FaithLands creates space for sharing strategies, success stories, and ideas among local, regional, and state-wide stakeholders to facilitate strong innovative projects without reinventing the wheel. Gatherings allow for discussion and spotlight shares as well as the exchange of resources and opportunities for connection and collaboration.
Upcoming Events
September 17-19, 2025
FaithLands National Conference 2025
You are invited to join a gathering of faith-community leaders and farmer advocates from around the U.S. that are interested in learning and sharing about growing food on lands owned by faith-based communities. The conference will be on September 17-19, 2025 at the Carondelet Event Center in St Paul, MN.
The conference will include tours of sites representing diverse, successful models of growing food on faith community owned lands. Tours on 9/17 and 9/19 will be off-site and participants are provided transportation via bus/van/motorcoach. The conference builds on previous FaithLands National Gatherings held since 2018, and work partners have been advancing since then. We hope to have a diverse mix of participants including: representatives of religious groups, farmers, farmer advocates, and university/seminary faculty and students.
Who Should Attend? Representatives of religious community lay leaders, and organization staff including clergy, farmers, farmer advocates, and university/seminary faculty and students.
Learn and share through workshops and structured dialogue.
Session topics* for this year’s conference include:
- The Opportunity: Preliminary Results for Inventorying Farmable Parcels Owned by Faith Groups
- Farmers’ Perspective: the Need for Leased Farmland
- Legal Considerations with Leasing to Commercial-scale Farmers
- Successful Farm and Garden Projects on Faith-community Land
- Financing Infrastructure for FaithLands projects – partnering with USDA and other funders
- Convents and Retreat Centers as FaithLands sites
- Housing vs Farming on Vacant Land: Why Not Both?
- How to facilitate beginning, immigrant, and BIPOC farmers accessing thousands of parcels owned by faith-based institutions to grow food for communities
Click here to view the full agenda for FaithLands National Conference 2025.
Featured Tour Sites!
The CSJ Community
Gardens and Food Hub
Located next to our conference event site/ Carondelet Event Center, the Food Access Hub is a collaboration between the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ) and St. Catherine University. It supports food production, education, nutrition, wellness, and food security on the campus and in the surrounding community. Centered around the food shelf and a network of community gardens, the Hub distributed over 38,000 pounds of food in 2024, including more than 8,000 pounds that were rescued, donated, or grown on-site. The gardens, which span 2,000 square feet and are in their 20th growing season, focus on culturally relevant food and herbs,with approximately 70% of the 700 pounds harvested in 2024 donated directly to the food shelf. The gardening community is made up of both college students and local residents. The Food Access Hub remains open and welcoming to all, regardless of age, background, or experience.
Good Courage Farm
Set on 93 acres of orchards, vineyards, woods and wetland 68 miles west of the Twin Cities, Good Courage Farm is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization affiliated with The Episcopal Church in Minnesota. Located on the ancestral homelands of our Wahpekute and Mdewakanton neighbors, the faith-based ministry was founded by Rev. Kerri Meyer and Dr. Jen Blecha. The farm grows 170 varieties of organic fruit using regenerative practices. Through partnerships with local food justice organizations like First Nations Kitchen, the McLeod Emergency Food Shelf, and Zion Lutheran’s Senior Dining, they help address food insecurity in the region. The 18 acre farmstead is a place where neighbors of all faiths gather to witness the renewal of God’s creation through sustainable agriculture and community building.
* If you have a successful project or program that you would like to see included in the program please contact [email protected] Let us know if it relates to one of the above topic areas or something different.
Lodging is available on site, refer to the registration to book for single or double occupancy. Read ticket descriptions thoroughly when selecting ticket type.
Limited travel assistance funding and registration scholarships are available. We encourage interested people to apply! Register for the conference first choosing the *Scholarship Applicant* 3 Day Registration ticket, and then apply through our form at this link! (Note: After registering you will automatically be sent an email with a link to the scholarship application.) Contact [email protected] for more information.
**Please note, the conference is scheduled to coincide with the 40th Anniversary Farm Aid Festival and Conference in Minneapolis/St. Paul. The FaithLands conference is expected to end Friday afternoon, 9/19, but individuals staying at the conference site about 15 minutes away from the FarmAid site should be able to keep their lodging if they pay directly for an extra night.**
Questions? Call (707) 634-4672 or contact [email protected]. Speakers or others verbally communicating with staff about attendance should still register. For more information or questions pertaining to scholarship contact: [email protected]
This conference is funded in part with generous support from Kalliopeia Foundation, the Globetrotter Foundation/No Regrets Initiative and USDA. Co-sponsors include:
Events Organized by FaithLands Network of Partners
April 24, 2025
Land Access & Land Capital Workshop
The American Farmland Trust (AFT), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the USDA Office of Partnerships & Public Engagement (OPPE) are partnering to host this workshop that will cover information on SBA loans and the following topics: Buying land, Different terms and requirements, Guidance on secure financing to purchase land, Details on different types of land loans, Eligibility criteria, Application processes, & Strategies to access capital for land acquisition. Event is at 10-11am PT.