Southern Baptist Theological Seminary hosted its Sesquicentennial Service this afternoon in Alumni Memorial Chapel, and 95-year-old Duke McCall, the seminary's seventh president, asked the seminary's alumni and friends to "rally around her as a present on her 150th birthday." President from 1951-1982, McCall acknowledged that he has had his differences with the seminary's conservative leadership; McCall was a moderate during the Conservative Resurgence.

"We do not agree with each other on everything," McCall said, asking the alumni and friends to acknowledge that the "hand of God is upon this institution."

"We will stand together in our common commitment to Jesus Christ our Lord," he said.

Reading from prepared notes, McCall appeared on stage after the seminary's current president, R. Albert Mohler Jr., dedicated the Duke K. McCall Sesquicentennial Pavilion. Mohler delivered the service's address.

Southern Seminary was founded in 1859. The SBC annual meeting also met in Louisville during the 1959 centennial.