Montreat Conference Center is pleased to bring you This Week in Montreat, our summer publication which provides weekly updates and information about activities in the Montreat valley. This week, we are talking about the conference center's plans to develop new lodging, The Montreat Store experience, and Fourth of July parade applications. Find these, along with other important announcements, below.

Waiting with Purpose, Patience, and Hope

by Richard DuBose, president of Montreat Conference Center

Over the past several months, Wednesday has become a notable day of the week in our offices at Freeland Hall. It is on the first and third Wednesday of each month that the North Carolina Court of Appeals files its opinions in cases pending in that Court. This past Wednesday passed without news of the Mountain Retreat Association (MRA)’s appeal before that Court that seeks to reverse the decision of the Buncombe County Superior Court in September of 2023, which set aside the decision of the Montreat Board of Adjustment to issue a Special Use Permit (SUP) to the MRA to build a new lodge on its campus.  

The SUP has been a matter before one court or another since shortly after it was granted in the spring of 2022, more than three years ago. The Superior Court reversed the Board of Adjustment’s decision, after which the Town of Montreat withdrew from active participation in the appeal. Believing that the ruling not only impeded our plans for the lodge but also posed a broad and grave risk to our property rights in Montreat, the MRA chose to pursue the appeal...

Behind the Counter: A Week at The Montreat Store

A favorite pastime for many of Montreat’s summer visitors involves making a visit to the rocking chairs at Moore Center. There, you will find many a “Montreater” donning a new Montreat T-shirt, sipping on a cool, crisp Cheerwine, or simply listening to the hum of the Lake Susan Dam as they rock. Here, tucked behind the lake and nestled beneath the trees at Moore Center, The Montreat Store is more than just a place to grab a sweatshirt or a sticker; it’s a cornerstone of Montreat magic...

This Sunday in Montreat

We are delighted to welcome leading preachers from across the country as they join with visual artists, musicians, and volunteers in a service of worship open to the surrounding community. All are welcome and all are invited.

This Sunday, June 22, we will be joined by Rev. Shannon Kershner, senior pastor at Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA. Services will begin in Anderson Auditorium at 10:30 am.

Immediately following the service, lunch will be served in the Galax dining room of Assembly Inn. Find the lunch menu and meal costs here.

• The Fourth of July is just around the corner! Parade applications are due June 27. You can submit an application online or turn paper applications in to The Montreat Store. Click here for the application link!
• The Presbyterian Heritage Center's Flood Exhibit is now open to the public. Come experience stories, pictures, and videos of the flooding of Hurricane Helene. Click here for more information about dates and times.
• Worship & Music Conference continues next week! Please join us for the talent show, chamber choir concert, and more beginning at 7:30 pm in Anderson Auditorium each night. Click here for a schedule of evening events!

• The Montreat Pool is now open weekdays from 1:00-6:00 pm! Admission is $7 a day for ages four and up. For more information about costs and location, click here.
• Tennis and Pickleball are open for select hours during the week! For more information about hours and costs, click here.
• The Montreat Family Campground is currently accepting reservations for our 2025 season! Open seven days a week through November 2, our campground offers an ideal space to reconnect with nature and with your creator. Each campsite includes a fire pit, picnic table, and grill (many of which were recently replaced) and is surrounded by lush greenery and the sounds of Flat Creek. Click here to learn more or book a campsite today!
• In case you missed it, Montreat Conference Center will soon begin suggesting a $5 contribution for use of parking spaces at the trailheads around Lookout and Graybeard Trails. This money will support the Wilderness Maintenance Fund. For more information about the trail system, or to review rules and regulations, download a free map, or make a donation directly to the wilderness fund, click here!

• Mark Ingram will join the Sally Jones Pottery as an Artist-in-Residence for the next two weeks. Mark is a native of Cheraw, SC. He visited Montreat in the summers as a teenager and was a Montreat Summer Staffer every year during college. After one summer as Jane Bannerman’s best retail clerk, he moved across Lake Susan to be a Pottery Instructor and Technical Supervisor. After graduating from Clemson University, he studied salt-fired ceramics at the Penland School of Crafts. Learn more about Mark by clicking here.
• Join another of our Artists-in-Residence next week for “Carved and Painted Wood Mushrooms.” The instructor for this class is Dr. Carlisle Willard, a Montreater who is famous for his remarkable carved walking sticks. Come, learn from Carlisle as he shares his knowledge and sharp tools to teach you the basics of woodcarving. Sign up here.
• The Currie Craft Center and Sally Jones Pottery Studio’s annual Fourth of July Auction is two weeks away! We welcome donations of handmade items (made by you or someone else!) to include in the auction. 100% of the proceeds support our arts and crafts ministry. Please bring items for the auction to the craft center anytime Monday through Friday! The Auction is scheduled for 2:30-5:00 pm on July 4. Questions? Feel free to contact Ann Laird Jones. 662.347.3614 or annlairdj55@gmail.com. Thank you!
• Registration for all classes offered at the Currie Craft Center and Sally Jones Pottery Studio can be completed online. To find a complete schedule of offerings, click here.

• What does the Montreat Fund do? The Montreat Fund supports recreational activities including hiking! A big part of the Montreat experience is connecting with the wilderness surrounding the valley and is supported, in part, by the Montreat Fund and gifts from those who enjoy it.
• Make a gift to the Montreat Fund today! Visit our website directly to support Montreat's Wilderness!
• We'd like to share an important staffing update from our Office of Development. Please click here to read the full announcement.

Montreat Conference Center, a ministry of the Mountain Retreat Association, is a national conference center located in Western North Carolina with roots in the PC(USA). More at www.montreat.org.