About Us

Way in the Wilderness is a ministry of followers of Jesus, grounded in the Upper Swannanoa River Watershed and dedicated to God’s vision of beloved community and the reconciliation of all creation. Rev. Kevin Miller and Rev. Kevin Bates, together with their families, bought homes next to one another and set out on a journey to create this building-less faith community in the mountains of North Carolina. We are committed to learning to better love our neighbors and creation, believing that in doing so, all will better know and experience the love of the Creator.

Green Spaces in Ministry Part 2 – Means of Grace

This edition of the Means of Grace podcast is a three-part series highlighting four ministries in Western North Carolina who are using green spaces in ministry. These ministries meet people where they are and invite them to something new – an orchard, a story walk, a worship service, exercise, a meal. Part 2 features "The Kevins" – Kevin Miller and Kevin Bates – who are starting a new outdoor faith community in the Swannanoa Valley called Way in the Wilderness: A Church Without Walls.  These episodes are airing on the Tuesdays surrounding Earth Day as a way for leaders to consider how they might connect the earth and its Creator with the lives of people in their community.  One of the many blessings of living in North Carolina is access to beautiful spaces and God’s earth. These podcasts encourage you to think about your own outdoor space – it doesn’t take much – and how it can be used in ministry.  Listen to Part 1, featuring The Village Green in Cashiers and G.I.F.T Aquaponics & Shepherds Garden in Wingate. Part 3 drops next Tuesday, May 4th. Resources: Earth Day Sunday – CREATION JUSTICE MINISTRIES Worship resources for Earth Day 2021 – Global Ministries (umcmission.org) Caretakers of God's Creation (umccreationcare.org) – United Methodist Creation CareCreation Care (umc.org) – Creation Care in the United Methodist Social PrinciplesClimate • GBCS (umcjustice.org) – General Board of Church and Society resourceswww.unitedmethodistwomen.org – United Methodist Women resources (search “creation”) Soil and Sacrament: A Spiritual Memoir of Food and Faith by Fred Bahnson (faithandleadership.com) Soil and Sacrament: A Spiritual Memoir of Food and Faith: Bahnson, Fred: 9781451663303: Amazon.com: Books About Us – Watershed Discipleship Watershed Discipleship: Reinhabiting Bioregional Faith and Practice: Myers, Ched, Nadeau, Denise M.: 9781498280761: Amazon.com: Books Koinonia Farm in Georgia: Home – Koinonia Farm

Recent Instagram Posts

Part 2 Pilgrimage of Hope! Part 1 Pilgrimage of Hope photos from yesterday! Part 2 of 2 Part 1 of 2 We will be leading another day-long Pilgrimage of Hope through the Upper Swannanoa River Watershed on Wednesday, March 15th and have openings for anyone interested. See our website for more info on the pilgrimage: https://wayinthewilderness.org/a-pilgrimage-of-hope/ We now have hats! FOR A NEW BEGINNING Happy New Year! Merry Christmas Eve! Part 2 of Yesterday's Pilgrimage of Hope through the Upper Swannanoa River watershed. Part 1 of Yesterday's Pilgrimage of Hope through the Upper Swannanoa River watershed. A few photos from yesterday's mini pilgrimage with students and faculty from @warrenwilsoncollege ! Their class is called "Environmental Stewardship in Community." Come and join us for any or all of these dates! Learn more at wayinthewilderness.org Have you ever wondered what the Bible and Christian theology say about caring for the earth? Then join us in for great conversations as we read together Making Peace with the Land. This is a joint event with the @creationcarealliance (Creation Care Alliance of WNC). Kevin Bates and Kevin Miller will lead the in-person conversations on Tuesday nights from 6-7pm at the WNC Outdoor Collective and Sarah Ogletree Ritter will lead the online conversations on Monday nights from 7-8pm. We will start September 26/27 and go 7 weeks. Please register below because spots are limited and fill up fast! Such a fun end-of-summer celebration! It's such a blessing getting to fellowship with both First Christian Church and Black Mountain UMC! Everyone is invited to join us for music, fun, and games. We will meet together in the beautiful, big, outdoor space at First Christian Church Black Mountain on August 28 from 4-6pm. We will begin with a short liturgy to mark the end of summer and give thanks to God for the goodness of the change of seasons. Then the plan is to have some summer snacks like watermelon, chips, etc. (feel free to bring some to add) alongside cooking hotdogs from Foothills local butcher shop (what we had at the Winter Solstice) over an open fire. There will be live fiddle music and a chance for anyone to jam out, so bring your instruments. We will also have lots of games like corn hole, can jam, kubb, giant Jenga, along with balls, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk for fun. We will also have lots of prizes! Our hope is just to have a good old-fashioned summer hangout outdoors! If you can let us know you are coming, that will help with the number of hot dogs. Hope to see you soon! Part 2 Though we mostly talked and enjoyed one another's company we also took time to listen in silence to what God wanted to show us around and in us. After we completed the pilgrimage we celebrated with pizza and certificates! Part 1 Yesterday @way.in.the.wilderness had the privilege of pilgrimaging with @wdmcc youth. It was a joy walking and experiencing God's good creation together. Meeting local business owners, pastors, and our museum director and learning their stories and the story of this area really helped us to fall even more in love with this place. We've waited three years, and it's almost time to try our first homegrown plum! A few photos from today's Wild Eucharist Hike! Getting ready for our next Wild Eucharist Hike! Today we will be leading a group of around 50 high school youth. We didn't take many photos - we were too busy enjoying the beauty around us - but here are a few from this week's Wild Eucharist hike. We led this experience for a youth group from Charlotte. Just a reminder that we have a Friday night community meal tomorrow, starting at 6pm. We can't wait to see you there, as we enjoy a feast of potluck dishes and share in good fellowship together! Part 3: Our pilgrims walked 13+ miles on the first test of the pilgrimage of hope from Christmount to Lake Susan through the Upper Swannanoa watershed. What a wonderful day! Part 2 Pilgrimage photos. We stopped many times at significant spots along the way for prayers, meditations, food, drink, and toasts. At each stop we received a stamp on our passport. One of the most meaningful points was when we washed one another's feet in Flat Creek. Part 1 of the Upper Swannanoa River Watershed Pilgrimage from Christmount to Lake Susan in Montreat. We experienced God's goodness as we sauntered along with one another in rich conversation, enjoying the beauty around us as we learned more deeply about this watershed. The business owners along the way were gracious in welcoming us and teaching us about the passion behind their businesses and sharing their love for this community. "In the end, we will conserve only what we love. We love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught." -Baba Dioum Join us this morning (online) at 9AM EST as we worship God together, acknowledging the heavy weight of so many things in our lives, and the importance of good soil and a renewed perspective. Beautiful, joyful Easter sunrise celebration this morning! We were able to share communion and worship with both Black Mountain UMC and First Christian Church. He is risen!! Time lapse of our Dutch Iris from today, Easter 2022. Happy resurrection day! Join us for an Easter Sunrise Celebration and Worship!

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