Global Ministries will commission 72 new EarthKeepers in an online service on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. ET. This service will affirm the EarthKeepers in their call to the ministry of creation care and bless their work in their communities. The service will be livestreamed at www.facebook.com/GlobalMinistries.
Global Ministries EarthKeepers is a training program to equip United Methodists in the United States for environmental stewardship. Participants discuss theology, United Methodist resources, community organizing and antiracism, and then use what they learn to develop an environmental project for their churches and communities. The program supports people looking to turn an idea into action and those who want to deepen an existing ministry. Participants develop plans in conversation with their peers, troubleshooting ideas and sharing strategies.
With 2025 trainings held online and in Des Moines, Washington, this group of EarthKeepers represents 24 annual conferences and all five jurisdictions. Participants include clergy, laity, annual conference staff and agency staff.
“The vital leadership of Global Ministries EarthKeepers is an alternative to the political, economic, and social forces that undermine the flourishing of God’s creation,” said Roland Fernandes, general secretary of Global Ministries and General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. “Their projects bring positive environmental impact and real hope to communities throughout the United States.
“At a time when environmental programs in the United States, both secular and religious, are being defunded and closed, Global Ministries EarthKeepers is flourishing with vision and purpose,” said the Rev. Jenny Phillips, director of Environmental Sustainability. “More EarthKeepers have been trained in 2025 than in any other year in the program’s nine-year history. Their projects are remarkably bold and ambitious, meeting the challenges of this moment.”
This is the ninth year that the EarthKeepers commissioning service has been held online, allowing EarthKeepers nationwide to participate along with their family, friends and church community. The service will be led by Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth, resident bishop for the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area.
Headshots of the participants are available for annual conference communications use at: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjChqQP
To read more about EarthKeepers projects and to get updates on 2026 trainings, join the Global Ministries Creation Care Network by downloading the app or visiting http://creationcare.umcmission.org/signup.
The 2025 Global Ministries EarthKeepers reside in the following conferences.
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California-Nevada |
Kentucky |
Pacific Northwest |
Kathryn Hofeldt-Provost |
|
Rev. April Sousa |
Ashley Vipond |
Sharon Feucht |
Martha-Ann Pilcher |
|
California-Pacific |
Michigan |
Patricia “Pat” Gray |
Texas |
|
Euijin Lee |
Sandra White |
Vanessa Perkinson |
Anne Blakely-Barloco |
|
Janice Lee |
Rev. Ryan Wieland |
Chelsey Reese |
Upper New York |
|
Serena Lee |
Missouri |
Rev. Jacqueline “Jackie” Celin |
Elizabeth “Betsy” Croft |
|
Sunny Park |
Lindsey Ready |
Laura Osborn |
Virginia |
|
Melanie Branson |
Mountain Sky |
Dr. Gwen Wood |
Lauri Snider |
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Florida |
Sean Orner |
Judy Le Blanc |
West Virginia |
|
Dr. Jack Grove |
Carolyn Tarr |
Sarah Lai |
Jeffrey “Jeff” Matheny |
|
Rev. Lee Hall-Perkins |
New England |
Rev. Ruth Marston-Bihl |
Melanie Matheny |
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Great Plains |
Maria Castle |
Kathryn Rauhauser |
Western North Carolina |
|
Rev. Kristi Bishop |
Elaine Trench |
Melanie Wienecke |
Rev. Steven “Steve” Bergkamp |
|
Christopher “Chris” Decker |
New Mexico |
Lourdes Tifre |
Mark Casper |
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Horizon Texas |
Kathleen Duncan |
Karen Biggers |
Anna Garner |
|
Carson Warden |
Dr. Idolia “Dodie” Hawkins |
Gail Huggins |
Wisconsin |
|
Rev. Dr. Thomas “Tommy” Brumett |
Dr. Andy Stoker |
Rev. Dan Gerhard |
Paul Schumacher |
|
Carson Warden |
North Carolina |
Dr. Darold Ward |
|
|
Rev. Dr. Thomas “Tommy” Brumett |
Susan Jacques |
Janet Ward |
|
|
Joshua “Josh” Brumett |
Dorothy Kester |
Andi Villar Arroyo |
|
|
Cassidy Barrett |
North Georgia |
Peninsula-Delaware |
|
|
Wendy Owens |
Rev. Mark LaRocca-Pitts |
Dr. Tolbert Nyenswah |
|
|
Leila Prichard |
Jeff Fuller |
Rev. Emanuel Johnson |
|
|
Susan Bruster |
Oregon-Idaho |
Rio Texas |
|
|
Rev. Dr. Tim Bruster |
Barbara “Barb” Reuter |
Jenny Monahan |
|
|
Celeste Spencer |
Rev. Zaida F. Huereca |
Tennessee-Western Kentucky |
|
|
Rev. Rob Spencer |
Louise Darling |
Heather Bennett |
Photos are available at: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjChqQP
This content was originally published by the General Board of Global Ministries; republished with permission by ResourceUMC on October 22, 2025.