After nearly 27 years of groundbreaking ministry and outreach at Jubilee Farm, the 164-acre center for ecology and spirituality on Springfield’s west side, the Dominican Sisters announced sale of the land to new stewards.
The announcement was made on June 12, 2026, through a statement the Dominican Sisters’ leadership team made to their constituents after transfer of ownership to the new owners.
“Today, after nearly 27 years of faithful stewardship of the land lovingly known to us and to many as Jubilee Farm, we have closed that chapter of Springfield Dominican ministry with the sale of the land. While our ministry at Jubilee Farm draws to a close; our congregational commitment to the rights of Earth remains as strong as ever.
Many of the ministries undertaken at Jubilee Farm—care for creation, spiritual accompaniment, organic farming and permaculture practices, weaving, crafting, the study and teaching of ecological spirituality—will continue in different forms in the lives of the Sisters. We remain as committed as ever to the rights of Earth and to the urgent need for a renewed relationship with creation that is critical to our continued existence and thriving on this planet that is our home.”
The sale of the land is bittersweet, but necessary, according to Sister Sharon Zayac, who lived at Jubilee Farm since 1999, when she and Sister Anita Cleary began the ministry. “We have been blessed to be part of the story of the land, learning far more from her than from the workshops we attended and the articles we studied,” she said. “It is the right time to pass it along to new caretakers who are equally committed to respecting the land and all the beings who dwell there. There are fewer sisters with the physical ability and desire to live here. After a year-long process of study and analysis, we came to the realization that we could best foster our legacy here by transferring the land to others’ care.”
The sisters moved from Jubilee Farm in March.
The new owners, NextGen Communities, a nonprofit established by the Sommer family of Springfield, have agreed to honor the easement established with the Sangamon Conservancy Trust which bans the use of the land for commercial purposes. Stephanie Sommer, Senior Director for Social Impact for the Sommer Family, stated “Our family is honored the Dominican Sisters have entrusted us with the stewardship of this beautiful, sacred land and care of the animals who reside on the property.”
“The Sommer family demonstrated their desire and their capacity to honor the conservation easement, responsibly maintain the land, and honor the many collaborations our sisters have developed with others throughout the years,” said Sister M. Paul McCaughey, OP, prioress general of the Dominican Sisters. “We are pleased to know the land will be in good hands for this next phase of its story and that so many creative ideas are in play to support area youth and the care of creation.”
Among the collaborations the sisters have nurtured at Jubilee Farm are relationships with the Lincoln Land Association of Bird Banders and the biology club at the University of Illinois Springfield. At the initiative of the bird banders group, Jubilee Farm is home to one of the only MOTUS towers in the region. MOTUS, the Latin word for movement, is the name of an international research community studying the movement and behavior of birds, bats, and insects.
The sale follows a year-long discernment process undertaken by the sisters and an ad hoc assembly of supporters who shared their wisdom and guidance in seeking a new future for the land.
Brief overview
The Dominican Sisters originally purchased a 109-acre parcel from the Leigh family in 1999, anticipating the jubilee year of 2000 and marking the two-millennia milestone of Christianity. The concept of Jubilee is an ancient Hebrew practice of periodic cycles of liberation and rest, to restore equity and balance. In 2016, the sisters acquired an additional 53 wooded acres adjacent to the east, increasing their holdings to its current boundaries and gaining the addition of the woodlands. The land is distinguished by the number of biomes represented on the land including pasture, wetlands, and woodland. There are 3 miles of walking trails, a small orchard, and a mowed-grass labyrinth. The property is bisected by Archer Creek. It is home to a llama, two alpacas, and chickens, who will all remain with the new owners.
The land also holds several buildings that include the 120-year-old farmhouse where the sisters lived, a ranch home that has served as a center for small group gatherings and offices, and the Creative Arts Center run with geothermal and solar energy, which served as a meeting space and workshops for crafts and weaving.
In May 1999, when the leadership team shared with the congregation the idea of purchasing land, they said their search had “taken on a contemporary urgency” because of the increasing concerns about the quickening pace of land development and loss of natural habitat. “It is our hope that our care and use of this land will witness to our commitment to respect the Earth and preserve it for future generations,” they wrote, adding “It will be a place for all ages to learn about nature and how we can make better choices in the way we live.”
Land Conservancy
In August 2023 the sisters placed the land in a conservation easement with the Sangamon Conservancy Trust, in order “To share the common goal of protecting land, habitat, and the well-being of the environment in central Illinois,” said Sister Rebecca Ann Gemma, OP, who was prioress general of the Springfield Dominican Sisters at the time. “For less than a quarter-century we have had responsibility for these acres that were previously—for millennia—cared for by the indigenous people of our region,” she said. “Our tenure on the land will be brief in comparison, but we hope that our enduring partnership with the Sangamon Conservancy will enable us to honor the land and its earliest inhabitants forever by respecting the gift of the land and the beauty of all who live on it now.”
Barbara Mendenhall, chair of the Sangamon Conservancy board of trustees, said at the time “The Sangamon Conservancy Trust is honored to help the Dominican Sisters of Springfield protect and preserve their Jubilee Farm forever through a conservation easement. This is a precious gem just a few miles west of Springfield worthy of protection from increasing urban expansion and commercial development. I truly believe that God guided the Dominican Sisters to our trust so their vision for this land could be fulfilled.”
A conservation easement is a voluntary, legal agreement that permanently limits land use to protect and conserve it in perpetuity.
“From 2004 when we affirmed our first corporate stance on the rights of Earth, through August 2023 when we created a conservation easement to protect Jubilee Farm’s forest, wetlands, pastures, and all the flora and fauna to which it is home, our concern has been the care and restoration of the land” Said Sister M. Paul. “We believe we have been good stewards. We now entrust it to a family committed to eco-spirituality, education, and energetic entrepreneurship.”
The Dominican Sisters of Springfield are part of a worldwide Dominican family, the Order of Preachers. For more than 800 years, Dominicans have preached the Gospel in word and deed. The Springfield Dominicans were established in Jacksonville, Illinois, in 1873 and relocated to Springfield in 1893. Today, thousands of Dominican sisters, nuns, priests, brothers, associates, and laity minister in more than 100 countries around the world. To learn more about the Dominican Sisters of Springfield visit springfieldop.org.
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