Chat with Cat: Sharing the Plenty, Reducing the Waste

For the month of November, Chat with Cat will be highlighting nonprofit organizations whose missions are tied to that of Montreat Conference Center. For more information on Nonprofit Awareness Month, check out materials from the N.C. Center for Nonprofits.

It seems appropriate to feature this particular organization/project this week. For most of us, this week is an annual holiday dedicated to stuffing ourselves with stuffing, and just generally eating a whole lot of food.

Another one of my favorite times of the year that involves a lot of eating, was always the summer week when we cam to a conference at Montreat. My choir always attended the Worship & Music Conferences, but I know that for many, the Youth Conferences, too, were occasions of plenty.

Of course, it's important to remember during both of these times that there are many people in all our communities who do not have much to eat. This should first of all make us thankful for what we have, but beyond that it should also challenge us to be good stewards of the food resources to which we have access.

One way that the Montreat community endeavors to do this during those food-filled summer weeks is through a ministry of the Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry known as Second Loaf. On each Saturday morning during the main conference season, volunteers set up a tent and some tables to collect food. And as each youth group and choir leaves Montreat in vans, SUVs and buses, they drop off boxes and bags and piles of food.

I'm sure that if you have ever tried to purchase a week's worth of food for 15 teenagers, you are familiar with the uncertainty of how much they will eat. Thanks to Second Loaf, that uncertainty is put to good use--all the food collected is taken to the SVCM, where local families line up to receive it that very morning.

The unique thing about this ministry is what food they take. They take it all: opened or unopened, they even take cooked leftovers in Glad containers and Ziplocs. The nonperishables--the canned and boxed goods--are shelved at the SVCM for future use, but everything else goes out to the community and feeds a family immediately.

So not just on Thanksgiving, but every day of the year, let's think about ways we might be able to be better stewards of our food--either through sharing our leftovers with others, or through taking steps to reduce the food that goes uneaten.

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

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Cat is the Sales Associate at Montreat Conference Center. She loves helping people plan the perfect Montreat Experience and would love to hear from you about how this blog can help you.

Cat can be reached at catw@montreat.org or at @Cat_Montreat.

Montreat Youth Sunday in November!

Walk Jones is Pastor of Northminster Presbyterian Church in Pensacola, Florida and they just did their report to the congregation on their experience in July at Montreat Youth Conferences here in mid-November! To their surprise, this has some unexpected benefits!

Chat with Cat: Building Happy Homes

For the month of November, Chat with Cat will be highlighting nonprofit organizations whose missions are tied to that of Montreat Conference Center. For more information on Nonprofit Awareness Month, check out materials from the N.C. Center for Nonprofits.

This week's highlighted nonprofit is one I am sure you all know about, and one many of you have likely been involved in over the years. It is one that has touched the lives of millions, including countless volunteers all over the world.

In the 33 years of its ministry, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 300,000 houses and provided safe shelter for more than 1.5 million people worldwide. Every year, families in need of better, safer housing apply to their local Habitat affiliates, who select them based on several criteria. The family members help to build their own houses, working alongside dedicated volunteers from the community. In the end, these families have safe places to call home, and a new opportunity to raise their children and get involved in a healthy, happy community.

The local Asheville Area affiliate was established in 1983 and was the first affiliate in North Carolina. To date, the AAHH has built more than 185 homes and plans to complete 17 new homes this year. (This means starting a new home project every 3 weeks!)

There are many programs that support Habitat for Humanity outside of direct volunteerism. A handful of my college friends participated in Bike & Build programs, in which participants cycle across the country, raising funds and stopping in many communities to help build affordable housing. Although Bike & Build is not affiliated with Habitat, they do support several local Habitat programs across the country.

Here in Asheville, the annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam has raised almost $1 million for Habitat for Humanity. The concert is consistently billed as one of the best in the country, and it's all for a good cause.

Like several Habitat affiliates, the AAHH raises some of its funds through its Home Store. The store sells home improvement items and furniture that have been donated by the public, and while it might be a good place to pick up a lightly used sofa, it's an even better place to find a used sink, door or cabinet. These sales support the entire administrative operation of the Asheville office, meaning that ever donor's dollars go directly to the homes themselves. But once the administration is paid for, proceeds from the Home Store go on to pay for one entire home and 16 new foundations in the Buncombe County area.

When Montreat Conference Center leadership began to consider moving our administrative offices into a new building, they had to decide what to do with the 300+ units of floor-to-ceiling metal shelving that stood in the way. Instead of shipping it to the landfill, they chose to donate it to the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity Home Store. (In addition to raising funds for homes, donations to the local Home Store divert 550 tons of household materials from the landfills... wow.)

Montreat Conference Center is proud to support Habitat for Humanity in their efforts to provide affordable, decent housing to the people of the Asheville community. You may well have been aware of Habitat for a long time, but I invite you to take advantage of Nonprofit Awareness Month and find out a little bit more about what they're doing in your community.

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Cat is the Sales Associate at Montreat Conference Center. She loves helping people plan the perfect Montreat Experience and would love to hear from you about how this blog can help you.

Cat can be reached at catw@montreat.org or at @Cat_Montreat.

Website Changes and Upgrades!

Montreat Conference Center's website has come a long way since its inception in 1999. Interestingly, the old website has been archived - so if you'd like to browse the website in its various forms throughout the last decade, you can at Archive.org. There are quite a few gems (the animated groundhog from 1999), but my favorite has to be from the 2002 Frequently Asked Questions page:

Q: Are there televisions and telephones in the rooms?
A:  No, however a limited number of bag phones are available for rent in the Assembly Inn.  A television is available in the lobby of Assembly Inn and Winsborough.

Ah, the good old days of the "portable" phone. With technology changing so fast, it's important that Montreat Conference Center stay on the cutting edge. Over the last few years, we've embraced Facebook and Twitter, and integrated this blog into the website.

With the introduction of the Center for Faith & Life this past week, we needed to re-organize Montreat.org to include the new center and enhance the navigation. Some of the navigation at the top has been shuffled around to make things more intuitive, and the buttons updated with a more consistent font. Also updated are sidebar navigation features on different sections of the website, hopefully making it easier to find the conferences you're looking for, resources from past events, and how you can host your event here at Montreat. I'm always taking suggestions on site usability, so leave any thoughts or ideas in the comments, send me a tweet, facebook me, or send 'em in an email!

PS: You might have noticed that the blog is now being hosted on Blogspot.com instead of Montreat.org. Something broke this morning, but I'm working on re-integrating it as soon as possible!

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Josh Richard is the Video Marketing Associate at Montreat. He creates promotional videos for Montreat and helps manage the website, blog(s), Facebook and Twitter.

Josh can be found @josh_montreat & joshr@montreat.org

Chat with Cat: Hope is a Listening Ear

For the month of November, Chat with Cat will be highlighting nonprofit organizations whose missions are tied to that of Montreat Conference Center. For more information on Nonprofit Awareness Month, check out materials from the N.C. Center for Nonprofits.

Ten years ago, Virginia Buchanan and Mary Hollins were visiting in the office of Renae Brame, who at that time was the superintendent of the local women's correctional center. During their visit, Renae received a call that a close member of an inmate's family had passed away. Virginia and Mary noted how much the task of telling the inmate weighed on Renae, and thought about how difficult it would be for the inmate, who had no form of spiritual care or support in such a trying time.

On the way home, Mary and Virginia said to each other, these women really need a chaplain. They began to approach churches, send out letters, and assemble a board of directors. And within the next six months, the Ministry of Hope was born.

They hired their first chaplain, who served the 80 women at the prison by listening to their stories and ministering to their needs. Over time the spiritual needs of the women grew, and the first chaplain moved away. The Ministry of Hope raised enough money to hire a new part-time chaplain, Lynn Michie, and then another, Carol Dalton, to support the growing population of the prison.

In July 2008, the Department of Corrections moved the county operations to the current Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women (SCCW) site, and began to increase the number of inmates to 165. When planned renovations of the facility are completed, the SCCW will house almost 500 inmates.

The need for chaplaincy support for these women is very real. The chaplains provide pastoral care and counseling in addition to coordinating religious services. According to the Ministry of Hope website, 85% of SCCW inmates have been physically, emotionally or sexually abused: "During recovery, they begin to understand their need for spiritual counseling to help them heal from the abuse and discover a sense of renewed self-worth and purpose. The chaplain plays a crucial role in the healing process." Other women are dealing with addiction or grief, managing difficult relationships, or discerning what paths their lives will take after they leave SCCW.

The chaplains at SCCW are supported entirely by the Ministry of Hope--the state provides no funding for them.

A couple of months ago, the Ministry of Hope held a benefit lunch here at Montreat Conference Center to raise money for their ministry, and to honor the work of the organization's three founders. The turnout was overwhelming, as was the support.

Before this event, I had no knowledge of this organization, but it became immediately clear to me how important the Ministry of Hope is. I cannot think of a better organization to promote during this month of Nonprofit Awareness, and I hope that learning a bit more about them might lead you to make others aware as well.

And if you happen to be local and want to help out, eat at the Black Mountain McDonald's on Saturday, November 21. The restaurant will be giving 40% of proceeds for the day to Ministry of Hope.

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Nonprofit Fact: The Western North Carolina region is home to 1,538 nonprofits registered as 501(c)(3) organizations, which collectively employ almost 37,000 people in 23 counties.

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Cat is the Sales Associate at Montreat Conference Center. She loves helping people plan the perfect Montreat Experience and would love to hear from you about how this blog can help you.

Cat can be reached at catw@montreat.org or at @Cat_Montreat.

Reflections of a Ranger: Teach Your Children

We are graced with a relatively few years of childhood. This time is precious and formative. There are many who realize this for there are all sorts of techniques and programs designed to make the most of childhood. Some parents nurture their children's mind's with Mozart and and other classics which stimulate neurons and logical processes. Others enroll their children in activities or sports to teach them teamwork and sportsmanship. There are so many opportunities for children that encourage positive development that is hard to keep track of them all. Each of these activities can be worthwhile and instructive. However, with so many choices, there are pitfalls that can arise. The first is that a child can be overbooked. The second is closely related: with so much structured activity there is no time left for a child to teach himself. Even if a child does have enough free time, they may squander their daylight hours indoors.

The woods are one of the most wonderfully designed playgrounds in creation. Even a quarter acre of timber can become a canvas for the imagination. The forests are a place where fiction and reality overlap. If there is a pond or stream, so much the better.

A bent stick and a length of twine can turn a child into Robin Hood. A tree house is all that is required for membership into the Swiss Family Robinson. The blustery days of autumn can put a child on the deck of the Hispaniola during a storm. Whether a they are pretending to be knights of the round table or merely letting the woods bring their favorite stuffed animals to life like Christopher Robin, children in the woods are also exercising their bodies as well as their imaginations.

A few afternoons a week of unstructured time in the woods can be very fulfilling for a child. In addition to getting them much needed physical activity, it allows them to choose how they spend their time rather than falling subject to any predetermined schedule. While I have fond memories of Little League, basketball, swimming, and Scouting, just as important in my mind is the time I spent reading in a tree house as it swayed with the wind, or wading through the creek in search of a likely fishing spot.

Part of the purpose of Montreat Wilderness School is to open up the woods to children who may not already be spending time there. While there are some children who will never take to the woods, for others it is almost as wonderful as stepping through the wardrobe into their own magical land. It is in this way that new generations of conservationists are born.

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Jason Nanz comes to Montreat from Roanoke, VA. He is a 2006 graduate of Roanoke College, an Eagle Scout, long-time Montreat Ranger and a highly experienced outdoorsman. Jason runs Montreat's Wilderness School and can be reached at montreatwilderness@gmail.com

Montreat Conference Center Unveils New “Center for Faith and Life”

At the fall meeting of the Mountain Retreat Association Board of Directors, November 1-3, 2009, final approval was given for the launch of Montreat Conference Center’s new Center for Faith and Life (CFL). As a key component within the institution’s newly adopted 5-year Ministry and Mission Work Plan, the CFL will focus primarily on a restructured adult programming strategy designed to serve the 21st century challenges and opportunities of the emerging church and world.

The first challenge for the new Center was establishing a Master Planning Team that would be charged with developing conference topics and recruiting leadership. “Calling together the right team was crucial to the on-going success of this huge restructuring process,” explained Merri Bass, vice president for the new Center. “We needed and found bold, visionary, highly visible leaders from across the church.” Nine members – the Rev. Thomas R. Daniel, Pastor, Kairos Church, Decatur, GA; Dr. David A. Davis, Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton, NJ; the Rev. Rhashell Hunter, Director, Racial Ethnic and Women’s Ministries, General Assembly Mission Council, Louisville, KY; Dr. John McCall, Pastor, Westminister Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, NC; Dr. Stephen R. Montgomery, Pastor, Idlewild Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN; Dr. Rodger Y. Nishioka, Benton Family Associate Professor of Christian Education, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA; Dr. Cynthia Rigby, W.C. Brown Professor of Theology, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Austin, TX; Dr. Byron Wade, Pastor, Davie Street Presbyterian Church, Raleigh, NC; and Dr. Barbara G. Wheeler, Director, Center for the Study of Theological Education, Auburn Theological Seminary, New York, NY – have accepted the conference center’s invitation to serve three-year terms. The team will serve under the guidance of Bass and conference center president Pete Peery.

The proposed strategy for streamlining Montreat-planned adult programming at Montreat Conference Center will begin in 2011 and will spotlight two larger annual conferences planned by Montreat – a single-topic signature conference and a newly created “Montreat Institute for Church Leadership” conference that will feature parallel tracks incorporating some of the conference center’s most popular leadership conferences. In addition, under the conference center’s mission headings, “Celebrating Relationships,” Nurturing Congregations,” and “Deepening Discipleship,” several smaller non-repeating events will be offered each year. The CFL will also pursue church retreats, customized programs for individuals and small groups, and partnerships with organizations and institutions. These partnerships will further broaden Montreat’s capacity to plan and host conferences in ways that will serve the whole church.

“The church has changed,” said Peery. “So Montreat Conference Center must change to serve the church that is emerging. Furthermore,” he added, “we are affected and must respond to today’s realities – people’s limited discretionary time; tight budgets, both personally and institutionally; and competing activities and opportunities. This new Center for Faith and Life and its Master Planning Team will address all of these things.”

Chat with Cat: It Takes a Village, or Ten Thousand

For the month of November, Chat with Cat will be highlighting nonprofit organizations whose missions are tied to that of Montreat Conference Center. For more information on Nonprofit Awareness Month, check out materials from the N.C. Center for Nonprofits.

I'm trying to remember what was the first item I purchased from Ten Thousand Villages in Montreat, and I can't. I remember a lot of purchases during the summers when I attended the Worship & Music Conferences: a silver anklet with tiny bells, a hummingbird ornament made from some kind of nut, and earrings galore. I don't remember the first, but I have always seen Ten Thousand Villages as a Montreat fixture, perched high atop the Moore Center building, and strategically placed next to the most popular of all summer spots, the Huckleberry.

Ten Thousand Villages has had a home in Montreat since 1983, even though the organization did not adopt its current name until 1996. (The name, by the way, comes from a Gandhi quote: "India is not to be found in its few cities but in the 700,000 villages. We have hardly ever paused to inquire if these folks get sufficient to eat and clothe themselves with.")

Store Manager Ellen McClintock says that being part of the Montreat community has played an important role in Ten Thousand Villages' 26 years here. She says that the faith-based conference groups that come to Montreat are always supportive of the organization's fair-trade mission and pursuit of eco-justice. Because of this support, Ten Thousand Villages has been able to use their Montreat location as a base to reach the wider community and to promote fair-trade initiatives throughout Western North Carolina.

The international organization behind Ten Thousand Villages was founded back in 1946. A woman named Edna Ruth Byler was traveling in Puerto Rico where she was struck by the overwhelming poverty of the area. She purchased items from local artisans and began to sell them out of the trunk of her car. Sixty years later, the organization she started (now a nonprofit of the Mennonite Central Committee) celebrated a year of sales topping $20 million. Today Ten Thousand Villages operates more than 150 stores across the U.S. and Canada, purchasing all its merchandise from artisans at a fair price.

Sometimes it's easy to see Ten Thousand Villages as just another place to shop. It is one of my go-to places before holidays and birthdays, or any time I need a new pair of earrings or a nifty gift for someone. But really it's so much more than this. Shopping at Ten Thousand Villages ensures the employment of countless Third World artisans who are able to feed and take care of their families because of your shopping decision. And supporting this wonderful organization also supports the efforts of those striving for fair trade practices and eco-justice worldwide.

To learn more about Ten Thousand Villages and how they choose their artisan partners, check out their website. (And do some early holiday shopping while you're there!)

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Cat is the Sales Associate at Montreat Conference Center. She loves helping people plan the perfect Montreat Experience and would love to hear from you about how this blog can help you.

Cat can be reached at catw@montreat.org or at @Cat_Montreat.

Chat with Cat: November Nonprofits Kickoff

October has come to a close, crisper weather has set in, and thoughts of cranberry sauce are beginning to dance in our heads... or at least in my head.

But November is also a month for something besides cranberries. In North Carolina, November is Nonprofit Awareness Month--a time for staff, board members, and volunteers to team up to promote N.C.'s awesome nonprofit organizations and to encourage involvement in the sector.

The nonprofit sector in this state is wonderfully vibrant. You might recall from my post following the N.C. Center for Nonprofit's annual conference that one in every 18 N.C. residents is employed by a nonprofit. In fact, nonprofit organizations provide almost twice as many jobs as tourism in this state, which is saying something.

If you want more information about Nonprofit Awareness Month, check out the materials the N.C. Center for Nonprofits have put together. For our part, Chat with Cat is going to highlight a nonprofit each Tuesday during the month of November. I've chosen five organizations whose missions are tied to Montreat Conference Center, and I hope that this month's posts will encourage you not only to check out the highlighted nonprofits, but also to see how you can get involved in the nonprofits near you.

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Cat is the Sales Associate at Montreat Conference Center. She loves helping people plan the perfect Montreat Experience and would love to hear from you about how this blog can help you.

Cat can be reached at catw@montreat.org or at @Cat_Montreat.

Reflections of a Ranger: Good Medicine

As autumn begins to flirt with winter, the nights get colder and invade the afternoon. Many of us begin to abandon outdoor activity in favor of recreation in a warmer locale. However, this is a mistake. Most people do not get outside enough even when the weather is ideal. Nearly every job today involves at least some time spent in front of a computer. Over the past several decades our careers have demanded less and less from us physically while advances in technology have lubricated the slippery slope leading to sedentary living. As a result many of us have felt the atrophic effects of this lifestyle. The damage is not merely to our muscles, joints, and waistlines but also to our senses. After a long day of staring at a computer screen many of us go home to relax, which generally involves staring at a television set while lying on a couch. Our ears are bombarded with a cacophony of artificial sounds and white noise, while our eyes are taught to focus on a rectangular area no larger than the biggest LCD screen in our house.

There is, however, a simple remedy for all of this. Take a walk in the woods. This does not have be an exhausting activity, merely start walking through a familiar patch of woods. Allow your ears to drink in the unstructured sounds of the forest. It may take awhile to soak in all the layers. After the hum of fluorescent lights, ringing of phones, chiming of computers, and dozens of other noises we get at work, the subtle tones of the woods may be elusive at first. However, eventually you will learn to distinguish the different parts of this sylvan symphony even if you don't know how to identify them.

See everything. Break out of the narrow visual tunnel that you use at work. Our field of vision is about 120 degrees up and down and almost 180 from side to side. You can't focus on all of that at once, but you can be aware of it. Give your peripheral vision a workout. Gradually you will become more aware of the world you are exploring.

As you move through the woods you not only work your heart and your larger muscles, but you also force several smaller muscle groups to kick in as they stabilize you on the uneven terrain. The more you walk, the stronger you will become. Some of your aching joints may cease their complaining as the muscles surrounding them grow more robust. Regular walking will also help you lose weight.

These changes will occur slowly but surely. If you are willing to deal with the few days of soreness as your body complains about being stirred from its usual complacency you will begin to notice the change. In a few weeks you will feel lighter and stronger. Your endurance will increase the more time you spend in the woods. At this point you may want to explore some areas that have steeper trails or are more remote.

Once your body doesn't mind strolling through the forest and your senses have expanded, then you can reap the full benefits. While many people come to Montreat to appreciate the splendor of our mountains, it is hard to fully soak it in when you are uncomfortable. Until your body stops complaining about being hauled up Lookout Trail you can't enjoy the trip to its fullest. Most people trudge up the trail with their head down lest their underused feet trip on the uneven ground. These people only really experience the bottom of the trail and the top, and perhaps those spots where they took a break to catch their breath. The woodland world opens up more of its wonders to the person who is able to walk the trail without fear of injury or exhaustion.

So walk in the woods often; it is good medicine. Your body will thank you and you will become more aware of your surroundings. When both of these things happen your soul will be able to drink in more of the medicine of the forest and wonder of creation.

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Jason Nanz comes to Montreat from Roanoke, VA. He is a 2006 graduate of Roanoke College, an Eagle Scout, long-time Montreat Ranger and a highly experienced outdoorsman. Jason runs Montreat's Wilderness School and can be reached at montreatwilderness@gmail.com