Connecting faith, justice,and care for the Earththrough stories and community.
About Michelle
Hi, I’m Michelle Estelle Lewis. I’m a pastor, researcher, filmmaker, and former park ranger, and all of my work is woven from the same threads: faith, justice, and a deep love for the living world.
My path began in the national parks. I started with the National Park Service as a teenager and served as an interpretive ranger throughout my studies, first at Elizabeth City State University, where I’m a proud HBCU graduate, and then at Regent University, where I studied film and earned a master of arts in communication. After graduating, I earned my law enforcement commission from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and became a law enforcement ranger. Patrolling the woods alone, I noticed how few people who looked like me were out there enjoying them. That question, how can everyone find their place in creation, has guided me ever since.
It led me to Yale, where I became the first Black woman to complete the joint degree in religion and ecology, earning a master of environmental science and a master of divinity. I later earned my doctorate from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.
Today, I help communities prepare for a warming world. As community engagement and outreach associate for the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute, I lead the Cooling Communities Initiative, which helps churches and faith-based organizations become places of refuge during extreme heat. I also lead spiritual formation classes at Duke Divinity School.
My work also lives close to home. I’m an ordained United Methodist pastor serving a rural congregation in North Carolina. I founded the Peace Garden Project, which helps congregations grow food for their neighbors, and I founded and direct the Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival, bringing stories about our environment to the screen.
Whether I’m in a sanctuary, a garden, or a screening room, I believe the work is the same: helping people see that caring for the Earth and caring for one another are one sacred calling.
Work With Me
Whether you’re a congregation, a university, a nonprofit, or a community group, I’d love to help you connect faith, justice, and care for the Earth in ways that make a real difference where you are.
I offer keynotes, sermons, and panel talks on climate, faith, and environmental justice. Drawing on my years as a park ranger, researcher, and pastor, I help audiences see the environment not as a distant issue, but as a sacred calling close to home.
Extreme heat is now the deadliest weather in America, and churches are uniquely positioned to respond. I help congregations understand who in their community is most at risk, prepare to serve as places of refuge, and build lasting partnerships with local leaders.
I lead retreats, workshops, and formation groups that invite people to slow down, grieve honestly, and rediscover hope through contemplative practices rooted in creation. These are a good fit for clergy, lay leaders, and anyone carrying the weight of a changing world.
Through the Peace Garden Project, I help congregations plant gardens that feed their neighbors, teach new skills, and bring people together across difference. These gardens connect faith with everyday care, creating space to grow food, nurture relationships, and care for the Earth as a community.
As a filmmaker and the founder of the Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival, I offer storytelling workshops, film programming, and jury service, helping communities and organizations share the stories that move people to act.
I design listening sessions and community-based research that center the voices of rural and Black coastal communities, helping organizations understand the people they serve.
Every community is different, so I tailor each engagement to your needs. Reach out to start a conversation.
Start a ConversationMy Work
The Podcast
Contact
Let’s talk. Every community is different, so I tailor each engagement to your needs. Reach out to start a conversation.
