So many people have reached out over the last week to see how we’re doing here at the Montreat Conference Center. Your prayers, your questions, and your support have lifted our spirits in so many ways. This is an attempt to tell you why, and to tell that we are responding in kind.
Many of you have asked us how we’re doing. Here are four things I know:
- We decided this week to postpone or cancel all gatherings, conferences, retreats, for the next six weeks. It’s a serious blow. Through February, we were having an outstanding fiscal year, with a clear path to finishing slightly ahead on April 30th. Canceling groups during what is normally one of our busiest periods represents a leap of faith that belt-tightening, hard work, and the loyal generosity of our supporters will enable us to end our fiscal year on April 30th with a balanced budget.
- Our Board of Directors met online this week and adopted a new budget for the coming fiscal year, itself a GIANT leap of faith, but a brave and carefully considered one. Importantly, board and staff also spent time together in worship and prayer, and brainstorming about how Montreat might serve God and our church through the crisis. Ultimately…
- We committed to remaining operational through the current crisis, to maintain our campus and our readiness for the resumption of normal programming as soon as that day comes.
- Such a commitment will require our staff to work in new ways, and they are already responding admirably to changes in role and work pattern. Of course, we’ll adjust week by week, following the guidance and directives of health agencies and government authorities.
What does “remaining operational” in the midst of the pandemic mean for a conference center dedicated to the gathering together of God’s people? That will depend upon the nature and the extent of the crisis. For starters, it means mobilizing the leadership and talent that have led our programs from the stage to come to you in your homes. Generally, it means living out our conviction that, even in the midst of this crisis, Christ calls us to make a real difference in people’s lives not just tomorrow, but today.
I feel that conviction especially because Montreaters have made a difference in my life this week. You have insisted that God is asking the conference center to convene God’s people for this time and place. Montreaters of all stripes – conference leaders, cottagers, staff – have expressed a desire to help. My friend John Brueggemann has reminded me that the coronavirus can force us only into “physical distance,” not social distance. Overwhelmingly, the message is clear: working through our ministry here, the Holy Spirit can still move people to share with each other the promise of the gospel and the good news of God’s love and grace. On this most important matter, the virus can shove it.
A more eloquent case is found at the link below. It’s a devotional offered to our Board on Tuesday by the Reverend Eileen Lindner, a board member, Presbyterian minister, and consultant to various national church agencies. Read Eileen’s reflection (click here); better yet, share it with someone. As you do, feel the Spirit moving through you – indeed, moving through us all.
More to come…
Gratefully,
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