Some seventeen years ago, MRA President George Barber delivered a pointed memo to the Board of Directors in which he portrayed the institution’s financial history as one of cyclical failure and recovery. George identified various reasons and rescue strategies that had enabled the MRA to survive, principal among them 1) denominational bailouts and 2) the sale of land.  George’s message was disturbing since he made it quite clear that neither of those strategies would be available going forward.    George’s memo concluded with a call to action for Montreat to “break the cycle.” Soon after, the conference center launched a new …

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, Montreat Conference Center is in a season of strategic planning. Launched last year, the MRA Board has already devoted significant time to the process during each of its last two meetings, and members of our full-time staff are engaged, as well.   Input from the broad spectrum of our constituency has come from beyond these two groups through interviews and focus groups. We’ve gathered information that is helping to identify trends, preferences, needs, and opportunities. Sorting through the input has sometimes validated our assumptions and sometimes contradicted them, sometimes affirmed our thinking and …

Last summer, noting studies reporting rising rates of unhappiness and mental illness among American teens – and seeing evidence of that trend here – the program staff at Montreat Conference Center scheduled some events for parents in our community. A year later, public consciousness and debate on the causes of the trend and possible solutions are continuing, if not increasing, and so the programs are being offered once again.    Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt raises a prominent voice of concern. In his new book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, Haidt …

Because this past Monday evening was one of those nights when neither my wife nor I wanted to cook, we found ourselves sitting outside a local restaurant, enjoying sunshine, good company, and, importantly, a meal prepared by somebody else.   At some point, Jeannie pointed to the play area crawling with children just over my shoulder. “That’s smart,” she remarked. “Look at all the young families here, thanks to that big pile of sand for the children to play in.”   I took in the scene and joked that perhaps the conference center should open a restaurant at Robert Lake Park.  Though …

“If I have seen further [than others], it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”  Isaac Newton On Friday, June 7th, during the first square dance of the year, we will pause to celebrate the renovation and reopening of the Barn, Montreat’s longest serving facility for the conference center’s ministry of recreation. If you are there, you will see immediately some of the physical upgrades – to the surfaces and windows, to the sound system, to the bathrooms. You may notice another upgrade when you dance – the foundation has been strengthened. It is still the Barn, but it’s …

“Okay, folks, summer is here, and it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get busy!”   Over the last ten years, I’ve learned not to say such silly things, having long ago learned that each and every summer in Montreat represents the product of hard work over months of preparation by staff and volunteers here and afar. Thankfully, we have a promising summer ahead, with programs, recreation, arts, and worship – something for everyone. Some predictions:   The conference schedule remains the same and will attract a similar number of participants as did the summer before. A newly renovated Barn will …

This August we will celebrate a birthday of sorts, the one-year anniversary of the reopening of the new Huckleberry at Moore Center. The milepost will prompt renewed appreciation of what the Huck staff has accomplished, and also an evaluation – of food and beverage, certainly, but also the quality of and general atmosphere of the dining experience, the ease and efficiency of operation, and financial performance.   Planned to open by June of 2022, the new Huck’s debut was delayed last summer for a variety of reasons, including an inspection that concluded, rather late in the timeline, that the project’s scope …