Welcoming summer staff each year signifies for many “the real beginning” to the summer season. That’s because it is hard – perhaps even impossible – to articulate the full impact of the summer staff tradition on Montreat summers – both on those who participate and on Montreat itself.
Among the many portals into the Montreat community, few have endured longer or been more influential than the work and legacy of our summer staff. Last year in this space, I sounded a note of caution as we entered the season projecting lower levels of staffing than we’d previously experienced. In the end, some last-minute recruits eased the shortage, and effects on summer programming were minimal. Nevertheless, we began recruitment for 2025 holding our breath a bit.
Happily, I’m thankful to report that we emerged from the spring well-staffed for the summer ahead. Improvement in the numbers was due in part to adaptations to our traditional staffing model to include more partial-summer positions, but the overall numbers were up, too.
That matters to summer staffers’ experience and to covering our summer programming, but it matters more than that. Each summer, beyond opportunities for professional, personal, and spiritual development, beyond forming its own community rooted in deep relationships and friendships, the summer staff leaves its own unique imprint on Montreat, shaping not only the present season but also the ones to come. Like faithful gardeners, they begin the summer by clearing, organizing, and planning. As June unfolds, they nurture the first signs of growth; by July, they are tending a thriving community, guiding it toward the rich harvest of the final weeks.
Throughout the season, they blend memory and innovation – drawing on what has worked in the past while bringing new energy, ideas, and inspiration. Their creation is a summer that is entirely their own – and one that will contribute to the foundation for succeeding summers. Over time, the legacy of each staff lives on, a constant – and yet, variably – shaping the evolving character of Montreat.
Last week our newly recruited staff members took part in orientation, the schedule mixing some activities familiar to predecessors with others decidedly more contemporary (engaging with the Enneagram – can you believe it?). We concluded the week with the commissioning of an outstanding group of young adults on Sunday morning in worship at Anderson Auditorium. Having made promises to God, to you, and to each other, they compose the summer staff of 2025. Amid the expectations we set for them, we commend them to you with our belief that God’s hand is on their work – from the past, in the present, and for the future.
Richard DuBose
President, Montreat Conference Center