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It has already been an engaging few months this fall semester at Princeton Seminary. Since we welcomed students back this fall, there’s been a renewed sense of joy and movement across the campus. There’s been an infectious joy of teaching, learning, and the love of ideas that reminds me why this learning community matters.
Among key moments thus far, in September, we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Farminary. More than four hundred participants joined this four-day event across our main campus and our 21-acre classroom of soil and spirit. The celebration began with worship, during which New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed theological educator the Reverend Barbara Brown Taylor offered her customary inspiring brilliance. The days that followed brought a remarkable roster of speakers: Willie James Jennings of Yale Divinity School, George “Tink” Tinker from Iliff School of Theology, National Book Award winner Tiya Miles, and several of our own faculty members, including Professor Hanna Reichel, the Charles Hodge Professor of Systematic Theology.
Alumni who participated in Farminary coursework shared how this distinctive approach to discipleship has shaped their work in the world.
Farminary Director Dr. Nate Stucky offered daily tours of the Farminary.
Faculty collaborators shared what they learned from teaching at the Farminary.
The event featured daily workshops, including one on “Cooking with the Earth,” featuring the Farminary’s gardens.
Farm Chef Fest brought the community together to enjoy small plates and fellowship.
Friday’s festivities closed with a conversation between Dr. Nate Stucky and historian and author Tiya Miles.
Perhaps what moved me most was the return of so many alums, namely those who helped till the original soil, shape the first syllabi, and imagine the Farminary’s promise. That Princeton Seminary now offers a Master of Arts in Theology and Ecology, and that more than one-third of our students take courses at the Farminary, speaks volumes about the faith and foresight of Dr. Nate Stucky and President Emeritus Craig Barnes. Their collaboration planted a parable. The Farminary is a living, extended metaphor for theological education rooted in creation, sustainability, and regeneration. There’s a beautiful retrospective and interview with Professor Stucky in this fall’s edition of The Princeton Seminary Bulletin. I commend it to you as a story of vision, vocation, and vitality.
And just last week, Professor Afe Adogame, the Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Religion and Society, hosted the Faith and Food Workshop. This workshop was a global gathering exploring how belief, culture, and cuisine shape human flourishing. Scholars from eighteen different countries gathered here in Princeton, reminding us that our campus is a convening crossroad where faith meets the world.
These moments capture who we are at our best. Princeton Seminary is a learning community that curates high-impact, flexible, and accessible educational opportunities in one of the most intellectually dynamic and spiritually vibrant towns on the planet.
Even as we celebrate what has taken place on campus, we remain committed to expanding access and extending impact. The Office of Continuing Education continues to provide diverse offerings that allow people everywhere to draw from the Seminary’s deep well of wisdom.
This fall’s Princeton Seminar Series includes courses such as “St. Augustine’s Confessions: Faith, Identity, and Longing” with Professor Paul Rorem and “Leadership Lessons from the Old Testament” with Rabbi Elan Babchuck.
We are also offering opportunities to pursue certificates in Theology and Ministry as well as Youth and Theology, all offered online. This reflects our commitment to bringing Princeton Seminary’s resources to you wherever God has planted you in the world.
I am also excited to share our latest offering through the Office of Continuing Education, the Damascus Road. Across higher education, more institutions are recognizing the need for intentional spaces that help leaders navigate transition with wisdom and purpose. Damascus Road offers that space in a uniquely faith-rooted way, where spiritual reflection meets vocational direction.
In partnership with My Next Season, an internationally recognized leadership transition program, the Damascus Road curriculum draws inspiration from Saul’s transformative encounter on the road to Damascus. It weaves together Biblical narratives (Moses, Elijah, Nehemiah, and Mary) with modern exemplars like Bryan Stevenson, Indra Nooyi, Paul Farmer, and Jimmy Carter. These stories ground vocational transition as a spiritual journey with practical, lived wisdom for leaders today.
This is a hybrid, cohort-based program where two in-person retreats on the campus of Princeton Theological Seminary (January 13-16, 2026, and May 3-6, 2026) bookend a season of guided online learning, small-group connection, and personal discernment. You can learn more about the Damascus Road program here.
Through these varied initiatives, we remain rooted in tradition and reaching toward tomorrow—equipping people of faith to think deeply, act boldly, and serve generously.
With so much vibrancy on campus, we must never lose sight of why we exist. Our enduring mission is to prepare people to serve Jesus Christ in ministries marked by faith, integrity, scholarship, competence, compassion, and joy.
This mission feels especially urgent amid the turbulence of our time. As violent conflicts rage around the globe, we need religious leaders who can think with their hearts and feel deeply with their minds. As natural disasters devastate communities from Afghanistan to the Caribbean, we need Christian leaders who are critical thinkers and compassionate servants. Our world is in desperate need of those who can speak hope into broken hearts and healing into open wounds.
For instance, it is not lost on me that as I write, nearly 700,000 Americans are on unpaid furlough, and another 700,000 deemed essential are working without pay due to the ongoing government shutdown. Nearly 42 million Americans are at risk of losing access to food assistance. These realities strain congregations, food pantries, and shelters across the nation.
Last Sunday, I sat in worship at Union Baptist Church in Trenton, where the Reverend Simeon D. Spencer (MDiv ’98) offered a word that still lingers in my spirit. He reminded the congregation that while no church can meet every need, we serve a God who blesses and multiplies what we offer in faith to meet the needs of God’s people.
That is my prayer for all of us in this season of gratitude and grace. I pray that we might offer what we have, trusting God to multiply it for the healing of hearts and the hope of the world.
One Luv,
Jonathan Lee WaltonPRESIDENT
“The love of God and the love of humanity are one love”—Benjamin Elijah Mays
I am always delighted to share a few books and articles that I’ve read recently and found thought-provoking.
