40th Anniversary (1974 - 2014) of the Union of ETS and GTS

Although our full name is often cumbersome to write out (just ask anyone who has ever tried to use our full name in a tweet), there is a long rich story behind the name, "Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary." It represents a 160+ year history and the interweaving of three institutions. This month, we are honoring the 40th anniversary of the merger of two of those institutions - Garrett Biblical Institute (at the time, Garrett Theological Seminary) and Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Evangelical Theological Seminary
Administration Building

The 1968 merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form The United Methodist Church left the denomination with two theological seminaries in close proximity in the Chicago area: Garrett Biblical Institute, located in Evanston, Illinois, and Evangelical Theological Seminary, located in Naperville, Illinois. By that time, Garrett Biblical Institute had taken the name, “Garrett Theological Seminary.” The 1972 General Conference of The United Methodist Church mandated the merger of the two Chicago-area seminaries, and negotiations began between Evangelical Theological Seminary and Garrett Theological Seminary by way of a Consultation Task Force that included seminary trustees, faculty members, administrators, and students. The task force agreed on a plan to form a merged seminary using the Evanston campus. In order to embrace the traditions of both institutions, in the fall of 1974 the newly merged seminary was named Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Banner at the first worship service at the newly
formed Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

The merger meant a great deal of change for both institutions, but out of that change has been a tremendous amount of growth and vitality. In the past 40 years, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary has been able to utilize the best of Garrett Theological Seminary and Evangelical Theological Seminary to emerge as a leading institution of theological education committed to rigorous academics and profound spiritual formation. We continue to train bold leaders for the church and world and are proud to continue to carry on the legacy of the two outstanding institutions who helped form our foundation.