Congregation Connections
Interested in discovering ways to learn about or spread the word about The Mountain Retreat & Learning Center? You’ve come to right spot!
What The Mountain is
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The Mountain was founded in 1979 by a group of UUs from SUUSI to provide summer camp experience for our children
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Located on 4,200-foot high granite cliffs on the Eastern Continental Divide in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Highlands, NC
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Non-profit year-round ecologically-conscious retreat and learning center serving churches, businesses, non-profits, schools, and other groups
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Active member of the Unitarian Universalist Alliance of Camps & Conference Centers (UUACCC)
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Open-door policy is based on the Unitarian Universalist (UU) faith tradition and principles
The Mountain is here to enrich lives, create community, and celebrate nature. We’d love your congregation to be a partner in this amazing and meaningful venture.
The Mountain provides summer camp experiences for children from 1st-12th grade.
The Mountain places a strong emphasis on being an inclusive, non-competitive environment where youth can develop a deeper understanding of themselves and form lifelong friendships.
What The Mountain Offers for UU Youth
Other Retreats & Resources
The Mountain also plans and sponsors retreats such as our annual Thanksgiving Dinner, Southern UU Fall Institute, The Mountain Homecoming and Annual Meeting and other events open to all UU members and friends.
Additionally, we open our facilities to others to plan and sponsor their own retreats!
The Mountain has provided facilities to reoccurring groups for years such as the shaman's group; Qollasuyu, the Israeli dance group; Karmiel, annual Gay Spirit Vision retreats, The Black and Female Leadership Institute. UU Womenspirit as well as others. Check the events page to see which retreats are open to the public or require specific invitation.
If you would like to host a retreat keep the following in mind:
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Great congregational retreats take time to plan. Think of a time of year. Be aware that weekends in the late Spring and Fall fill quickly, so schedule early. Weekdays and the winter months have greater availability.
When you're ready to schedule, contact The Mountain Group Sales office: .
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Once your date is scheduled, you will receive a contract to be signed and returned to confirm. Then you can send out a "save the date" notice to your congregation.
Your event will be listed on The Mountain's website for publicity and registration.
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Now it's time to begin planning a great retreat program and activity offering.
A reference to our offerings, facilities, lodging and more can be found on our website under "Plan Your Retreat."
Why Come to The Mountain?
The Highlands plateau, which encompasses The Mountain is a true mountain retreat. The climate stays much cooler than the surrounding foothills, supported by the vast national forest that make the views stunning, the waters cool, the air fresh, and spirits soar. There are a number of activities and venues in the Highlands area you may enjoy as well. Explore local hikes, outdoor activities, and waterfalls. You may also want to visit nearby wineries or just enjoy the deck, rest, recharge, and take it all in.
Consider Supporting The Mountain
The Mountain is a for purpose organization and thus depends on the donations of time, talent, and treasury of supportive members and friends. During our Annual Fund Drive that ends in May, each year we raise approximately $250,000. Your generous donations enable The Mountain to continue its Mission and Vision.
We also welcome your talents and time. The Mountain sponsors work weekends during the year so supporters of The Mountain can help maintain and beautify our lovely mountaintop. We also have “off Mountain” projects that can be done in your home. No donation of time is too small, and all donations are warmly welcomed.
Get The Congregation Involved
There are many ways you get your congregation involved. The Mountain is our own UU retreat and learning center atop a spiritual and inspiring mountain. We want to make sure that all UUs have a chance to participate in Mountain summer camp and retreat programs.
Our Wider UU Community
The congregations located in the Southeast, MidSouth, Florida, and Southwest Districts are now a part of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Southern Region. The Mountain is located in this region and promotes its retreats, programs, and MountainCamps on the Southern Region’s events calendar.
To learn more about the Unitarian Universalist Association and all its programs and services, visit the UUA.org website. The annual gathering of the UUA is the General Assembly, which ...which is held in different US cities each year.
The Mountain Retreat & Learning Center is a Related Organization of the Unitarian Universalist Association and a partner in the UU Alliance of Camps & Conference Centers (UUACCC) organization. In 2018, The Mountain joined the other UU Camps & Conference Centers in contributing to the Black Lives UU Promise & Practice funding campaign in support of racial justice and equity, in the wider Unitarian Universalist Association community and beyond.
In The Mountain's efforts to uphold our role as an environmental steward and to care of the local bio region through regenerative farming practices, we are supporters of the Green Sanctuary movement within the UU. We hold annual Climate Justice Conferences to strengthen conservation while providing tangible action and solutions around the topic of climate change.
We truly want to strengthen our connections with congregations, so please let us know how we can cultivate a relationship with your congregation! For more information, contact our Development Director.