Miriam Therese MacGillis

Miriam Therese MacGillis is a member of the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell, New Jersey. She lives and works at Genesis Farm, which she co-founded in 1980 with the sponsorship of her Dominican congregation.

Miriam received her Masters in Art from the University of Notre Dame and has taught art at the high school and college levels. In 1973, she became coordinator of Peace and Justice Education for the Newark Archdiocese. In 1976 she joined the staff of Global Education Associates as program coordinator and art editor of their publication, “The Whole Earth Papers”.

Miriam describes Genesis Farm as a learning center where people of good will are welcome to search for more authentic ways to live in harmony with the natural world and each other. The farm practices Biodynamic methods of agriculture, which are in tune with the natural rhythms of Earth. It was one of the early pioneers in converting to Community-Supported Agriculture, (CSA), a movement which has expanded across the country. Presently, nearly 300 families from the region are shareholders in its economic base.

Beginning in the 1980’s Miriam coordinated programs exploring the work of author and geologian, Thomas Berry, as he has interpreted the New Cosmology. For twenty years Earth Literacy programs offered accreditation for both graduate and undergraduate students. Since 2012, the farm has been discerning new forms for deepening its mission, especially in solidarity with other groups and individuals in the Ridge and Valley bioregion of northwest New Jersey.