Our inaugural Grasslands Gathering was held April 25-26, 2025, at Bethany House and Gardens in Topeka, Diocese of Kansas.
The Beatitudes and Sustainability: A Rancher’s Perspective
Mary Emeny of the Frying Pan Ranch near Amarillo, Texas, reflects on how Jesus’ teaching in the Beatitudes is foundational for experiments in living and ranching sustainably on the Texas high plains.
Bringing the Beatitudes and Sustainability to Scale
The Rev. Rachel Field is a small farmer and director of Episcopal Path to Eco-Justice in Vermont. The Rev. Shawn and Addie Sherradan are a priest and NRCS staff. Ethan Winstead is a Canterbury and Food Justice Leader with the University of Wyoming. Dr. Jupe Allen is a veterinarian and cattle and sheep rancher in Kansas. Michael Champlin is a junior warden of his parish working in church land transformation.
Preserving Nature near Towns and Cities
Kail and Rebecca Katzenmeier own and operate Prairiewood Retreat and Preserve. It is nestled among 600 private acres set aside as a tallgrass prairie preserve, lodging, and event space just a mile west of Manhattan, Kansas, and Kansas State University. Peter and Judie Storandt run Restoring Roots Prairie Artscape, which has transformed urban lots in the heart of El Dorado, Kansas, into a sculpture garden and native prairie greenspace. Scott Satterthwaite is an expert on land trust benefits and processes. Judy Scherff is an environmental educator on the gift to dioceses for forest perpetuity.
Watered Gardens and Restored Streets: Transforming our Land as Part of Jesus’ Way of Love
Brian Sellers Petersen is the founder of The Faithful Agrarian and the SpadeSpoonSoul podcast. The Rt. Rev. Cathleen Bascom is the bishop of the Diocese of Kansas and founder of the Episcopal Grasslands Network.
