08 Oct Passing of Phil Burkett

(post by Steve Dennie)

Philip Burkett, age 67, passed away October 4, 2024, in Marlette, Mich. He had been in hospice care after a lengthy battle with a brain tumor. He was an ordained UB minister for many years, and he and his wife, Darlene, were part of the team that founded the United Brethren mission in Macau.

Both visitation and the Celebration of Life service will be held at the Cass City Missionary Church. Address: 4449 Koepfgen Road, Cass City, MI 48726

Visitation: 4-8 pm Friday, October 18.
Funeral: 11 am Saturday, October 19, with visitation one hour beforehand.

Phil’s life was wrapped around ministry. He grew up as a United Brethren preacher’s kid and missionary kid. He was born in Sierra Leone May 4, 1957, as the fourth son of Marion and Frances Burkett. They returned to Michigan in 1958, serving pastorates in Michigan and Kentucky. They returned to Sierra Leone in 1971. Phil spent his first three years of high school there, and finished up in Michigan.

Phil graduated from Huntington University in 1979 as a music major. As a senior, he received the top student awards in music, drama, and Alpha Chi. He and Darlene Connor, a fellow music major, were married in 1979, and then relocated to Louisville, Kent., where he earned a Master of Church Music at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

His first pastorate was at Gethsemane United Brethren Church in Jackson, Mich. He started as an associate pastor, and eventually became senior pastor. In 1986, he received the Master of Christian Ministry from the HU School of Christian Ministries.

In 1987, Phil and Darlene joined Luke and Audrey Fetters and a Chinese coworker in starting United Brethren mission work in Macau, a peninsula on Mainland China which, until 1999, was under the control of Portugal. Phil and Darlene served four years in Macau. They then accepted a UB pastorate in Toronto, Ontario, where they also helped start a Chinese ministry.

In 1996, Phil became Worship Arts Pastor at College Park UB church in Huntington, Ind. During the next 14 years, he taught classes at HU at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and completed a Doctorate of Worship Studies from the Robert Webber Institute for Worship Studies.

In 2011, Phil became lead pastor of Cass City Missionary Church in Michigan. He had a significant and powerful impact on many lives and was loved by his congregation as he continued to serve his Lord there. His ministry of 13 years in Cass City found him involved in community ministries as well, including directing community choirs.

Phil and Darlene celebrated 45 years of marriage this past May. Both children are married. Jeremy’s family lives in Baltimore, Md., and Carissa’s family lives in Portland, Ore.