Over the past three years, the organizers of the Faith, Food & Environment project have worked with farmers, theologians, sustainable agriculture advocates and agribusiness leaders to develop a faith-based reflection entitled The VOCATION of the AGRICULTURAL LEADER.
Farmers and ranchers face the challenges of turbulent weather and a changing climate, market competition on a global scale, and constant pressure to industrialize operations while being sustainable stewards of the land. There is a great need for ethical leadership in addressing these challenges. The Vocation of the Agricultural Leader reflection offers the voice of the Church in expressing solidarity with all those who work in agriculture and food production.
Click here to read The VOCATION of the AGRICULTURAL LEADER in its entirety.
(Hard copies are available for purchase at the online store of Catholic Rural Life.)
The objectives of The Vocation of the Agricultural Leader reflection were three-fold:
- To affirm the noble and dignified vocation of farming and of the work of men and women involved in agricultural production and get- ting food to our tables;
- To retrieve the spirit of vocation, that farming is not just an occupation, but a calling from the Creator to a holy relationship: “to till and to keep” the earth; and
- To inspire future generations of men and women to see how their faith informs both their work in agriculture and stewardship of God’s creation.
Project organizer Jim Ennis of Catholic Rural Life is available to present this new document at workshops and conferences. Contact his office by sending an email here.