Greetings from Montreat! This is to give you an assessment of the situation here on a busy Thursday afternoon. First, the Town of Montreat continues to make remarkable progress on the repair of roads and bridges that were compromised by water and treefall in last week’s storm. Their Public Works team has made a priority of restoring vehicular access, and as a result, most of Montreat’s residents have been able to evacuate safely to neighboring locations with power and water. Restoring power and water remain priorities here, too, but it is too early to predict how long that will take. …
Hurricane Update 10/1/2024
Greetings from Montreat! Nearly 48 hours after our last report, we bring news that progress continues on recovery efforts in Montreat. Town staff and recovery teams are working diligently to address roads and other infrastructure challenges. The Town hosted a town meeting at the conference center yesterday with representatives from the Town, conference center, Montreat College, and the community. Attendees received an update on the work that Barry Creasman, public works director for the Town of Montreat, and the entire Montreat Public Works department are doing work to restore roads, power, and water. Further, Montreat institutions and residents are supporting …
Hurricane Update 9/29/2024
As we learn and know more about the status of Montreat – town, college, and conference center – we are continually grateful for all those who love this place. We give thanks for all those working tirelessly in the aftermath of this catastrophic event. For your support and prayers, thank you. Please continue to keep Montreat, the remainder of Western NC and all those dealing with the effects of this storm in your prayers. Amidst all that we are dealing with, we realize we also have much to be grateful for. Those walking around Montreat today will quickly realize that …
Hurricane Update 9/28/2024
We are still working to assess the full impact of the storm on our campus. Montreat guests and residents are urged to continue sheltering in place until roadways are deemed safe for travel. Many bridges and roadways within town limits and beyond have sustained extensive damage and may be compromised. At this time, the conference center will remain closed until further notice. Those who have upcoming reservations should consider those reservations postponed until hearing otherwise. As always, the safety of our staff and guests is our primary priority. Over the last 24 hours, we have heard from countless Montreaters offering …
Nurturing Young Adults at The Manna Retreat
The Manna Retreat is an initiative to create a conference space for young adults at Montreat Conference Center. This column by Rev. Sarah Speed recalls the first iteration of the event.
Reflecting on the Summer
Some years ago, a wise decision was made to move the beginning of the Montreat Conference Center’s fiscal year to May 1st. The reasoning: The experience of the first four months of the fiscal year – May to August – would inform spending and fundraising practices for the remainder and increase the likelihood of finishing with a balanced budget on April 30th. Over two decades since, some things have changed, and some things haven’t. Philanthropy and a renovated Assembly Inn have contributed to more budget growth and stability, and the conference center is less dependent on summer revenues than it …
Find Your Peace Amongst the Mountains
Written by Montreat Conference Center’s 2024 Marketing Assistant, Anna Samon Three years ago, Montreat was a place I had never heard of. Two years ago, Montreat was a youth conference I was going to for a week in the summer. One year ago, Montreat was a semi-familiar place with some gaps left unfilled. This year, Montreat is my home. I started coming to Montreat Youth Conference (MYC) when my aunt, Rev. Katie Ory, Youth and Children’s Minister of First Presbyterian Church in Cookeville, TN, told me to come on a trip with the other kids at our church (FPC Cookeville). …
Thank You for a Wonderful Summer at Montreat Conference Center
As the summer draws to a close and I contemplate one more This Week in Montreat, here are some notes and musings that I thought would make for a good write-up if I could just make the summer last a little bit longer: For now, let me extend my deepest gratitude to those honorees for their lifetime of service to Montreat and, while I’m at it, my thanks as well to all the staff, volunteers, and participants in our summer of 2024. Your enthusiasm and engagement made the difference in every event, workshop, and gathering. As you say so long …
Testing Board Decisions and Assumptions
Summer is passing so quickly that I was astonished to look up yesterday and realize that we are completing week seven of the conference center’s summer season. From childhood, I remember well how quickly summer flew by following the Fourth of July, and the phenomenon reoccurs even now. The pace of litigation regarding the proposed new lodge provides an alternative for those who prefer a slower tempo. To review the timeline, here are the most basic facts: If the above recap reads a little dry, I understand; nevertheless, it’s best to refrain from much public comment on the case while …
Assembly Inn Update: On Occupancy Rates and Why They Matter (Even If You Never Stay There)
This past spring, our senior leadership team was reviewing some key metrics at the close of our fiscal year. One of those metrics that we track annually is the occupancy rate at Assembly Inn. Emily Causey, our vice president for hospitality, reported that Inn occupancy for the year ending April 30th had reached a new high of 54%, a figure almost twice the rate reported a decade ago. This is an especially important metric in “breaking the cycle” referred to in last week’s post. What struck the team, however, was Emily’s observation that the Inn was approaching capacity with little …
Property Talk
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 …
The 2024 MRA Community Survey Is Here
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 …
The Importance of Community in Independent Play
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 …
Visions for the Future
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 …
Celebrating Renovations and Reopenings
“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 …
Kicking off Summer
“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 …
MRA Board of Directors: Meeting Summary for Spring 2024
An update and overview of the spring board meeting of the Mountain Retreat Association (MRA, d.b.a. Montreat Conference Center), held in March 2024.
Navigating Periods of Transition in Youth Ministry
Building a thriving youth ministry can be hard work, and it can feel even harder when your church or ministry is experiencing a significant change. In this article, we outline some helpful resources for groups in periods of transition.
MRA Board of Directors: Meeting Summary for Fall 2023
An update and overview of the fall board meeting of the Mountain Retreat Association (MRA, d.b.a. Montreat Conference Center), held in November 2023.
Mountain Retreat Association Files Notice of Appeal
Mountain Retreat Association files notice of appeal regarding new lodge permit.
A Tale of Two Projects
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 …
Revisiting Patrons 2023
For the third year in a row, the Annual Patrons event was too large to host in its traditional setting, and so the event took place out under a tent on Moore Center Field. For the third year in a row, organizers did a masterful job. The intergenerational 390 individuals and families in attendance enjoyed the casual and festive atmosphere and fare, and all were lucky that the weather cooperated (for the most part). Vice President for Development Seth Hagler kicked off the short program by thanking all attendees and donors, and by paying particular tribute to the 315 …
Remarks and Thank Yous from Montreat’s Patrons Event
Good evening, and welcome to the Montreat Patrons Reception. It continues to be such a privilege to stand before our Montreat Patrons and express thanks on behalf of the staff and board and hundreds of volunteers who make Montreat possible for our conferees and retreat groups, for children and youth and families, for campers and hikers, and literally thousands of others. I want to express directly to you how much your support means to everything we do here. This year, I’m here to thank you for helping us complete a fiscal year that was, seemingly, perfectly normal! We outperformed our …
The Living, Breathing Spirit of Montreat
Written by Montreat Conference Center’s 2023 Marketing Assistant, Molly Fore Six months ago, I had never heard of Montreat, North Carolina, let alone Montreat Conference Center. It wasn’t until the head of my department in college forwarded an email to me about a summer staff position that I heard of such a place. Upon reading the email, I was shocked to find out that Montreat was not a town in my humid, yet comfortable home state of Georgia, but rather is a small community nestled in the mountains of North Carolina. I felt stuck by the stagnancy and familiarity of …
Going Clubbing in Montreat
My colleague, Kathy Russ, returned from her lunchtime walk the other day full of cheer, this time having happened upon the gleeful sounds of children coming from a neighbor’s porch. She’d walked by a home and heard the sounds of two happy Clubbies, delightfully recounting their morning’s activities with much excitement and singing a Clubbie chant – “Hear me roar!” – at the top of their lungs. Through the years the magic of Clubs in Montreat endures…which makes the following story a little awkward, I guess, because I remember well my first week of Clubs. Back in the summer of …