These are the 2023 seminars. Please check back for an updated roster in September!
30-40 minute presentations with 5-10 minute Q&A. Please check back for updated seminars closer to the fair.
What Do I Do? – A Conversation with Two Homesteaders
The past two years have seen unprecedented changes in our world and the tenuous threads of an unsustainable food supply and support system that have frayed, and at times, broken. Given the current socioeconomic upheaval in our country, you may be seriously considering how you can provide a more stable food supply and lifestyle for your family. However, you may not know what to do or where to begin. During this question and answer forum, two homesteaders share key insights from their many years of experience that may help you successfully begin a small family homestead.
Presenters: Butch Tindell & Grady Phelan
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 1:00pm
“Will He Find Faith on the Earth?” When Economy Becomes Religion
By default, each generation inherits the socio-economic structures of those who came before them. These unexamined cultural assumptions often result in an existence riddled with mental dissonance, especially for believers, as so many elements of daily life seem to interfere with their highest goals. Yet a pathway to meaningful change is not evident, and the pressure to go along with the current model of living can feel inescapable. Are the foundations of our economicmodels by design hostile to a life of faith? Is there a viable alternative?
Presenter: Zach Herbert
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 10:00am
A Day in the Life of a Home-schooling Family
Explore how to make family life a classroom with Amanda Lancaster, home-schooling mother of eight. Take a look at the “nuts and bolts” of home-schooling using the unique, Bible-based curriculum published by the Homestead community. Discover how home-schooling and “learning to learn” are an integral part of our community life.
Presenter: Amanda Lancaster
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 1:00
The Perils of “Progress” – Unveiling Modern Culture
In an era now described as post-postmodern, we are beset on every side by perpetual revolution—a seemingly indiscriminate discarding of the old in relentless pursuit of the new. But in the age of “infinite progress,” some still ask, “Just what are we progressing toward? And how will we know when we’ve arrived?” Offering a glimpse behind the mask of modern culture, this seminar proposes an escape from the conveyor belt of constant change, and discovery instead of the enduring city of the God “who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Presenter: Evan Birdsong
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 1:00
“I Feel like You’re Judging Me” – The Quest of Unity of the Faith in a Relativistic Age
What is the difference between unity and uniformity? Between tolerance and endorsement? How can believers stand for their convictions without judging others or sparking “doctrine wars”? How do we distinguish consecration from separatism or elitism? In a day when believers desperately need to stop infighting and stand together, we must rediscover the scriptural framework for mutual respect, for collaboration without compromise.
Presenter: Dan Lancaster
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 1:00
Questions & Answers on Christian Community
Join members of the Homestead Heritage community for a highly interactive
question-and-answer session about their way of life. This open forum will be
hosted by a diverse and cross-generational panel featuring long-time members
of the community as well as those who have just recently joined. Bring your
questions!
Presenter:
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 4:00
Cheese Making Seminar — Mozzarella
Watch a gallon of milk become mozzarella in this one-hour session as you learn
what it takes to make your own soft and hard cheeses at home, with either cow
or goat milk.
Presenter: Rebekah Nolen and Cary Jennings
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 1:00
The Roots of Industrialism and a Return to Sustainability
The Industrial Revolution has been described as “the most fundamental transformation of human life in the history of the world.” The shift from the land to the city has shaped every aspect of human culture, from the way we live to the way we work and even the way we think. This session will offer a brief historical survey of this seminal movement, underscoring its cultural consequences and spiritual significance.
Presenter: Evan Birdsong
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 12:00
Keynote Address: Freedom is Killing Our Liberty – Examining the Corollary Between Social Constraint and Political Liberty
The Founders’ generation, now considered religiously stilted and strict, initiated the freest government known to man. Conversely, the current age of moral release parallels unprecedented spikes in violence, depression, isolation and social breakdown, which have precipitated greater government intrusion and the consequent loss of Constitutional liberties. Were the freedoms afforded the American people contingent on a vibrant Christian society? If so, can America survive without a revival and recovery of the same?
Presenter: Asahel Adams
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 11:00
Sustainable Gardening & Soil Restoration
An introduction to producing your own healthy food in your own backyard or on your own farm, naturally and sustainably.
Presenter: Hannah Wiley
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 10:00
Getting Started with Chickens
Chickens are easy, enjoyable and rewarding to raise and can provide farm fresh eggs for you and your family right from your own yard. I’ll go over the basics of what you’ll need to know in order to start raising and caring for your first flock. If you’ve never raised chickens before, this seminar is a good place to start.
Presenter: Matthew Pressly
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 4:00
Changing Our Minds – The Impact of Digital Technology
Each year there is an exponential increase in the availability of digital technology. We will share research on how these technologies are changing the way people think and radically altering our relationship with nature, with reality and with each other. In considering the effects of these unprecedented changes, we will share some of the ways our community has re-envisioned our relationship with technology and the benefits we have gained from this approach.
Presenter: Dr. Kay Toombs
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 10:00
Foundation Stones for Child Training and Building Christian Character
Why has my child’s behavior and character not developed along with their mental and physical capabilities? Take a look into the practices and assumptions that stunt the development of your child’s character. Look into the windows of opportunity to establish the foundation stones of good behavior and close-knit relationships.
Presenter: Amanda Lancaster
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 12:00
Sourdough Bread Making
Come learn the particular steps in baking sourdough bread from your own kitchen with your own utensils and ingredients.
Presenter: Cynthia Vidaurreta
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 11:00
Bread Making
An inspiring seminar on the ease of baking bread from whole grains-in your own kitchen, using utensils and ingredients you already have.
Presenter: Melissa Yantis
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 10:00
Seed Sustainability and Food Waste
In this seminar, we will discuss the importance of open-pollinated seed, how to save seed, and a real solution to the problem of food waste.
Presenter: Randy & Terri Brim
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 12:00
Basic Soap Making
Discover how to create creamy homemade soap in your own kitchen. We will
introduce the basics of soap making with a few simple ingredients.
Presenter: Liz Adams
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 2:00
Beekeeping Seminar
A seminar on the need for keeping bees as an essential part of a homestead, as a source for both honey and pollination.
Presenter: Randy Oakley
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 11:00
Purifying Water Using Sustainable Methods
This seminar continues the introduction to sustainable water essentials with an emphasis on water purification. Methods covered include the slow sand filter, ozonation powered by solar energy, boiling, distillation and pasteurization.
Presenter: Pat Chesney
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 5:00
A Culture of Healing— Bringing Meaning to Disability and Suffering
Lifetime member of Homestead Heritage and home-schooling mother of an autistic child shares her experiences and explores how an integrated community life can bring wholeness, meaning and healing to special-needs children—and to us all.
Presenter: Amanda Lancaster
Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 11:00
