Farminary Vision, History, and Leadership

Vision: Integrating Ecology, Agriculture, and Theology at the Farminary

The Farminary forms service-oriented Christian leaders through hands-on, regenerative agricultural work integrated with deep theological reflection. Those who take part in the Farminary Project aim to farm, live, learn, and grow in a way that participates in the healing of that land. Leaders educated at the Farminary know how to attentively enter wounded and exhausted places with care and respond with the slow, patient affection that can lead toward healing, renewal, and new life.

Lessons in soils, seasons, and renewal guide the Farminary’s work.

• Soils: Composting, crop rotation, rotational grazing, and biochar restore and sustain the land. 
• Seasons: Productivity is redefined and guided by the cyclical, seasonal nature of creation and necessary rest of the Sabbath — not the endless and exhaustive models that contemporary society praises.
• Renewal: Experiencing the life cycles of crops and animals teaches lessons in sustainability, death, ecological care, and flourishing.

History of the Farminary

The land at the Farminary bears the wounds of 40 years of exhaustive sod farming, a form of agriculture that removes a thin layer of topsoil with each harvest. Since the Farminary was established in 2015, Princeton Theological Seminary has engaged in ongoing, regenerative practices to heal the land, while modeling a new type of leadership that is attentive to the flourishing of God’s creatures, both people and planet.

The first class held at the Farminary, “Scripture and Food: Teaching the Bible in Congregations,” gathered 20 students who helped start a small 40- foot x 60-foot garden. Although the first growing season yielded only a few humble tomatoes, potatoes, and greens, the possibilities for theological education and formation were obvious.

In 2017, the Seminary launched the Concentration in Theology, Ecology, and Faith Formation, which is open to Master of Divinity and Master of Theological Studies students. The nine-credit concentration trains students to recognize the connections between theology and current ecological issues, and how to respond to those challenges. 

In 2022, the Seminary introduced the Master of Arts in Theology and Ecology program. This 13-month degree is rooted in work at the Farminary and equips graduates with the pastoral and ethical skills needed to serve in the church, nonprofits, government, education, and beyond. 

Today, the Farminary has grown into a 25-acre working farm where countless creatures – plants, animals, insects, microbes, and humans – are tended each year. The Farminary hosts up to 1240 students per semester in courses that span all four theological disciplines (Practical Theology, Biblical Studies, History, and Theology). Students, faculty, and staff care for the 30,000-square-foot garden, acres of forest and pasture, hundreds of chickens, a dozen sheep, 10 beehives, and countless compost piles.