On Monday morning, I welcomed the first youth conference to Montreat for the summer of 2021. For years, I have told our youth the same four things: Whether you’re here for the first time or the tenth, you are welcome and you belong. While God’s voice is everywhere, Montreat is one of those places that people sometimes find it easier to tune in and hear it. Listen for God’s voice this week. God has a call on your life, and a call for Montreat, too. Lend your own voice this week, because it’s through your own voice, through your sharing, …
This Week in Montreat – June 6, 2021
View PostGod Loves Through His People
Did you catch the end of the Liverpool/West Bromwich soccer match a couple weeks ago? No? This particular game basically came down to the last play, when Liverpool won on a header from their own goalkeeper, Alisson Becker, a play so rare that…well, it’s the first goal ever scored in competition by a Liverpool goalkeeper. Liverpool has been playing soccer/football since 1892. Yet that wasn’t what I’ll remember most from that day. After the game, Alisson was interviewed, of course, and asked about the winning play. He gave all credit to God, as athletes often do. Then the interview shifted. …
Summer Updates 2021
A little over a year ago, in the early days of the pandemic, we were sorting through unprecedented challenges at the conference center on an almost daily basis. In the midst of the highest days of anxiety, I particularly remember some members of our staff chuckling over a strangely comforting thought: Someday, long after this is over, somebody is going to rush into your office one day in a panic and announce, “We have a BIG problem!” And you’ll remember the pandemic, and you’ll just look up and smile a little bit, and you’ll think to yourself: Oh yeah? I’ll …
Thank You for Your Support of the Montreat Fund
As you heard last week in this space, Montreat’s fiscal year ended on April 30. While the final mail is still being opened and every dollar counted, today we give thanks for the record number of donors who propelled the Montreat Fund to an early total of over one million dollars for the second year in a row, and just the second time in history! This is a monumental show of support, and allows the mission and ministry of this special place to adapt to the changing needs of the church and of all those who call this place sacred …
End of Fiscal Year Update from MRA Board Chair
As our fiscal year draws to a close, I’ve asked Burnet Tucker, chair of the MRA Board of Directors, to share an update with you. I have the privilege of serving as Chair of the Board of the Mountain Retreat Association (d.b.a. the Montreat Conference Center). Over the past several months, I’ve been asked about how the MRA is weathering COVID financially as well as how the proposed lodge fits into our bigger financial, hospitality, and programmatic picture. As the MRA prepares to close its books on April 30 (the end of our fiscal year), I thought it would be …
Year End Thoughts and Thanks
As we approach the end of our fiscal year on April 30th, we are as usual doing our best to reach out and remind everyone to make their Montreat Fund gift in time. Making some of those calls this week got me thinking about Dorothy Allen, a longtime Montreater who passed away in January at the age of 99. Dorothy was an original donor to Montreat’s Patrons Fund in 1962, though she pointed out to me once that she was not an original Patron per se. Dorothy told me that she and her husband, Kirk, just couldn’t find the funds …
Plans for Summer 2021
As we approach the middle of April this week, it feels like a good time to let you know of the conference center’s plans for this coming summer.
On Growth, Change, and Montreat’s Essential Character
In his memoir, Montreat: A Retreat for Renewal, former MRA president Calvin Grier Davis described the decisions and rationale that led to the formation of the Town of Montreat in 1968. In the run-up to the first election, Davis noted, “It was assumed by many on the Board, and some of the citizens, that the officers of the Mountain Retreat Association would be elected to serve on the Town Council, that their experience would be available to administer the affairs of the town and there would be little change in the Town of Montreat.” A page later, Davis reported the …
Looking Forward: Our Mission and Calling
Looking Forward: Out Mission and Calling – a Montreat weekly update from Richard DuBose, president of Montreat Conference Center.
Lodge Site Selection
Lodge Site Selection – a Montreat weekly update from Richard DuBose, president of Montreat Conference Center.
Plans for a New Lodge
Plans for a New Lodge – a Montreat weekly update from Richard DuBose, president of Montreat Conference Center.
Getaway in Montreat
Often times you come to Montreat for a conference or an organized retreat. While these are great reasons to make the trip, there is something to be said for coming to the mountains with no agenda. Read more…
This Month in Montreat – March 2021
March monthly update from conference center president Richard DuBose.
This Month in Montreat – February 2021
February monthly update from conference center president Richard DuBose.
Montreat’s Christmas Collection
During this distant and perhaps unfamiliar holiday season, we wanted to find a way to bring the joy of a Christmas in the mountains directly into your home. We invited every department at Montreat with contributing a piece to what we’re calling Montreat’s 2020 Christmas Collection. We will be releasing parts of the collection on our social media over the next two weeks but feel free to bookmark this page and refer back to the collection below as you celebrate the holiday season! 1. Recipes from Assembly Inn – click the image to see it full size in a new …
This Month in Montreat – December 2020
December monthly update from conference center president Richard DuBose.
This Month in Montreat – November 2020
November monthly update from conference center president Richard DuBose.
Montreat Receives Thriving Congregation Grant by Lilly Foundation
Montreat Conference Center has received a grant of $995,500 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help develop new initiatives to support local congregations. The program, “Reforming Identity and Agency: Vital Practices for 21st Century Congregations,” is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. The aim of the national initiative is to strengthen Christian congregations so they can help people deepen their relationships with God, build strong relationships with each other, and contribute to the flourishing of local communities and the world. Lilly Endowment is making nearly $93 million in grants through the initiative. The grants will support organizations as they work …
This Month in Montreat – October 2020
October monthly update from conference center president Richard DuBose.
This Month in Montreat – September 2020
September monthly update from conference center president Richard DuBose.
Montreat@Home – Outer Banks Presbyterian Youth
How the Outer Banks Presbyterian youth group created their own Montreat Youth Conference experience with the Montreat@Home program.
This Week in Montreat Summer Post # 11 | 08/14/2020
Post #11 for our This Week in Montreat summer publication.
Rev. Amy Starr Redwine: August 9, 2020
The guest preacher for Montreat Conference Center’s Summer Worship Series on 8/9/2020 was Rev. Amy Starr Redwine. Click the episode title above to find the audio and the video recording of the service.