Seminary introduces Ecotheology Studies offerings

Annette Brill Bergstresser on July 16, 2026

Incoming students walk the prayer labyrinth on the AMBS campus during the seminary’s orientation week in August 2025. The mowed labyrinth (Chartres design) provides a setting for spiritual renewal for individuals and small groups on AMBS’s 44-acre campus. (Credit: Brittany Purlee/AMBS)

Published: July 16, 2026

Incoming students walk the prayer labyrinth on the AMBS campus during the seminary’s orientation week in August 2025. The mowed labyrinth (Chartres design) provides a setting for spiritual renewal for individuals and small groups on AMBS’s 44-acre campus. (Credit: Brittany Purlee/AMBS)

By Annette Brill Bergstresser

ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — Interested in the relationship between faith and the natural environment?

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, has developed three new Ecotheology Studies programs for people who want to grow in practicing ecological justice. These offerings grow out of the seminary’s commitments to peace, justice, environmental sustainability and creation care.

“For several years, we have noted increased interest — particularly among young adults — in opportunities to study at the intersection of theology and the human struggle to respond to climate change,” noted Beverly Lapp, EdD, Vice President and Academic Dean. “We believe developing a robust interdisciplinary curriculum in ecotheology will equip more people to lead ecological justice work that is rooted in God’s reconciling mission for the world.”

The programs are designed to meet students where they’re at, Lapp noted — whether they want to study on campus or from a distance, full time or part time, short term or long term. Courses are offered in various formats:

  • asynchronous online courses, in which students complete weekly online assignments on their own schedule
  • synchronous online courses, in which students meet at specific times via videoconference
  • campus/blended courses, in which students at a distance join students on campus in Elkhart at specific times via videoconference

Graduate Certificate in Ecotheology (on campus or from a distance)

Through the 21-credit-hour Graduate Certificate in Ecotheology, students explore ecological concerns across theological disciplines to increase their effectiveness in practicing ecological justice. Students can complete the program over two years of part-time study — either fully online or through a combination of in-person and online courses. 

Master of Divinity: Peace Studies: Ecotheology major (on campus or from a distance)

Through the Peace Studies: Ecotheology major in the 80-credit-hour Master of Divinity (MDiv), students can pursue in-depth exploration of ecological concerns across theological disciplines. The degree prepares people for peacebuilding ministries with a focus on environmental sustainability in congregations, church organizations, service placements and academic settings. Students can complete this major over four years of full-time study or over six and a half years of part-time study through either the MDiv Campus program or the distance-friendly MDiv Connect program.

Master of Arts: Theology and Peace Studies: Ecotheology concentration (campus-based)

The Ecotheology concentration of the 52-credit-hour Master of Arts: Theology and Peace Studies (MATPS) prepares students for leadership in peacebuilding with a specialty in ecotheology. Students study biblical and theological foundations for peacebuilding and explore ecological concerns across theological disciplines. This program requires students to be present on campus and can be completed over three years of full-time study or several years of part-time study.

Immersive semester at Merry Lee Environmental Learning Center

Students in the MATPS Ecotheology concentration or the MDiv Peace Studies: Ecotheology major can choose from two tracks of study: one that is centered around AMBS courses, and one that includes an intensive semester of study at Goshen (Indiana) College’s Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center, a 1,189-acre nature preserve in Wolf Lake, Indiana.

Those who enroll in the 15-week residency at Merry Lea will engage in field-based research, ecological restoration and community-focused projects, all while living in environmentally conscious student housing with a mix of graduate and undergraduate students. 

Individual ecotheology courses

Prospective students can also try out AMBS’s ecotheology offerings by registering as a guest student. Courses to be offered in the 2026–27 academic year include:

  • Practical Theology of the Climate Crisis, an asynchronous online course in Semester One (Sept. 1 – Dec. 11, 2026; register by Aug. 24 at ambs.edu/upcoming-courses)
  • Ecological Hermeneutics, a campus/blended course in Semester Two (Jan. 12 – April 30, 2027; register by Jan. 4)
  • Spiritual Practices: Water of Life, a synchronous online course in Semester Two (Jan. 12 – April 30, 2027; register by Jan. 4)
  • Spiritual Practices: Faithful Living in Climate Change, a synchronous online course in Summer Term (May 10 – July 23, 2027; Tuesdays, 6:30–8:30 p.m. ET; register by May 3)

Learn more: ambs.edu/ecotheology

Located in Elkhart, Indiana, on ancestral land of the Potawatomi and Miami peoples, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is a learning community with an Anabaptist vision, offering theological education for learners both on campus and at a distance as well as a wide array of lifelong learning programs — all with the goal of educating followers of Jesus Christ to be leaders for God’s reconciling mission in the world. ambs.edu

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