Coming Home to Change

“It’s a huge privilege to return and say thank you for a place where I was formed spiritually and vocationally in ways that impacted the rest of my life. Who I am is different because of my years with the Garrett community.” Rev. Jane Eesley’s smile broadens as she describes her plan to attend Garrett Seminary’s Homecoming. From Thursday November 12 to Saturday November 14, she’ll gather with other alumni to share memories, participate in the dynamic panels and workshops, meet current students, and kindle joy over communal meals. This year is different, though: It’s the opportunity to say goodbye to Garrett’s current campus, as we prepare to move this summer into buildings that better support our mission. “To be in that space again is very meaningful,” she confesses. “But I’m also excited to learn about where Garrett will be moving on Northwestern’s campus, and to see how the Spirit is moving in this place.”

As the Senior Pastor of the Chicago Temple and a longtime minister in the Northern Illinois United Methodist conference, Rev. Eesley has had a front-row seat to see the ways that Garrett strengthens churches throughout Chicagoland, and how the school has adapted theological education to better serve people’s evolving needs. “In an era when so many seminaries are shutting their doors, Garrett has chosen to reach out,” she notes with joy. “Garrett is going where the people are, opening centers in different parts of the world, adapting its programs so more people can answer their call.”

She also personally experiences the benefits of that work. “Right now, our seminary intern Chanu Lee is a Garrett student from South Korea. Our associate pastor, Rev. G. Morris Jarkloh, is a Garrett grad from Liberia,” she shares. “I’m a white woman who has pastored primarily white congregations. I’m so grateful for the way that these Garrett connections mirror the diversity of the Chicago Temple and our wider city.” But Garrett’s current emphasis on expanding accessibility also connects to her own story. “I went to Garrett on a scholarship and could not have gone without it,” she says. “It’s very meaningful to me the way that this campus move will help the school better support students.”

Still, that larger truth doesn’t take away from the tenderness she feels at the prospect of honoring and commemorating spaces that powerfully shaped her own formation. “It will be really good to be together in those halls again, particularly the Chapel of the Unnamed Faithful,” she reflects. “I love that I’ll be able to say goodbye alongside former classmates who I haven’t seen in years.”

It’s a story she sees playing out across denominations, and she expresses gratitude for the forthrightness with which Garrett’s leadership is sharing the rationale that guides their decisions. “Garrett is going ahead in ways that some local churches are not yet ready to face,” Rev. Eesley notes. “Having served parishes where sometimes the physical plant is a millstone around our neck, I see real wisdom in aligning physical spaces to what our ministries now need.” In its own way, it’s a very Methodist ethos. “I understand attachment to a building. But as a United Methodist pastor, I took a vow of itinerancy and experience a God who’s on the move,” she explains. “I trust God’s prevenient grace.”

Indeed, the Homecoming conversations are designed to engage these underlying theologies. Acclaimed theologian Dr. Andrew Root will offer the keynote address, provocatively critiquing “the idolatry of more.” As Garrett’s student body swiftly expands, and the school prepares to launch the public phase of a comprehensive campaign, it will be a chance to reflect together on how to faithfully grow community. Other panels will explore the development of Garrett’s global hubs, religion and global health work, how the Garrett Collective widens theological education, and other ways the seminary is adapting the theological education’s forms to remain true to our historic purpose.

As Garrett invites alumni to take part in building this vibrant future, Rev. Eesley finds another way to say thank you. “Especially since I would not have started my theological education without donors’ generosity, it’s been very important to me to give back,” she says. “I give to my different friends’ named scholarships, and Garrett is in my estate plans. I’m excited to learn more ways to support this place that means so much to me.”

Ultimately, ministry finds its fullest expression in people, and what excites Rev. Eesley most is how Homecoming can nurture both longtime friendships and emerging relationships. She’s thrilled to gather with other members of her covenant group, who have maintained close ties long after graduation. But she also bears the stories of more recent connections; some found in unlikely places. “I became a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries in 2023. I served with them for two years and met an amazing group of people—one of whom is Daniel Contreras who, God willing, will be studying at Garrett next winter,” she shares. “It’s so meaningful to me to see the way that Garrett is supporting him, working around issues that might prevent him from enrolling.”

Truly, so much is happening at Garrett that it’s amazing Homecoming can fit within three days! But the joy-and-tenderness-packed schedule befits an institution that’s thrumming with life, and Rev. Eesley hopes alumni will seize the chance to join her. “Come back to the halls and relationships that formed you and look into the future of what God is doing through Garrett,” she concludes. “I think it will be a wonderful time.”