About

Author - Teacher - Wild Church Pastor

I am a writer, teacher, and pastor in the United Church of Christ (UCC). Together with my spouse, Rev. Dr. Julia Burkey, I co-pastor Flicker Wild Church, although our young wild ones Reverie Faye and Kindred Praise are the true spiritual guides. I write at the intersections of theology, creation spirituality, poetry, climate justice, and spiritual ecology.

My first book Speak with the Earth and It Will Teach You: A Field Guide to the Bible (Pilgrim Press, 2022) was awarded the Gold Prize in the 2023 Nautilus Book Awards—Religion and Spirituality of the West. My next book Live Each Season as It Passes: Re-Earthing Spiritual Practice is forthcoming, 2025.

A fly-fisher and forager, I’m often hiking, canoeing, wading, or otherwise navigating the landscape. I live on the edge of the driftless area in Madison, Wisconsin, on ancestral Ho-Chunk land, and in Spooner, WI on Ojibwe land.