The Marilyn Jones Endowment has been established to honor and appreciate the 53-year leadership role that Marilyn Jones played in Montreat Conference Center from 1965 through 2018. In the 60’s she brought banners into worship in the auditorium. In 1974 she reopened the Craft Shop at Montreat, with a pottery called the “Upper Story,” later renamed and dedicated “Sally Jones Pottery.” This ministry continues today, celebrating her commitment to the ministry of arts and crafts in Montreat. The purpose of the Marilyn Jones Endowment is in support of the creative use of the arts in Montreat’s summer programs, in hopes …
Erdelyi Family’s Montreat Story
The First Visit The Erdelyi family first discovered Montreat when Mike volunteered to join his church’s youth director, Michelle Thomas-Bush of Riverside Presbyterian Church – Jacksonville, FL, at the 2000 Montreat Youth Conference. It was the Sunday after leaving his job at UPS to be a stay-at-home parent, allowing Susan to focus on her role as the City Attorney for Jacksonville Beach. So, he packed their two girls, Alexis (8) and Laura (6), into the car and headed to the mountains. Their first impression was of both excitement and welcome. As they pulled up to the Currie Craft Center, the first person they saw was Ann Laird Jones, their church’s former interim youth minister. She joyfully shouted, “Welcome, Erdelyis!” From that moment on, they were “totally in heaven.” The girls felt like rock stars playing on stage in Anderson Auditorium, and they loved their time in clubs. Mike was really impressed with how well the …
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 …
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 …
Giving Tuesday at Montreat!
On this Giving Tuesday, join us in celebrating generosity and the spirit of Thanksgiving! Give to the Montreat Fund today!
Spring Update from Richard DuBose
Friends, Greetings from Montreat! I’m writing this morning to provide you updates on happenings this spring and on preparations for another busy summer in the valley. The MRA Board of Directors/Trustees met in March to consider matters both routine and forward-thinking. The Board heard the staff’s report on the fiscal year 2018-2019, which concluded on April 30th. Once the books are finalized we expect to have achieved a small operating surplus thanks to strong performance from the summer of 2018 against budgeted expectations. The Board also passed a $7.9 million budget for 2019-2020, in which staff is forecasting slight …
Mike Morse, Retiring VP for Hospitality and Facilities, Honored with Tribute Resolution
As Mike Morse, Vice President for Hospitality and Facilities, nears his retirement at the end of December, the entire Montreat community has joined in demonstrating deep appreciation for all he has contributed both personally and professionally for almost 14 years. On December 13, 2018, the Town of Montreat honored Mike with a Tribute Resolution, which you can read below. From Tim Helms, Mayor of the Town of Montreat: A Tribute Resolution of Heartfelt Appreciation Whereas Mike Morse has served the Mountain Retreat Association with distinction since April 8, 2005; Whereas Mike has demonstrated vision and leadership, faith, good humor, and an …
“Montreat Mural” Rededication
On December 12, 2018, Montreat Conference Center hosted a service of rededication for the “Montreat Mural,” a gift to the conference center from the family of Margaret Willcox and Wilbur Hoke Currie. This unique work of art was designed and created by James David (Jim) Southerland, Assistant Professor of Art at Montreat College and former Director of the Wilbur Hoke Currie Craft Center in Montreat. The mural is made of stoneware clay, multi-fired, multi-glazed, and lustered and features the following Montreat Motifs: Water–lake and streams; Trees–woods and forests; and Flora–dogwood, azalea, rhododendron. The “Montreat Mural” was commissioned in loving memory …
Women’s Connection Continues to Grow
Hundreds of women were mutually encouraged by each other’s faith (Romans 1:12) during Women’s Connection 2018, an annual conference whose growth is made possible by generous contributions to the endowment. These gifts help Montreat attract nationally renown speakers and worship leaders and provide need-based scholarships to participants. Highlights from Women’s Connection, August 10-12, 2018 428 guests came to hear the keynote speaker Kate Bowler, author of Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved, and conference preacher Rev. Dr. Diane L. Givens Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Seven women received scholarships to attend. …
Friends of Robert Lake Park Rebuilding Fund
Update – June 14, 2018 Thirteen days ago, I shared with you news of the damage to Robert Lake Park following recent flooding. Today, I am overjoyed to update you that over 300 donors from more than 26 states have contributed just over $100,000. On behalf of all who love the park, we are eternally grateful for this generous response! First estimates for the cost of repair ranged from $80,000–$100,000. As of today it appears that the final cost could end up toward that $100,000 neighborhood, or perhaps a little higher. Still, I wanted to let you know of the …