Summer Worship Series 2026

Summer Worship Team

Planning for each Sunday service starts with the Scripture readings chosen by the week’s guest preacher. With the readings in mind, the study and planning begin. Hannah Garrity, summer worship artist in residence, imagines how the text can be interpreted visually. Eric Wall, conference center musician, selects music that will proclaim God’s Word through congregational and choral singing. Alec Peters, summer liturgy writer, writes the words that move the congregation through gathering, hearing the Word, responding, and being sent into the world. When summer is in full swing, the team expands to include Keith Grogg, pastor of the Montreat Presbyterian Church; the summer ministry team; and our audiovisual director, Heather Scott. This group, along with Richard DuBose and Carol Steele, meets regularly through the summer. Many other hands contribute to summer services as ushers, singers, communion servers, liturgists, and facilities and production crew members.

All comments concerning the Summer Worship Series can be directed to Carol Steele.

Key Leaders

Hannah Garrity serves as Director of Christian Faith, Life, and Arts at Second Presbyterian Church of Richmond Virginia. She is the conference center's Arts Ministry Director, having served as liturgical artist for the summer worship series since 2013. Her creative energies are inextricably linked to her understanding of her faith. Her work explores the sacred and collaborative creativity of the Church. Hannah is a founding creative partner of A Sanctified Art, LLC: Art, Faith, & Honest Connection. Graduating with a BFA degree in painting from Cornell University in 2004, Hannah was inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014. She holds her MS degree in teaching from Pace University and was an educator in public and private schools for 17 years, beginning with Teach for America in Brooklyn, NY. She loves and is dedicated to her precious family. In her current studies, she explores the intersection between theology, race, and the image of God.

Rev. Dr. Keith Grogg has been the pastor of Montreat Presbyterian Church since April, 2014. He is a graduate of Indiana University (B.A. in political science/history, 1989), McCormick Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1993) and Columbia Theological Seminary (D.Min. in Christian Spirituality, 2024), and will find a way to work into almost any conversation that upon graduation from CTS, he was honored to be a co-recipient of the 2025 George and Sally Telford Award. He has served churches in Bedford, England; Kannapolis, NC; and Carolina Beach, NC.  Keith has been married to Vivian Hare since 1992 and they have two young adult children.

Alec Peters, a lifelong Presbyterian, has a deep interest in liturgy and liturgical theology that dates back to discovering The Worshipbook—Services and Hymns in 1972. He is an elder and choir member at West Raleigh Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, NC. A retired lawyer and a musician and hymnwriter, he is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (Bachelor of Music) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Juris Doctor). Alec and his wife Sarah, who works at the Sally Jones Pottery during the summer, are the parents of Walker and Lila. Alec also currently serves as chair of the Montreat Conference Center Development Foundation Board.

Rev. Carol Steele is Vice President for Program at Montreat Conference Center. When not at work she likes spending time with horses (and mules), driving the taxi for her teens, and sampling the cocktails her husband, Dwight Christenbury, creates. While at work she enjoys working with teams of joyful volunteers, worship planning, and budget planning season. She can be easily distracted by houseplants and worst-case scenarios. Carol's primary influences have been her parents (Don and Kay Steele), her schools (Union Presbyterian Seminary and Davidson College), her summer camp (Camp Hat Creek), and her kids (Kaisa and Dean).

Offering/Past Worships

Give An Offering

The offering at this service supports the worship ministry of Montreat Conference Center. If you would like to make a contribution to Montreat Presbyterian Church, checks can be made out to MPC and mailed to: MPC, PO Box 577, Montreat, NC 28757.

Download the Bulletin

*Please note for those following along online: You will not be able to hear the congregational signing in the service.

Sunday Lunch

Following worship, we invite you to the Katherine “Kat” McKay Belk Dining Room in Assembly Inn to partake in lunch together, beginning at 11:45 a.m. Prices for lunch are below. All prices include tax. Lunch may be purchased at the dining room door. Cash, check, or debit/credit cards are accepted. Tickets are not available for advance purchase at the Assembly Inn front desk.