Rooted and Grounded Conference on Land and Christian Discipleship
Theme | Kinship with All Creation: Pursuing Relationship, Justice and Community
Thursday, Sept. 18 鈥� Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025
Building on the six Rooted and Grounded conferences held since 2014, the seventh Rooted and Grounded Conference will examine our relationship with land and all of creation. Our keynote addresses will focus on restoring relationships with land and creation, confronting and repairing ecological injustice, and participating in solidarity with the suffering of all creatures.
Current plans are to offer the conference in a hybrid format. Some elements will be available only to in-person participants, and some will also be available to participants joining via livestream. Some papers and workshops will be presented virtually.
Prior Rooted and Grounded conferences were held in September 2014, October 2015, April 2017, October 2018, October 2021 and September 2023.
The conference will begin at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday and ends at noon EDT on Saturday. Participants can also register to join optional immersion experiences on Thursday afternoon.
For more information, email rootedandgrounded@ambs.edu.
Keynote speakers
(In chronological order of their keynote presentations)
- Wendsler Nosie, Sr., PhD, Founder and Director of Apache Stronghold; Professor at the American University of Sovereign Nations
- T. Wilson Dickinson, PhD, Director of Doctor of Ministry and Lay and Continuing Education Programs and Adjunct Professor of Theology at Lexington Theological Seminary
- Douglas Day Kaufman, ThM, Executive Director of Anabaptist Climate Collaborative
Call for paper and workshop proposals
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is pleased to issue this call for proposals for the seventh gathering of Rooted and Grounded: A Conference on Land and Christian Discipleship to be held September 18 – 20, 2025 (begins at 4:30 Thursday and ends at noon Saturday, with optional immersion experiences on Thursday afternoon).
Guidelines and criteria for papers
In a paper session, we are expecting a traditional presentation from a pre-written paper or an abbreviated version of a longer paper. The planning committee encourages a paper鈥檚 theme to be connected to the conference theme, as this will be the primary criterion the committee will use to accept or decline submissions. The expectation for the session structure is a 20-minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of discussion.
Guidelines and criteria for workshops
Like papers, workshops should be connected to the conference theme. An additional requirement for the review process is for workshop leaders to outline their plan for the workshop: sharing content, leading/facilitating interactive learning, and making space for reflection. The suggested structure for a 60-minute workshop is:
- Introduction 鈥� 10 to 15 minutes
- Interactive learning activity 鈥� 30 to 35 minutes
- Reassembly for reflection and synthesis 鈥� minimum 15 minutes
Submit your proposal
Use the “guidelines and workshop criteria鈥� above to determine which option describes what you want to share at the conference, and submit your proposal using the corresponding form:
Forms may be submitted through June 1, 2025. If you have difficulty with either form, please contact rootedandgrounded@ambs.edu.
Contact us
For more information, email rootedandgrounded@ambs.edu.
Learn more about past gatherings
2023&苍产蝉辫;鈻�&苍产蝉辫;Rooted and Grounded speakers focus on resistance and resilience in the face of climate doom
2021&苍产蝉辫;鈻�&苍产蝉辫;Rooted and Grounded keynotes explore loss, connection and imagination
2018&苍产蝉辫;鈻�&苍产蝉辫;Rooted and Grounded speakers call for changed value systems, worldviews
2017&苍产蝉辫;鈻�&苍产蝉辫;Rooted and Grounded participants challenged to radical discipleship in caring for creation
2015&苍产蝉辫;鈻� Rooted and Grounded conference yields hope for the future
2014&苍产蝉辫;鈻� The Bible was central in Rooted and Grounded conference on land and discipleship