Rich Hanlon Receives Fred Rogers Award for Creative Ministry

The Rev. Richard P. Hanlon Jr. ’15 describes himself as a dreamer, adventurer, nature guide, writer, and a neighbor-loving nature nut. As a Pittsburgh native and ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, his professional mission is to kindle neighborly connections between people and nature. He wants to help each person discover themselves in the gift, the adversity, and the wonder of wild nature.

Rich has engaged in nature-connection work through guided events at parks and trails and shares nature writings and videos on social media. He believes this work is critical for preparing church and community groups to address habitat loss, climate change, and other environmental challenges facing the world today.

Rich believes diversity to be the “spice of life,” and our willingness to celebrate the full diversity of the ecosystems in which we live can make all the difference in caring for Creation.

Rich has served at Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community (2013-2015), First United Methodist Church of Wellsboro, Pa. (2015-2020), and Athens (Pa.) United Methodist Church (2020-2022). In 2019, with the help of Hamilton-Gibson Productions, a community performing arts group in Wellsboro, Rich organized and led a worship service promoting suicide awareness, prevention, and survivor support.

Rich holds a BA in environmental studies from Penn State University. He is a certified interpretive guide through the National Association for Interpretation. In June 2022, Hanlon and his wife, Erin, began offering guided tours of the landscape and wildlife as well as spiritual retreats for church and community groups in New York’s Adirondack Mountains with the Wild Neighbors Nature Connection.