Dear Montreaters,
Youth Conferences start this week. We can “suffer” through congested parking, loud music, and the ever-present gauntlet of young people through which we must walk and drive. OR, we can join together in the simple, but life-changing ministry of hospitality to these children of God.
Parking problems and noise are just part of what it means when Youth Conferences come to Montreat. It also means hundreds of young lives are being profoundly shaped for deeper discipleship. It’s an opportunity for us to welcome and enfold persons who often think the church shoves them aside. I suggest that what we “suffer” when these young people are here is absolutely nothing compared to what we gain by welcoming them.
This week and in the weeks to come, I urge you to speak to the teenagers. Ask them where they live and if it’s their first visit to Montreat. Join with us in a ministry of hospitality that may well enfold the young persons you encounter into the life of the church for the rest of their lives. With us as well this week will be pastors under the age of forty for a conference called “alt 7”. The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will be with them. I hope you will thank them for their dedication to serving Christ in Christ’s Body, the church. Being a young pastor can be a lonely experience in this culture. You can share in encouraging them to cling to their calling.
One final note - on Sunday, June 14, in the Service of Worship in Anderson Auditorium, I will be installed as President of the Mountain Retreat Association. I invite your presence as we as a worshipping community thank God for this new chapter in our life together.
Grace and peace,
Pete Peery, President
Youth Conferences start this week. We can “suffer” through congested parking, loud music, and the ever-present gauntlet of young people through which we must walk and drive. OR, we can join together in the simple, but life-changing ministry of hospitality to these children of God.
Parking problems and noise are just part of what it means when Youth Conferences come to Montreat. It also means hundreds of young lives are being profoundly shaped for deeper discipleship. It’s an opportunity for us to welcome and enfold persons who often think the church shoves them aside. I suggest that what we “suffer” when these young people are here is absolutely nothing compared to what we gain by welcoming them.
This week and in the weeks to come, I urge you to speak to the teenagers. Ask them where they live and if it’s their first visit to Montreat. Join with us in a ministry of hospitality that may well enfold the young persons you encounter into the life of the church for the rest of their lives. With us as well this week will be pastors under the age of forty for a conference called “alt 7”. The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will be with them. I hope you will thank them for their dedication to serving Christ in Christ’s Body, the church. Being a young pastor can be a lonely experience in this culture. You can share in encouraging them to cling to their calling.
One final note - on Sunday, June 14, in the Service of Worship in Anderson Auditorium, I will be installed as President of the Mountain Retreat Association. I invite your presence as we as a worshipping community thank God for this new chapter in our life together.
Grace and peace,
Pete Peery, President
Courtney is the Creative Assistant at Montreat Conference Center. She works on This Week In Montreat and the Sunday Worship Bulletins. This is her second year on Summer Staff.
Courtney can be reached at creativeassistant@montreat.org.
Courtney can be reached at creativeassistant@montreat.org.
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