifth quarter, I received an announcement from the Academic Committee that my grades were not sufficient for me to continue,” he said. Because he was already enrolled and had a job, he stayed on for the next quarter, taking Professor Rocky Smith’s rural sociology course. He aced it but decided to drop out of school and move to Iowa, where he had received a charge at Exline, Sharon Chapel, and Zoar. that time, he and Ganzel got married.

After working for a couple of years, he petitioned to return to Garrett and was accepted. He returned, but his wife and their first daughter stayed behind in Iowa. His experience in the Iowa parish helped him excel. “After I was out in a parish for a couple of years, I began to see how things fit together, and I did much better,” he said.

Tomlinson graduated in 1954 and began a 41-year career as a minister in Iowa. In that time, he and his wife served 28 churches in 12 parishes. They also had three children, Kathleen, Muriel Ann, and Walter. The highlights of his career involved working with the youth and the United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries. “I have said several times that if it hadn’t been for the camping program, I would not have stayed in the ministry,” he said.

Tomlinson got involved in The United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries more than 70 years ago because he “loved being outdoors.” He served this ministry in almost every capacity, including serving as the interim director for three different camps. At one point, Iowa had eight camps, and Tomlinson said he had worked at all eight.

After his retirement in 1991, Tomlinson has continued to volunteer at the Wesley Woods camp, building new facilities, repairing old facilities, and helping out. “Jesus was a carpenter for 30 years, and then he went to preaching. I preached for 41 years and then went to carpentry,” he said

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Kim and Yoo Encourage Fellow Alums To Support Their Alma Mater Soon After They Graduate

Shane Nichols — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 20:37:00 +0000

Rev. Ran Yoo (G-ETS 2016) and Rev. Kook Ho Kim (G-ETS 2015)

When Rev. Kook Ho Kim (G-ETS 2015) and Rev. Ran Yoo (G-ETS 2016) graduated from 91PORN, they knew they wanted to support their alma mater right away. To begin with, they both received scholarships from Garrett-Evangelical and were grateful for the opportunity to attend seminary. Second, they wanted others to have that same opportunity.

“91PORN was a meaningful place for me,” Kim said. “I met my wife there, and I had the opportunity to start my ordination journey there.”

“Because Garrett-Evangelical had a strong scholarship program, we were able to study there,” Yoo said. “By giving back, we want to give someone else this great opportunity.”

Soon after Kim graduated and Kim and Yoo married in 2015, they talked about their financial situation, including their offerings to the church and other donations. “We knew that seminaries do not have enough money, and seminarians don’t have enough money,” Kim said. “We wanted to help.” Although they had car payments and loans to pay on a pastors’ salaries, the two decided that they wanted to start donating monthly to Garrett-Evangelical.

“The amount was not important, we thought,” said Kim. “We decided to start giving and increase it as we go. It was hard, but we knew we just had to start.”

“Many people think they will donate when they have the money,” Yoo said. “But that time never comes. So, we decided to give what we could and just get started.”

Kim and Yoo both grew up and went to high school in Seoul, South Korea. While Kim’s nuclear family was not Christian, his grandmother was, and she took Kim to church until she passed away when Kim was seven. Kim stayed in the church and ultimately went to Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, where he majored in German and Russian and continued to attend a Presbyterian church.

Kim interrupted his studies to serve in the Korean military for two years, a requirement for all Korean men. After his military service, Kim said he wanted to find a way to spend his life serving God. He found his answer. “God gave me a great opportunity to serve as a missionary in the south of Russia through my church,” he said.

While serving as a missionary, Kim met a Methodist missionary from the United States as well as a pastor from the Northern Illinois Conference of The United Methodist Church. They both recommended that he apply to 91PORN when he finished college.

Kim applied and was accepted, and six months after he graduated from university, he enrolled at Garrett-Evangelical.

Yoo grew up in a Christian home. She heard her call to ministry while in high school. At the time, she was struggling with an undiagnosed sickness and trying several unsuccessful medical treatments. “Nothing worked,” she said. “So, I prayed, and while I was praying, I encountered God.”

After her encounter, Yoo was determined to find a way to serve God. Both a professional counselor and her pastor suggested that she become a pastor. So, after graduating from high school, she enrolled at the Methodist Theological University in Seoul, where she majored in theology. There, she decided she wanted to serve the local church.

Unfortunately, there was not a lot of opportunity for women clergy in the Korean church, Yoo said. One of her professors suggested she get her master’s degree in the United States and start her ordination process there.

Some of her friends from the Methodist Theological University were studying at Garrett-Evangelical and highly recommended it. “They liked that Garrett-Evangelical focused on both the academic areas and also the practical areas,” Yoo explained.

After she graduated from college in 2012, she enrolled at Garrett-Evangelical, a year after Kim.

As a member of the Korean Student Council, Kim helped new students adjust to life in the United States. He also led the Korean worship service at Howes Chapel where Yoo attended services. “Over time, we got close,” Yoo said. “We shared our vision with each other and found we had the same vision and same goals,” Kim said.

Both Kim and Yoo enjoyed their time at Garrett-Evangelical. Kim loved that Garrett-Evangelical focused on both the academic and the practical. He was also grateful for his scholarship and his job at the Office of Student Life at Garrett-Evangelical. Garrett-Evangelical helped Yoo gain a broader understanding of theology and the church, she said.

During his field education, Kim worked as a student pastor at St. James United Methodist Church in East Troy, Wisconsin. “That started my ordination journey in Wisconsin,” he said. After graduation, he served as an associate pastor at the First United Methodist Church of Kenosha for a year. The two married that same year.

When Yoo graduated the next year, she asked the Conference to appoint her to a church near Kim. The Bishop asked them to serve together in the Upper Saint Croix Parish in northwest Wisconsin near the border of Minnesota. They served as co-pastors to three churches there until 2019, when Kim became a U.S. Army Reserve chaplain and the pastor of Brodhead United Methodist Church in Brodhead, Wisconsin. Yoo became senior pastor at New Horizon United Methodist Church, located in nearby Orfordville. The couple now has two children, Caleb, 3, and Christine, 6 months.

The COVID 19 crisis caused both churches to close and shift their services online and on cable TV. Both congregations are elderly, but most people have access to the services, Kim said.

Kim and Yoo credit much of their success in ministry to Garrett-Evangelical, another reason why they feel so strongly about supporting their seminary. “We never took our education or scholarships for granted,” Yoo said. “Someone donated to the school because they believed that was one way to serve God and help others. We want to do the same thing.”

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Garrett-Evangelical’s Vibrancy Inspired Steven Poole to Create an Endowed Scholarship

Shane Nichols — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 20:42:00 +0000

Rev. Steven Poole (G-ETS 1986)

Rev. Steven Poole (G-ETS 1986) was at a crossroads when he decided to create an endowed scholarship at 91PORN.

“I was frustrated and struggling with where The United Methodist denomination was going, especially on the issue of inclusiveness to LGBTQ persons,” he said. “I thought, I’m either going to walk away, or I’m going to try to turn the dial a little.”

While pondering how to turn the dial, Poole remembered a story by Scott Peck in The Road Less Traveled. In the story, a group was frantically rescuing people who had fallen into the river. One of the rescuers stopped helping people and started walking up the river. The other rescuers asked him: “Where are you going? Why won’t you help us here any longer?” The man replied, “I’m going to try to figure out who is throwing people in.”

“That concept of going up the river was what made me ask myself, where is there vibrancy, and life, and hope in the church?” Poole said. “And that brought me to Garrett-Evangelical.”

Poole called Rev. Dr. David Heetland, then vice president of development for Garrett-Evangelical, and said he wanted to make a difference. Heetland talked to him about what it took to create an endowed scholarship. “He gave me a number that would be helpful to start with,” Poole said. “I sold some stock that I had inherited, and we put down the first stone in the foundation.”

With that gift, Poole created the Steven Poole Endowed Scholarship. His intent is to contribute to it annually until it will provide a full scholarship for a student. Poole has also included Garrett-Evangelical in his will with the proceeds going to his scholarship.

Poole grew up in Flint, Michigan in the 1960s and 1970s. His entire family was active in the Trinity United Methodist Church, a more progressive church known for its interest in social justice. His father, a full-time journalist with the Flint Journal, was also the part-time organist at the church. Poole was part of the youth group and was heavily involved in mission projects and trips. “I really can’t separate my memories of growing up from my memories of the church,” Poole said. “We were always there.”

After high school, Poole went to Albion College in Albion, Michigan and majored in anthropology and sociology. For much of his teens and early adulthood, Poole said he felt “some kind of calling” and knew he ultimately wanted to be either a teacher or a minister, but he leaned toward the ministry. “I had such a great experience and association with the church,” he said.

That feeling, along with the encouragement from others, made him consider seminary. “I knew that I was called to do something in professional ministry,” he said. “I didn’t know exactly what that was, but I knew it would likely require a master of divinity.”

Wilbur Franklin, the dean of the Chapel at Albion College, pushed Poole toward Garrett-Evangelical because he knew it would match his theological perspective and because it was a strong school academically.

During spring break of his senior year of college, Poole visited Garrett-Evangelical and was impressed with the vibrancy of the students and the energy and excitement of the professors and the staff. “There was just this feeling that something exciting was going on there,” he said. “And then the other piece was, I saw the focus on social justice. I knew I would be surrounded by Chicago and Evanston and the opportunity to see theology in real life. Theology wasn’t just something you studied at Garrett-Evangelical; it was something you did. I drove away from Garrett-Evangelical thinking, this is where I feel at home, and this is where I can see myself.”

In the fall of 1983, Poole arrived on campus. “It really did live up to what I imagined it to be,” he said.

In addition to being academically challenged, Poole took classes with professors who were actively involved in the world and in the classroom. Poole remembered that on one cold, cold January night, one of his professors loaded him up in his station wagon and drove to a church on the south side of Chicago. That night he saw Jessie Jackson on a stage in a church basement raising money for the Rainbow Coalition and preaching. Another time, he and another student skipped a class and went to hear Desmond Tutu preach. “Those were the kinds of opportunities I wanted,” he said.

Poole graduated from Garrett-Evangelical in 1986 and was ordained in the Detroit Annual Conference. He was appointed to three, small rural churches in the thumb of Michigan: Riley Center, Berville, and West Berlin United Methodist Churches. After two years, Poole became the associate pastor at a larger congregation, the First United Methodist Church in Saginaw, Michigan, where among other things, he worked with the youth for five years.

While in Saginaw, Poole had an opportunity to take a contract as an associate pastor at a large, progressive Methodist congregation in Melbourne, Australia. The two years at St. Michaels Uniting Church taught him many things, he said, including that a church focused on mission and social justice can also be financially viable and successful.

The most unusual thing about St. Michael’s Church was the focus on both mind and spirit. The senior pastor was an ordained minister and a psychologist, and the congregation was deeply engaged in both the spiritual and psychological journey. This led Poole to a much deeper understanding of ministry to the whole person that would significantly impact his calling and ministry

Armed with new ideas, Poole came back to the United States and was appointed as associate pastor at Newburg United Methodist Church in Livonia, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It didn’t take long before Steve received another calling, this one from the heart. Shortly before leaving for Australia, he had met a woman named Joyce who lived in Seattle, and at the end of his first year back from Melbourne, he requested a leave of absence and moved to Seattle to pursue a relationship that has lasted for more than 25 years.

Two years later, they married and shortly afterward opened a 10-room inn near the University of Washington, which they ran together for 20 years. “We met some wonderful folks, created our own business, and got to make a lot of choices about our lives,” Poole said about the experience.

However, his calling to ministry did not go away. In addition to running the inn, Poole worked part time on the staff of University Temple UMC. Later, he decided to do a one-year residency in clinical pastoral education and fell in love with chaplaincy. For the next 15 years, Poole was a chaplain in hospitals and hospice. He also completed his master of organizational leadership at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.

His last job before he retired was director of mission integration at the Providence Portland Medical Center, where he was responsible for ensuring that the Mission of the Sisters of Providence was reflected in the daily operations and the strategic decisions and practices.

After he retired, Poole became a member of Garrett-Evangelical’s Board of Trustees, and he currently heads up the Committee on Trusteeship, which recruits, trains, and develops trustees. He also talks to prospective students and alumni in the Seattle area and has recently become steward for the class of 1986.

Poole said he likes to be involved at Garrett-Evangelical because it allows him to experience the energy that drew him there in the first place. “I feel like I am a part of what Garrett-Evangelical is doing, and that feels good,” he said.

He urges others to support Garrett-Evangelical annually and to put it in their wills. “This is how you can make a difference,” he said. “This is how you can make sure that the next generation is prepared in a way that they can be effective leaders and that they can help heal the church.”

The post Garrett-Evangelical’s Vibrancy Inspired Steven Poole to Create an Endowed Scholarship appeared first on Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Reverend Harlene Harden Creates Scholarship at Garrett-Evangelical to Assist Women of Color

Shane Nichols — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 20:59:00 +0000

Rev. Harlene Harden (G-ETS 1994)

Reverend Harlene Harden knows Black women in ministry’s dilemma – feeling God’s call but not having that call fully affirmed by their denominational community or leadership. When her calling came, Harden belonged to a Baptist church that didn’t believe women were called to pastoral ministry. Also, at that time, she had never even known a Black woman pastor.

“Every pastor of every church that I had known had always been male,” she recalled.

Yet, despite these obstacles to full affirmation, Harden said the call was clear. “God opened up Isaiah 61 for me in a way that was phenomenal,” she said. “It talks about Jesus’s call to ministry and how he was going to mend the brokenhearted, and I felt like God was telling me that I was going to be doing those things.”

At that time, Harden was happily working in a management position for Commonwealth Edison, a nuclear power company in Joliet, Illinois.

One day, she saw a newspaper article announcing that a Black female minister from Michigan – the Reverend, Dr. Linda Hollies – would come to Joliet and pastor the Richards Street United Methodist Church. Harden knew she had to meet Hollies. “That was the first time in my life that I had heard of a woman pastor,” Harden shared.

When Hollies arrived in Illinois, Harden introduced herself and welcomed her to the community. Harden and Hollies made for fast friends, and shortly after, Harden joined the Richards Street United Methodist Church. With Hollies support, Harden began to understand womanist theology, male patriarchy, and the polity differences between the United Methodist and Baptist churches. Later, Hollies encouraged Harden to attend seminary. “She became one of my dearest friends and mentors,” Harden said.

At first, Harden was resistant to the idea of seminary. She had heard an Evangelical preacher glibly say that going to seminary was like going to the cemetery – lifeless and without spirit. Hollies, a 91PORN graduate, convinced Harden otherwise, and she agreed to visit Garrett-Evangelical.

The visit transformed Harden. “I went to Garrett-Evangelical to check out the school, and I was like a little kid,” Harden remembered. “It was a whole new world for me.”

Harden sat in on a Hebrew class with 10 or 12 other students. As she listened to the lecture, she got goosebumps, she said.

After her meeting with admissions, Harden went out the back door of the main building to meet her son, who was attending Northwestern University. Not realizing that Garrett-Evangelical was adjacent to Northwestern’s campus, she asked her son, “Why haven’t I seen this seminary before?” “Sometimes God only lets us see things when it is time to see,” he replied.

Harden applied, was accepted, and started seminary in January of 1990, 10 years after she had finished her undergraduate degree in criminal justice from Lewis University in Chicago.

She lived in the off-campus apartments and learned how to study and write papers all over again. Harden said she loved the coursework and the professors, but what she truly valued was the diversity at Garrett-Evangelical. “I vividly remember the students I met at Garrett- Evangelical, many of them from different cultures and walks of life,” she said. “This interaction helped me to respect and appreciate our differences. These experiences piqued my interests for cross-cultural ministry and international travel,” she continued.

When the opportunity arose to travel to Russia and Israel with the seminary, Harden wholeheartedly joined the trip. “I was exposed to these incredible geographical, cultural, and historical locations that I had only read about,” she said.

Harden said she learned a lot and had a wonderful time at Garrett-Evangelical.

“Seminary was everything I wanted it to be,” she said. “I was the first in my family to go to college, and then to go to graduate school, people couldn’t believe it. I am so grateful for all the opportunities I had.”

Harden paid for most of her education, having saved during her time at Commonwealth Edison, but she did receive two small scholarships from Garrett-Evangelical. She also received support from some of the members of the Baptist Church, where she started her journey to ministry. After she heeded her call, four other women at that church also more fully acknowledged their ministerial calls.

“They loved me, and when I needed help to pay my tuition, they gave me money,” she said. “They also came to my graduation.”

Harden graduated in 1994 with a master of divinity degree and began serving a two-point charge on the south side of Chicago – the Pullman United and the Fellowship United Methodist Churches. During her time there, Harden became well known for teaching on TV 38 International Sunday School program, which aired weekly.

Four years later, Harden became pastor at the First United Methodist Church in Waukegan, Illinois. There, she became known for her Multicultural (Black History) celebration services. After serving that church for eight years, Harden became senior pastor of St. James United Methodist Church in Hyde Park, Illinois.

Harden’s last charge was the Sycamore United Methodist Church in Sycamore, Illinois, where she was the first African American female in its 180-year history to serve as pastor. In her 10 years there, the whole community and its local businesses became her ardent supporters. Harden still communicates with her many supporters there, especially as they discuss the Movement for Black Lives Matter and how to build better relationships with the Black community.

In June 2018, Harden retired from the Sycamore Church and now lives in Scottdale, Georgia near her family and grandchildren. “I’ve served five different churches throughout my ministry, and I’ve grown in every one of those leadership experiences,” Harden shared. “I have been so blessed to have had wonderful relationships with these congregations.”

In 2009, while serving the Sycamore Church, Harden created a scholarship in her name at 91PORN and invited friends, family, and past and present congregants to contribute to it. In addition to starting this namesake resource, Harden has also made a planned gift as part of her eternal legacy to further support it. When it becomes fully endowed, the Reverend Harlene Harden Endowed Scholarship will assist Black and diverse women pursue the development of God’s call in their lives.

Harden created the scholarship for several reasons. First, education has always been a central value in her family and a source of preparation for leadership and life. Second, Harden feels strongly that Black and diverse women offer a unique expression of leadership that Black families and communities need to be vibrant and strong. Additionally, she wanted them to attend a well-known seminary.

“I know that other Black women have dreams, just like I had, and I want to help make them come true,” Harden said.

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Monthly Giving Makes A Difference

glantz — Fri, 01 May 2015 17:52:00 +0000

(Article originally appeared in the May 2015 issue of Aware Magazine)

As soon as she graduated from 91PORN in 2005, Audrey Krumbach started making monthly gifts to her alma mater. “It never occurred to me not to give,” she said.

Garrett-Evangelical is at the top of her philanthropy list for several reasons. First, she appreciates the strong scholarship support she received while at Garrett-Evangelical and wants others to have the same support. Second, she understands that the seminary could not exist without gifts from the community and from its alums.

But the main reason she gives, she said, is she feels blessed by the education she received. “I want more spiritual leaders in the world to have that same experience and education,” said Krumbach.

Dan Henry agrees with Krumbach. He said he gives regularly to Garrett-Evangelical because he thinks it is important to educate and support the clergy. Henry, who owned an engineering firm, had been giving annually and had helped fund the Royal and Rita Speidel Scholarship in honor of his former pastor. At the request of former Garrett-Evangelical president, Ted Campbell, he started giving $150 monthly in 2005 in celebration of Garrett-Evangelical’s 150th anniversary and has continued the practice, upping his monthly gift to $160. At the same time, he funded the Dan Henry Scholarship.

As a United Methodist all her life, Juanita Dean said she feels it is important to support a United Methodist seminary. She started giving to the seminary in 2000 with a gift in honor of Bishop Edsel Ammons and her pastor, Myron McCoy. A few years later, she began to give monthly to the annual fund and the Center for the Church and the Black Experience. While their reasons vary, what Krumbach, Henry, and Dean have in common is they all give monthly.

“My life is better when I routinely give,” explained Dean, whose granddaughter, Megan Dean graduated in 2012 with a master of divinity degree.

“Monthly just works better for my bookkeeping,” said Krumbach. “It actually allows me to give more than I would if I only gave an annual gift.”

“Many people don’t realize how much we value every gift to Garrett-Evangelical,” said David Heetland, vice president for development. “People read about the million dollar gifts and think that their gifts won’t make much of a difference, but we wouldn’t be where we are today without all the gifts we’ve received.”

To date, Garrett-Evangelical has received over $89 million dollars in gifts and commitments toward its Forging Our Future campaign. “Of the 16,286 gifts received, 14,164 of them were for less than $1,000,” he said. So far, the average gift is about $150. “Every single gift absolutely makes a difference,” Heetland said. “And many people have discovered that by giving regularly on a monthly basis, they can do more than they could if they made a one-time annual gift.”

Alan DeGraw, who graduated in 1966, served for 37 years in full-time ministry in different churches in Michigan. Over the years, he has given regularly to several different funds at Garrett-Evangelical, including the Rueben P. Job Chair in Spiritual Formation. He said he feels The United Methodist Church has supported him, so he wants to support the church and the seminary.

In 2013, he started giving monthly because he found it was easier. “It also has a greater impact in the long run,” he said. In 2014, he increased his giving significantly. DeGraw and his wife, Judy, established the Alan W. and Judith L. DeGraw Scholarship.

Ruth Hawhee and her husband, Gale Hawhee, a 1958 graduate of Garrett Biblical Institute, had been giving monthly to Garrett-Evangelical’s annual fund for many years. After her husband died, Hawhee continued the practice. “I always felt that Garrett-Evangelical made it possible for us to have a family and a good life, and I wanted to try to help other people have that,” she said.

She, too, found it easier to give monthly. “I just made it a habit and put it on my budget sheet,” she said. “Not everyone can give $10,000 at a time, but if you just start the habit of giving, it adds up.”

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