Welcome
Windstone Farm Linlathen is a place-specific nonprofit rooted in the (inextricably linked) social and natural history of the rural Ottawa Valley. We seek to both facilitate and cultivate community through a practice of interdisciplinary activities with particular emphasis on the conversations between Theology, Ecology, and the Arts. In the ecumenical spirit of Scottish theologian, Thomas Erskine of Linlathen, who in the 19th century opened up his estate to friends and colleagues for hospitable reflection, Windstone Farm seeks to be a place where those of diverse backgrounds gather over a shared love of God, creation, and imagination. Through modeling, sharing, teaching, and participating in communion with the land and one another, we seek to encourage visitors and community members to unpack their understanding and indwelling of faith. Through our engagement with the Triune God we seek to equip our friends with renewed perspectives and/or renewed energies for their callings at home.
Programs
Linlathen Lectures:
The Linlathen Lectures is an annual summer gathering hosted at Windstone Farm. The participants come from across the world and across the road. While guest lectures (theologians, ecologists, and artists) serve as the centering feature of the weekend, gathering, the hospitality, food, and farm itself set the stage for rich conversations, impromptu concerts, peaceful walks, and joyful connections. All who attend a Linlathen weekend experience Christian community that embodies the love of Christ.
Windstone Fellows:
The Windstone Fellows are young adults who have chosen to participate in the daily rhythms of Windstone Farm for a period of time. Some Windstone Fellows live on site while other may live nearby. Windstone Fellows immerse themselves in a mix of guided spiritual reflection, ecological work, and participation in the gatherings hosted by Windstone Farm.
Educational Partnerships:
Windstone Farm has partnered with various educational organizations for opportunities to explore theology, ecology and the arts. Whether it is elementary school children on field trips, high school classes on retreat, or university students doing fieldwork, Windstone Farm has become a destination for those who wish to experience hands on learning in a natural environment. Through these partnerships, Windstone Farm Linlathen seeks to inspire a new generation of Christian leaders to embody creation care.
Local Hospitable Events:
Windstone Farm is known for its hospitality. Whether it is local friends gathering for a book club, spiritual retreats, intergenerational gatherings for read-aloud book evenings, people dropping in to go for a walk on the many trails, house concerts, book launches, or friends reconnecting for a drink on the deck, Windstone serves as a hub of local Christian community.
Reflections from the Farm
About the farm
Until the nineteenth century, the land which is now known as Windstone Farm was part of the wider hunting grounds and home of the Anishinaabe. By the time the property was cleared by Scottish (Perthshire) settlers circa 1816 (our barns date to then; the log cabin is likely not much later), there were very few remaining of the Algonquin and Ojibway peoples who had once hunted, fished, and harvested rice in this part of what is now called Beckwith Township. The current stone house was built in 1840 by more Perthshire Scots – the Stewart family – who lived here continuously until 1960’s. Once 300 acres in size, Windstone Farm is now about 180 acres that stretch between 2 'Lines' of Beckwith, in Lanark county. The majority of the property is ‘arable’ (farmed land). The wooded wetlands between the fields and the road (‘The Westerlies’) are Protected Wetlands, and between the fields and the Side Road is an SSI – Site of Scientific Interest. Uniquely, three different watersheds fan out across the property: feeding the Mississippi Watershed, the Jock River Watershed, and the Middle Rideau Watershed. To learn about some of the more than one thousand different species we've documented here, visit our iNaturalist page.
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Throughout the seasons various friends and family, old and new, weave in and out of life at Windstone: spontaneous informal gatherings, planned events and conferences, work parties, summer internships, reading groups, music nights, bonfires, school groups, study blocks, snow days, art retreats, ski treks, bushwacking, cider-making, cookie-decorating, neighbourhood potlucks. None of these gatherings are completely distinct each from the other - it is thus that friends and families, old and new, are shared and intermingle, and enrich and effoliate (to use a Tolkienian term) each others’ lives.
Together we learn more about the land, its innumerable inhabitants, and ourselves - and together try to learn how to live well in this place we have been planted. We laugh lots, cry some, work and play and sing and pray and eat and drink
and share many stories.
This is life in community, together.
Linlathen Lectures
Every summer the Linlathen Lectures are held at the farm, the signature event of "Windstone Farm Linlathen." A weekend long conference, a public lecture or performance, and other events are part of this annual gathering that celebrates and explores the relationships between
Theology, Ecology, & the Arts.
A Rocha
Windstone & Linlathen partner with A Rocha Ontario in various ways, including internships and events.
Please visit A Rocha Canada & A Rocha Ontario
for more on their important work.