Navigation Back Search
Search

A ministry of healing

By Lilla Marigza
Aug. 3, 2026 | WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  (UM News)

The Rev. Andrea Byer Thomas has turned life’s challenges and deepest sorrows into a ministry of healing. She’s making a difference as a pastor, author and entrepreneur with her own vegan skincare line. Video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

The Rev. Andrea Byer Thomas wears many hats — pastor, entrepreneur, author and advocate for healing. Byer Thomas is senior pastor of United Methodist Church of the Palm Beaches in Florida. Beyond the pulpit, she crafts vegan skincare products inspired by her daughter’s lifelong battle with eczema and writes candidly about grief, faith and finding God’s presence in life’s most difficult moments. Together, her work reflects a simple but powerful belief: Caring for the body, mind and spirit is all part of God’s call to healing. 

Byer Thomas lives with her husband, Jerry, in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she is senior pastor of United Methodist Church of the Palm Beaches. Byer Thomas has a Doctor of Ministry and Biblical Interpretation from Candler School of Theology.

Check out Byer Thomas’ vegan skincare products, and read her blog: Locs, Heels, and the Bible.

Her book, “Tears at the Altar: Lament in My Breasts,” is available through Amazon and Cokesbury. The Florida Conference wrote an article when the book was released.

Marigza is a multimedia producer for UM News. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.

Related Tags

Sign up for our newsletter!

Subscribe Now
The Rev. Adam Hamilton has led Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, for 36 years. Hamilton is currently running for the U.S. Senate. Photo courtesy of hamiltonforkansas.com.

Hamilton honored for connectional leadership
The Rev. Adam Hamilton, United Methodist pastor and Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, was honored for leadership on Aug. 4 during the 2026 installment of Discipleship Ministries’ School of Congregational Development.
Global Health
A patient receives eye medication during a free health clinic organized by The United Methodist Church at the Mwakirunge Dumpsite in the Kilifi District of Kenya. The July 24-26 medical camp was organized by the Inspired Word Mission Center, a ministry of the Kenya-Ethiopia Conference. Photo by Selina Mutua, UM News.

Camp brings healthcare to vulnerable community
More than 600 people living near a Kenyan dumpsite received free medical care through a United Methodist mission center’s outreach.
Violence
United Methodist missionary Janet Lahr Lewis (left) visits with Basma Manasra as she and her family harvest olives in 2006 on their farm in the West Bank village of Wadi Foquin. The region has seen increased threats of violence and land confiscation since the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. United Methodists, who have a long partnership with Wadi Foquin, have appealed to the U.S. government to help halt the annexation of Palestinian land and ensure a permanent and equitable peace between Israel and Palestine. File photo by Paul Jeffrey.

Church members urge intervention in West Bank
The California-Nevada Conference makes an appeal to the U.S. government as violence escalates in Palestinian villages, including longtime church partner Wadi Foquin.

United Methodist Communications is an agency of The United Methodist Church

©2026 United Methodist Communications. All Rights Reserved