Rev. Bert Cloud

Senior Pastor

In the 1990s, Bert Cloud experienced a renewal of his faith as a young adult that led him back into the arms of Jesus and eventually into ministry. At the June 2023 Annual Conference Session, Bishop Sue Halpert Johnson will appoint Rev. Bert Cloud as the new pastor of Sterling United Methodist Church.

Pastor Bert has provided spiritual and psychological care for over 30 years, first as a School Psychologist and then as a United Methodist Pastor for the last two decades. Bert’s passion for ministry is to connect people with Christ, themselves, and each other in the power of hope, healing, and humor. In pastoral ministry, he works to offer spiritual companionship, guidance, and leadership.

He has an M.Div. from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta and was ordained as an Elder in 2005. Bert is a doctoral student at Wesley Theological Seminary, studying soul care, trauma, and moral injury.

Pastor Bert has developed, trained, and supervised lay congregational care ministries. Other ministry interests include spiritual formation, teaching, mission service, and content creation for online ministry. Throughout his ministry, Bert has mentored, trained, and coached clergy and people discerning their call to ministry.

Bert is a native of Southwestern Virginia and comes from a family of educators. He is married to Rev. Gina Anderson-Cloud, appointed as the new Lead Pastor of Floris United Methodist Church. They have three adult children: Kayana (entering the University of Mt. Olive with a basketball scholarship), Danielle (a nursing student at UVA), and Trae (rising NCO in the US Army).

Bert enjoys landscape and contemplative photography, snow, excellent writing, a good pot of stew or soup, hiking trails, especially with tall trees, travel, laughing with family and friends, diverse music, the family dog and cats, and contemplative prayer.

Pastor Bert’s favorite Scripture Passage is Ephesians 2:1-10, and his favorite prayer books are Every Moment Holy by Douglas McKelvey and Ned Bustard. You can learn more about Bert here!

10 Interesting Facts about Pastor Bert!

A vision of what Heaven might be like: Jenny Lake at Grand Tetons National Park
Favorite Poets: Robert Frost and Mary Oliver
Scariest Adventure: On a small boat in a flooded Amazonian forest with Parana below, plate-sized tarantulas in the trees, and a jaguar overhead
Favorite Tools: impact driver, humor, faith seeking understanding, curiosity, & a MacBook
Pets: Annie (domestic long-haired cat) & Obi (Japanese bob-tail cat).
Favorite food: fruit, particularly mangos and blackberries
First job: DJ at hometown radio station, WLSD
Most enjoyable pastoral activity: celebrating Holy Communion
Interest: Nature and Photography (favorite photographers are Ansel Adams and Cole Thompson)
Clifton strength finders Top 5: ideation, empathy, intellection, strategic, and input (learn more about this here!)