May Movement Café:
Establishing or Renewing a Conference Green Team
May 21, 2025
10am PT / 11am MT / 12pm CT / 1pm ET
Sponsored by the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, the informal, virtual space of the Café facilitates conversation, connection, and community focused on creation care and justice issues.
Establishing or Renewing a Conference Green Team
With Annual Conference season beginning, we offer up the May Movement Cafe centering the work and efforts of annual conference green teams. (These can be called environmental justice, creation care, and/or climate justice teams, depending on the conference.)
There are a number of United Methodist conferences that have well established green teams operating at the conference level. Other conferences are restructuring or renewing, as regional and other changes bring new priorities and an opportunity to build new relationships. And some conference green teams are brand new!
For those conferences without green teams, or for those looking to renew a former green team, the work of General Conference has given that effort an urgent boost. (See “The Power of a Team”) At the May Movement Cafe, the conversation affirmed the essential role of green teams. We heard stories from long-time annual conference green team leaders, as well from those with brand new teams just getting started.
We invite you to share your questions as well as your stories using this Form.
You can watch the recording for the May Cafe linked below. A long list of resources were shared in the chat and those are available in this document.
Speakers
Daniel Joranko, Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference
Daniel Joranko is the Coordinator of the Creation Care Ministries of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church. He has also served as coordinator for Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light from 2018-2024. He was a founder of the national Earthkeepers Program hosted through United Methodist Global Ministries. He served as the coordinator of the prison program at Vanderbilt Divinity School from 2007 -2020 – through which he taught courses composed of VDS students and residents at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. He has a recent chapter “Engaging the Climate Crisis Through Spiritual Nonviolence” in the book “Liberating People, Planet and Religion” published by Rowman and Littlefield. He has a Ph.D. in Resource Development from Michigan State University, and a Master of Divinity Degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological School.
Sharee Wharton, Baltimore Washington Conference
Sharee Whaton is a dynamic leader and dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ with over 25 years of experience in church leadership, education, and community engagement. Based in Potomac, MD, Sharee currently serves as Director of Education and Community Engagement at Potomac United Methodist Church, where she designs and implements comprehensive educational initiatives and outreach programs. As a consultant with the National Wildlife Federation, Sharee has coached congregations in creating sustainable green spaces and led environmental projects recognized with local awards. Her ministry experience spans rural, suburban, and urban settings, including revitalization efforts at Jones Memorial UMC and outreach coordination at Potomac UMC. Sharee is skilled in program management, strategic planning, and partnership development, and has successfully secured grant funding for infrastructure and community projects. A Certified Lay Minister and Lay Leader, Sharee holds a Master of Divinity from Wesley Seminary and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Urban Affairs from The American University. On May 15th, she will be commissioned as a Provisional Deacon at the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference.
Mike Koob, Baltimore Washington Conference
Mike Koob, member and former chair, Baltimore-Washington Conference Creation Care Team; founding member, Multi-faith Alliance of Climate Stewards of Frederick County; member, Middletown United Methodist Church, Middletown, Maryland. He is also a commissioned UM Earthkeeper, and part of the 2016 inaugural class.
Marty Toepke-Floyd, Dakotas Conference
Marty Toepke-Floyd is the Senior Pastor at First United Methodist Church in Jamestown, ND, and an Elder in the Dakotas Annual Conference. He has an undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of Redlands and a Masters of Divinity degree from Pacific School of Religion. He has led several Mission u studies on Poverty, Climate Justice, the Gospel of Mark, and Living the Kin-dom of God for the Dakotas United Women in Faith. In the past ten years, he has traveled to Haiti and the Dominican Republic with Solar Oven Partners on short term mission trips. He is married to Tammy, a UCC pastor, and the father to two grown & married children and Grandfather to two adorable grandsons ages 3 ½ and 10 months.