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I would like to share a reflection on my ever-evolving relationship with The Mountain. My involvement with The Mountain spans decades and has morphed over these years into three distinct relationship phases.
My first encounters with The Mountain were transactional. The Mountain is warm and welcoming, but my early relationship with the Mountain was one in which I exchanged cold cash for services. I paid for my kids to attend Mountain Summer Camp. I paid to participate in my church’s board, men’s group, and congregational retreats at The Mountain.
These were the early days of my Mountain relationship when I still needed to check directions to get to The Mountain. The best illustration of my getting to know The Mountain is when work delayed my departure for a retreat. Knowing I would arrive late, I called the registration office and asked, “Where do I pick up the key to my cabin?” I know better now.
In the late 1990s, I attended Leadership School at The Mountain, a program I hope will be revived. Leadership School provided a week-long church management course for people soon assuming leadership positions at their congregations. Years later, I still draw upon those lessons. Leadership School also introduced me to the wonderful woman who would later become my wife.
Over the years, my relationship with The Mountain changed from transactional to one based on providing service to The Mountain. I joined church work parties sanding rocking chairs and other projects needing the loving labor of those who becoming more invested in The Mountain. With my IT background, I volunteered to revamp The Mountain’s website. The website has since undergone two additional well-executed upgrades. I joined The Mountain’s Board of Trustees. While on the Board, we crafted The Mountain’s mission statement:
The Mountain enriches lives,
fosters an appreciation of the natural world,
honors the interconnectedness of all things,
and inspires people to build inclusive,
meaningful, sustainable communities
throughout their lives.
During the extensive discussions on drafting the mission statement, I recall a remark by Dave Hudson, a fellow board member, that moved me to think of The Mountain as more than just a medium for transactional or service-based relationships.
I can still see Dave leaning back in his chair when he shared his rationale for his yearly donations to preserve the redwood forests on the West Coast. He said he may never again walk in the redwood forests, but he wanted to make sure other people could do so in the future.
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