news article
Celebrating a decade of creation care with EarthKeepers
April 22, 2026 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Today is Earth Day, a moment to reflect on how we care for creation and one another. As the Global Ministries EarthKeepers program marks its 10th anniversary, United Methodists across Upper New York are engaging in meaningful, community-based efforts to care for God’s creation.
Global Ministries EarthKeepers is a training program that equips United Methodists in the United States to develop and lead environmental sustainability projects in their communities. Through online learning and hands-on application, participants explore eco-theology, antiracism, climate justice, and community organizing, ultimately designing projects that create measurable environmental impact.
For participants like Betsy Croft, a member of Saint Paul’s UMC in Castleton and of the Upper New York Creation Justice team who completed the training online in 2025, the program offered both a learning opportunity and a sense of connection during a unique season of life.
“Initially, the program drew my attention as a new learning challenge during a season as a full-time caregiver for my mom. The online class drew me into a community of diverse people across the UMC without the need to travel,” Croft said.
That sense of connection and support is a hallmark of the program, as participants are guided by mentors and small groups throughout the process.
“Each EarthKeeper must present a local project to promote ecological and social justice,” Croft explained. “EarthKeepers in training are welcomed into the General Board of Global Ministries Creation Care Network, helped by kind, knowledgeable mentors and a small group for additional support and accountability each step of the way.”
For Betsy, that work took shape through a Wilderness Walking Path project on Mohican land, now in the care of Saint Paul’s UMC/Schodack. Named Mitookwakik, meaning “to/from the trees,” the path invites people to experience God’s presence in the natural world.
Since completing the program, her efforts have expanded through the Upper New York Creation Justice Team and local partnerships, including the Castleton-on-Hudson Climate Smart Communities Task Force and a community Repair Cafe that brings people together to repair items and celebrate the gifts of community and God’s goodness.
“Becoming an EarthKeeper and member of the UNY Creation Care team increased my awareness of the urgent collective need to become good stewards of God’s gift of the Earth.”
At the same time, the program equips participants to lead projects that bring congregations and communities together in meaningful ways.
For Dr. Andrew Hartley, Chair of the Upper New York Creation Justice team and a member of Elma UMC who trained in Georgia in 2018, that connection between church and community is central to the program’s impact.
“Earthkeepers has always been attractive and exciting for me because it equips leaders to bring United Methodist congregations together with their communities to plan and implement environmental projects,” Hartley said.
For Andrew, this work is rooted in a theological understanding of creation care as essential to the life of the Church.
“EarthKeepers is even more important to me due to its focus on tending and keeping this incredible planet God placed in our charge,” he said, pointing to Genesis 2:15.
That emphasis on collaboration is reflected in how environmental work brings churches and communities together around shared concerns.
“Church-and-community collaboration on environmental projects can afford opportunities for each group to learn about the other, and develop a sense that most people are well-intentioned and desire many of the same things: Clean air and water, pesticide-free produce, walkable cities, fair housing practices and so on.”
Beyond project work, the program provides practical tools for organizing and sustaining environmental initiatives, helping participants turn ideas into action.
Rev. Corey Turnpenny, appointed to Church in the Wild, completed the EarthKeepers training in Hartford, CT in 2023 and was commissioned alongside 56 others.
“I was drawn to the EarthKeepers program because I wanted to back up my passion for creation care with some training, and this free course seemed like an incredible gift from the denomination,” Rev. Turnpenny shared.
For Rev. Turnpenny, creation care is foundational to the life of faith and the work of the Church.
“Creation care is the most important work in my view because without a livable planet all the other issues we have to work on won’t matter. We share this planet home with every other living thing, and it is only source of food, water, and shelter we have.”
She also points to the spiritual significance of creation as a way of understanding God’s presence.
“Creation is God's first testament, speaking to us about our Creator. There are so many gifts to be found just outside our doors.”
Through the training, Rev. Turnpenny gained a deeper awareness of the resources already available within the denomination to support this work.
“Attending the EarthKeepers training really opened my eyes to how many resources for creation care already exist within our denomination and how many different agencies are working to answer the Genesis charge.”
She sees EarthKeepers as an important way the denomination puts its commitment into action.
“The EarthKeepers training is one of the main ways our denomination lives out its commitment to Creation care, sending commissioned EarthKeepers back to their communities with concrete plans to develop or expand projects.”
The next EarthKeepers training is scheduled for May 1–16, 2026, and will be offered online as a free opportunity for United Methodists to deepen their engagement in creation care and develop projects that make a difference in their communities.
As the EarthKeepers program enters its second decade, its impact continues to grow, equipping United Methodists to care for creation, strengthen community connections, and live out their faith in tangible, life-giving ways.
For a broader look at how the EarthKeepers initiative is growing across the connection, read the full story from UM News.