The Food, Health, and Ecological Well-Being Program equips faith leaders and congregations to become change agents in food security, community health, and resilient food economies. To that end, our continuing education programs focus on a number of interrelated core competencies. Our programs teach faith leaders to:
- Apply a theological frame to today’s pressing problems connected to food—hunger, obesity, diabetes, ecological devastation, energy, global warming—and draw on the core interdisciplinary areas of a theological education curriculum (spirituality, ethics, biblical, historical, and theological studies, ministry and missions) as essential resources for transforming the conversation and practices about food.
- Expand their understanding of vocation to include church-supported agriculture projects, farmworker justice, and other food-related ministries.
- Nurture their own spiritual growth and that of the communities they serve by adopting holistic faith practices that nourish mind, body, and soul.
- Understand the problems with our current food system, while growing in knowledge of regenerative forms of agricultural such as permaculture, biointensive mini-farming, and other ecologically-sound agricultural practices.
- Encourage a global perspective by applying a theological lens to food-related issues in diverse religious, cultural, and ethnic perspectives within both national and international contexts.
The Wake Forest University School of Divinity offers concentrations within the Master of Divinity degree designed to equip religious leaders with the knowledge, skills, and pastoral habits necessary to guide congregations and other faith-based organizations into creating more redemptive food systems where God’s shalom becomes visible for a hungry world.
Our continuing education programming also includes the opportunity to audit courses.