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In June of 2023, seven students arrived at the Farminary to begin their Masters in Theology and Ecology. They came from a wide variety of backgrounds and educations, but all of them felt called into a deeper relationship with the earth. Some of them had farmed, and some of them came from urban areas where they never had the opportunity to be in touch with the growing season. Some of them had years of theological training, some of them had none. Over the course of one calendar year, these students took classes at the farm and grew in community with one another. These are their reflections on a year at the Farminary.
Ellie Taylor, who is working on becoming an ordained deacon in the ELCA, was volunteering in Jamaica before enrolling in the MTE program. Ellie’s time volunteering solidified her desire to incorporate eco-theology into her future ministry, which in turn brought her to the Farminary. She says, “I knew the MTE program would prepare me to utilize humanity’s place within creation to care for all.”
Sam Gomora, Lissette Gonzalez Sosa, Noah Gourlie, and Candice Lovelace all came to the MTE program after completing other master’s degrees at Princeton Theological Seminary. Sam felt called to center “more than human creatures and lands” in his spirituality. Lissette had the goal of “entwining theology with discussions on the interconnectedness of land, people, and the Sabbath.” Noah didn’t have a chance to take Farminary classes during his Masters in Divinity, so he was excited about spending a whole year focusing specifically on integrating “the vibrant, tangible experience of the farm with an in-depth exploration of ecotheologies.”
After finishing her MDiv with a concentration in Theology, Ecology, and Faith Formation, Candice made an important connection between Black exhaustion in the church and a need for connection with the land. She says, “I finished the MDiv with clarity that I was called to address the perpetual exhaustion of black pastors and community leaders and with a vision for how to curate retreat space that would address their need for respite and restoration.” This vision involves restoring a relationship with land that has been deeply damaged by the Transatlantic slave trade and American chattel slavery. Candice felt that the MTE program was the perfect chance to further explore these ideas. She says that “though I had these clarities, I still needed the space, resources, and opportunity to further strategize how to convince my focal community to disengage from their work for a time and ‘meet me on the land,’ and also lean into the issues and concerns of the creation (that is the more-than-human creation) that I was seeking to partner with in this work.” With this clear vocational call, Candice entered the inaugural cohort.
Wai Ying Ng completed her Master in Divinity in Hong Kong, where she discerned a call from God to delve into the ecological dimensions of faith within her local churches. As she served as a part-time minister and coordinating environmental initiatives at Christian organizations, she prayed. She says she was “asking God to provide me with opportunities for in-depth discussions in theology and ecology at an academic institution,” and that this prayer was met by the announcement of the new MTE program.
Madeline Harrell, who graduated from Baylor University in Environmental Studies and Communications, says:
As a matter of fact, I was not planning on getting a Masters degree, until I found the MTE program. I did not think that programs existed that perfectly involved my love for the earth and passion for faith.
Madeline grew interested in food systems and particularly food insecurity through her internships at farms and was looking for a way to bring her faith into her work. Like the others in her program, the MTE met her at the intersection of her interests and values.
While most students begin their school year in August or September, the MTE students arrived much earlier to take advantage of the summer growing season. Ellie found these first couple of months invaluable. She says that the June term spent entirely out at the Farminary “solidified visions of my future ministry, and I built community with both land and people.” There was something special about that time before the other students arrived. Wai Ying can still recall their first day together as a cohort. She says, “One moment that stands out to me is our first time doing farm work together, weeding the fields. It was a scene where we, a group eager to know the Lord more deeply, knelt down together, heads bowed, with hands and fingernails stained with soil. It felt like the posture disciples should have as they follow the Lord.”
These first few weeks oriented the students to the farm, to each other, and to their non-human classmates. Noah recalls, “I never thought I would form a two-way relationship with a tree, which was one of the first MTE assignments at the Farminary. Coming to understand that connection as an acknowledgement of existing community was an entry into perspective-altering theologies and ecological thought. Every time I had to think in a new way about the relationship between humans and the more-than-human creation, I could consider the theory in light of my friendship with a Japanese maple.”
Over the course of the year, the MTE students immersed themselves in farm work and coursework together. They learned about regenerative agriculture practices, intersectional ecological issues, and human/nonhuman relationships and interactions. They dove into complex theological issues and Biblical scholarship. Candice says that studying and engaging with other ecologically centered scholars was one of the most valuable parts of the program. While discussing big ideas and complex webs of inter-relationality, the students were cultivating their own relationships with each other, the beings around them, and the land. Noah believes that the farm uniquely cultivates this sense of community, saying:
Sharing in work on the farm, enjoying regular potluck meals, and learning in the roundtable format of MTE courses all helped to create friendships and build a camaraderie among our group of MTE students.
Similarly, Sam says, “The new friends that I have made in the MTE program are by far the greatest joy of this community.” There is nothing like working side by side in the earth to cultivate deep relationships. The MTE students formed a community that will last long after the one-year program. Sam went on to say that the outdoor classroom may be “the farm’s greatest rebellion.” This revolutionary approach to learning brings theory and practice together, as students apply what they learn to the work they are engaged in.
The natural world, our most beautiful sanctuary of all, inspired awe and renewed faith in the MTE cohort. Lissette says, “Our devotionals have been a cherished time of connection, stepping out into nature to commune with God amidst the beauty of God’s creation.” Creation care is much more than an idea to the MTE students. They care for creation because they have engaged with the delicate balance of life up close. Thus, they were able to become integrated with the community of the nonhuman world.
One year later, it is time to say goodbye to our very first MTE students. They have harvested the seeds they sowed at the beginning of their program. It has been a full cycle of life and death, growth, and decay. While they are being called many different places after their program, they share a commitment to faithful engagement with creation. As Madeline puts it: “I am being called to serve others by serving the earth.”
Sam says that he will bring a newfound appreciation for relationality with him to his art. He says, “The last year of the MTE program has taught me how essential collaboration is to the creation and sustainment of projects of communal well-being, and so I would like to work on my art projects in partnership with my peers.”
Candice and Lissette have been called to use what they have learned in the program in starting their new nonprofit, which will transition a former Presbyterian worship space into a multi-use ecologically centered space for both human and ecological flourishing, involving regenerative gardens, a retreat center, and a Wild Church. Candice says of the new nonprofit,
Without a doubt, if it were not for the MTE program and Nate Stucky; this project would simply NOT be possible.
From Old Testament scholarship to nonprofit work to building a church to serve migrants, the MTE students all have different dreams. They were united by a year of farming, learning, and growing together, and now are tasked with bringing the lessons of the Farminary to the communities they have been called to serve. This group has shaped the MTE program through their work and faith and has become an integral part of the Seminary community. We send them with peace and blessings into their new journeys.
