Submitted by Dr Matthew N. Williams, Founding Board Member, Jubilee Farm:
On 19th November, Jubilee Farm partnered with Tearfund to run a “Consultation on Theology, Church and Farming”. It was fantastic to have twenty people turn up for the day, including experienced practitioners from a variety of farming, church and theological education contexts from all across the island of Ireland (see photo attached, courtesy of Michael Jemphrey).
The event had two main parts: the morning session at 1st Larne Presbyterian included an introductory roundtable, presentations from myself and Philip Powell (Tearfund) and lunch. The afternoon session included a guided tour of Jubilee Farm with talking points along the way and a final discussion about the potential ways forward for developing the programme.
We had four main questions that we hoped to answer, with a very brief synopsis following:
1. What challenges face agriculture on the island of Ireland from a practical and theological point of view? There are multiple and varied challenges, with the most notable being the increasing social marginalisation of farming as a vocation and the economic pressure to farm in a way that is detrimental to people and environment.
2. How mightTearfund’s “Abundant Community Theology” report provide a helpful basis for addressing some of these challenges? The call to move from a ‘theology of scarcity’ to a ‘theology of abundance’ is a promising way to combat the individualistic and materialistic mindset that underlies several of the challenges facing agriculture.
3. Are there was in which farm-based theological education can help equip the Church to address this situation? Three main points of focus were suggested for either formal or informal courses: to target agricultural practitioners, church members (including leaders) and those involved in theological education (as lecturers and students).
4. Would there be a network of stakeholders willing to support this agenda going forward? Yes – which is the most encouraging thing!
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