 The General Synod merged into the United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA) in 1917–1918, and the ULCA in turn merged in 1962 with several other Lutheran denominations into the Lutheran Church in America (LCA).The merged institution, renamed as Trinity Lutheran Seminary, opened its doors on September 1, 1978.For the decade from 1978 until the merger creating the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1988, Trinity was owned and operated jointly by the ALC and the LCA.