In March of this year, we along with our partners, sponsors and friends held the first FaithLands gathering hosted at Paicines Ranch in March 2018. Organized by a small group of dedicated faith and land access leaders, the gathering brought together 30 multi-faith participants from around the country working at the intersection of faith, ecological stewardship, and farming.
In planning for the gathering we came together and spoke about the great potential and needs for these groups to work together. We recognised that religious bodies hold a lot of legacy land and that this land can be used for creation in a way that benefits all members of a community. Tied into this hope was an acute awareness that this process needed to be nurtured.
Civil Eats published an article recently about faith lands. A number of the organisers and participants of the gathering and featured. They speak about the work that they are involved in and other work that is being done between farmers and churches across America. It's well worth a read! We are so proud to have been given the opportunity to be part of this gathering and are so excited to see what comes next!

"FaithLands attendees left with a list of commitments to pursue. The Greenhorns are creating a guide to working with local churches, and they’ll present on the topic at upcoming EcoFarm and Biodynamic Association conferences. Inspired by the New York City-based 596 Acres, a group of Catholics committed to mapping Catholic Church-owned land that might be suitable for sustainable agriculture, a steering committee coalesced to articulate the shared values and theological principles (across faith groups) that inform and inspire the FaithLands movement. And farmers like Moses Kashem will coach other beginning farmers on forming fruitful land partnerships with churches, especially when it comes to securing long-term leases."

Click HERE to read the full article.