Report from the 2025 EcoFaith Leadership Retreat of the Upper Midwest

Earth Cries, and We are Called:

Birthing Community for the Healing of Creation

August 24-26, Camp Onomia, Onamia, MN

Last month on the shores of Shakopee Lake, 33 people came together at Camp Onomia for the annual EcoFaith leadership retreat to engage the question, How do we birth and nurture a community of active response to Earth’s Cries, in and among our congregations, communities, synods, and region?  

Participant leaders came from seven synods in the Upper Midwest: Northeastern Minnesota, Saint Paul Area, Minneapolis Area, Northwestern Minnesota, Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, Northern Great Lakes, and Southwestern Minnesota

The retreat included worship, enrichment sessions, updates from each synod on its care of Creation ministry, one on one conversations, breakout times, and deliberation on the theme for the 2026 EcoFaith Summit.  

A rhythm of twice daily worship, along with lively conversation at meals and social time, nourished us for the thoughtful work in which we engaged. The opening night discussion of the journal article, "Now the Green Blade Rises: The Easter Gospel for the Whole Creation" (Kristin Foster, Word and World Journal, Spring 2025) helped us trace the contours of our story within the Gospel Plot for the whole Creation.  

Each of the five thought provoking enrichment sessions identified channels for participating in the “Plot”: a regional pollinator habitat movement, community organizing elements, churches as community resilience hubs, congregational paths for integrating the care of creation, and environmental advocacy in our current circumstances. 

In the course of two vigorous discussions, participants chose a theme for the 2026 EcoFaith Summit of the Upper Midwest. The theme is acutely relevant to the times in which we are living: From Fear to Fire: Igniting Community for a Planet in Peril.  The Summit has been scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 2026, at First Lutheran, Duluth. 

So what's next?  

• Each synod's Care of Creation/EcoFaith team (or incipient team) will hear about the retreat and discuss new ways to nurture awareness and action in their own synods.  

• Each participant is bringing insights and inspirations to put into action back to their own congregations and communities some.

• The Summit Organizing Team is beginning its work this month to organize the 2026 Summit. 

"Now the Green Blade Rises: The Easter Gospel for the Whole Creation"

Rev. Kristin Foster, Word and World, Spring 2025