Roger EcoChaplain Wharton
Since my early childhood, Boy Scout days, years of attending and working in summer camping programs, teaching outdoor and environmental education, attending a wooded seminary of 500 acres on Upper Nashotah Lake, living and ministering to people who live and loved the Northwoods of Wisconsin, the New York Catskill Mountains and the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, I have also been nourished spiritually in the natural world. I often preached on Creation Centered themes and spent as much time as possible out in nature.
I held a confirmation class in a wilderness area in Wisconsin for youth who lived scattered in the 2,000 square mile territory of the Northwoods Missions. From that beginning I began guiding youth and adults in programs that was eventually labeled “Wilderness Manna”.
I choose this name, Wilderness Manna, because it was a wilderness-based camping program for youth and adults. The naming concept was derived from the biblical account of the miraculous feeding of the Hebrews while they traveled during the Exodus across the desert. Each day God provided manna for them to gather and to eat. It was my belief that when we went into the wilderness seeking wisdom and connection with God that each one would receive exactly what they needed at that particular time in their life. People would have a different experience but it would be exactly what they needed at that point in their spiritual development.
This program began in Wisconsin and continued in New York and then went north to Alaska and now resides in California. EcoSpirit was adopted as an overall encompassing name for the many different activities that now comprise this ministry.
Much of the material that was developed for this program can now be found in the resource library on this web site. I invite you to explore this resource and to discover how God might feed you at this time in your life.