Thank you for being a part of The Mountain

Come find stillness this season.

 Recalibrate your senses and listen to what thoughts come up in the midst of some quiet and solitude, whether creative or personal.

Retreats can shift our perspective. Putting ourselves in different alignment with the world around us for a time. The setting of The Mountain offers a unique stage for this work. As an artist, writer, meditator, instructor, or seeker. A chance for some inner silence or soul searching with an intention - akin to the vision quests and other ritualized seclusions practiced in traditional societies, can lead one further on their path. The results can be something profoundly intuitive, uniquely restorative and personally sacred.

Learn more and reach out.

What's on the Horizon?

 Commuters welcome! Just attending the NYE evening concert?

Skip the full registration and purchase your QuikTix! 

What's Growing Down Below

The farm contributed several labors of love to the Thanksgiving feast. We served mashed sunchokes, horseradish sauce, mushrooms (shiitake, chanterelles, and chicken of the woods), roasted dandelion and chicory tea, warm apple cider, and acorn cookies! The mushroom gravy was fantastic, and it was so nice of Matt to give some of his cooked and frozen chanterelles for the gravy which provided a taste of summer in these colder times. The acorn cookies represented a chunk of labor. If you've been following the acorn-processing saga on the farm facebook and instagram, you'll know how many steps it takes to make those bitter things palatable. But it was certainly worth being able to serve a love-filled gluten free dessert to our amazing guests.

The farm is looking for volunteer and paid helpers for next year.

This is a unique opportunity to connect with a crew of caring permaculture enthusiasts in a protected and wild forest environment. Helping produce food for markets and guest alike. Helping tend a burgeoning food forest, educating campers, caring for animals, and finding a path to work and live in one of the most beautiful environments in Western North Carolina. Please share this opportunity with those you think would be passionate and interested.  

For more info, visit our page or

send an e-mail to farm@themountainrlc.org.  

Follow the adventures of the Many Hands Peace Farm on Facebook and Instagram

Kitchen Confidential

For the kitchen, it was an extra special Thanksgiving. Not only did we pride ourselves on the feast that was lovingly prepared, but this Thanksgiving marked the end of Matt Wright's tenure as Kitchen Manager and Jenn Tuft's ascension to the role from Baker and Assistant Manager. 

Special tribute was paid to Matt by Ted and celebrated with the guests. We are grateful for the many contributions and improvements Matt made, including a robust menu focused on balance and nutrition, training and up-skilling kitchen staff and intentional investment in the quality and standard of ingredients - providing guests great quality for their money. Though Matt is stepping down, we are lucky to still keep him on the team as part-time kitchen staff while he explores his other endeavours in permaculture and farming.

Jenn will carry his torch and continue to build on the Matt's work to carry out The Mountain's values through our food and guests' dining experience. She is enthusiastic about expanding the menu and catering offered while maintaining quality and value, and nurturing the welcoming atmosphere of the dining hall. 

Keep an eye on Mountain Matters for updates, tips and tricks from the kitchen and be sure to say hello to the team when you're next at The Mountain!

Mountain Musings 

CON Reflections

The Mountain is sacred space to me. It is where I bring my grief, my joy, my innermost self. Most importantly, though, it is where I bring children and youth to help them find their true selves, especially their Unitarian Universalist selves.

I’ve been bringing children and youth to Mountain Cons since my now-nineteen-year-old was ten. At our first Con, it was just the two of us from Winston-Salem, and we enjoyed it so much that our enthusiasm spread throughout our fellowship. Over the next eight years, we built a group of kids (and adults) who regularly made the four-hour pilgrimage to spend the weekend with like-minded people.

To a Unitarian-Universalist child or youth in our country, and most definitely in the South, it is so important to have a place to go where you, your family, and your closest friends are considered normal. A place where you can profess unpopular (especially in the Rural South) opinions and beliefs without being shunned, being told you are going to Hell, or even just given a wicked side-eye. Where you/your family/your friends can be atheist, transgender, panromantic-and-asexual, whatever, and you are accepted.

Many a time on the way home, tired and worn out, a first-timer has reflected that they were so surprised that, “there were so many of us!” Tucked away within our own families and even within our own fellowships, we often miss out on the sense that there are UUs all over experiencing the same things we are. The Mountain brings us back to that sense. It can be transcending and transforming to a child or youth thinking they were the only one.

I’ve recently started over with a new group of kids my younger daughter’s age (again, 10). Over time I’ve seen the Mountain’s policies expand to treat transgender and questioning children more fairly, and there is talk of expanding them even further. I wholeheartedly support these changes (as does my questioning older daughter), and I’m excited to see how they play out over the next few years. I know I will be bringing myself, and as many UU children and youth as I can, back to the Mountain for years to come. I can’t wait.

- Joy Irwin

 It is stories like these that are core to The Mountain experience of inspiring people of all ages, transforming lives, and building a more compassionate world. Thank for for being a part of it. If you have a Mountain Memory or story you wish to share with The Mountain Community please share at: tanner.csonka@themountainrlc.org 

Above you can find more about how your congregation can get connected with The Mountain. Let us know if you would be interested in a visitation from a Mountain represnative to share more information about The Mountain with your congregation.  

Our Instagram account is new, so if you'd like to follow us there you can @themountainrlc and tag your favorite Mountain memories with #themountainrlc! We'd love to see your pictures. 

Bonnie Gramlich: State of Development

Here it is mid-December and I am still feeling the glow of witnessing so much joy and generosity demonstrated by our Thanksgiving weekend participants and those we have seen or heard from this month. Thank you to all of you who come for a program or a retreat, all who volunteer her and, last but not least, all who give so generously to The Mountain!  All of you nourish the entire Mountain community and make such a positive difference for others. Along with gifting The Mountain with your dollars or time and energy, you also help by signing up for programs, scheduling your own organizations’ or personal retreat, and even by spreading the word to others that The Mountain is here and is a wonderful place to visit!  Truly, I am humbled by the generosity of our donors, and of the many additional ways people continually sustain and work to improve The Mountain and its 'magic' for the good of individuals, organizations, and worthwhile causes. I love seeing the 'ripple effect' in action, as well as the synergy that seems to bubble up here.  I have been connected with The Mountain over twenty years and love that we have "tentative stability" and are taking actions to move towards thriving and extending further how we can make a greater positive difference. This includes improving our infrastructure and buildings. If you have any questions, suggestions or feedback on any of what I've written, please do let me know. Thank you.

Special thanks to the wonderful folks that came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us at The Mountain!  Loved seeing families together, enjoying themselves and the greater community here.  Thank you especially to all who donated and who participated in our silent auction fundraiser!  We are thankful for the generosity of everyone!! The auction raised nearly $3,000 for The Mountain (thanks to an 'auction angel' who donated just to support that effort!) You all have our most sincere gratitude and appreciation.

We (mostly Tanner and our board members) have put out several requests for donations lately and there is good reason for that. Non-profits in general are hurting a bit this year and we are not yet at our budgeted goal. Unrestricted gifts offset the costs of running the physical place and help reduce the costs to our program participants. I have participated in meetings where much good thought goes into how donations are used and if you were a fly on the wall, I believe you would be pleased with the process. 

If you have meant to donate and just haven't yet (gee, who's not busy at this time of year!) you are warmly invited you to do so. Our website makes it easy to do here. or you can call in a credit card number to 828.526.5838 and someone in the office or development can help. You could also use snail mail: The Mountain PO Box 1299  Highlands, NC 28741. If you have already donated and want to donate more to help out, we would be delighted to help you accomplish just that as well!  (No pressure!!) 

If you are like many of us and tend to watch your budget a good bit, yet wish to sustain The Mountain in some way, these are two ways you could consider.  First, you can become an Annual Member of The Mountain. This is like a statement that you really care about this place and community and the work being done here. It is a very reasonable donation and three types of membership are available: individual adult ($50.00), family/household memberships ($85.00), and youth/young adult ($20.00) for individuals. You can feel good about helping to sustain The Mountain, and you are eligible to vote at the time of our annual meetings on matters before our general membership. You can do this online, or by contacting me, Bonnie. (See below) 

Second, you have the opportunity to gift an amount of your choosing on a regular basis. Most folks do this monthly. It’s an ‘easy’ way to show your ongoing support and it helps us with budgeting. You can let us know if you need to stop or suspend your monthly donations, or if you want to either increase them or lower them, as you prefer. I do this myself, and I smile when I see my amount deducted each month from my checking account because it feels good. :-)  You can also do this via Bank Bill Pay, or via credit card or Paypal. We pay a small fee for the use of credit cards or Paypal arrangements but many people find them convenient to set up and we want to make it easy for you.

You are invited to contact me, Bonnie Gramlich, at 828.526.5838 x230  or 828.342.0546 to get your questions answered on any of the above or to donate via any of these methods. Thank you, if you have read this far! We value and appreciate your interest!   And, please, come by the development office to see Tanner or I when you are up at The Mountain. We are located right across from the main office, just a few steps away.

Warm wishes to all for a good ending to this year, and a great beginning to 2020!   

~ Bonnie

On the Donation page of TheMountainRLC.org to the left of donate you will find a " See Your Donations at Work" button! This will lead to all of the 2020 accomplishments here on The Mountain, thanks in part because of supporters like yourself! Thank you! 

Recognizing a Mountain Matriarch

Harriet was told of this gift at our staff meeting on December 5th and was stunned and very moved.  Harriet told us the day before that because she travels all year and does not actually have a home, She said she loves her life now but wasn't sure what would happen with her ashes upon her death because she has no real 'home.' She now knows where her final resting place can be and this means a lot to her. She is still so surprised at the fact that someone chose to give her such a generous and meaningful gift. And so we want to say to the donor of this very special gift, Thank you so much for this very thoughtful gift to someone we all love and appreciate!  And to Harriet, you now have a home for that future day (hopefully very far out in the future) AND Harriet, you do have a real home in the meantime - with us, here with your Mountain family. In February when you return to us, expect to hear "Welcome Home, Harriet!" 

Remembering...

December 8th The Mountain held a celebration of life and Memorial for Miriam Witzl. Miriam was an employee of The Mountain for 4 years, serving as The Mountain's Human Resources and Finance Director. Those who came were asked to light a candle and share their memories of her. It was a fitting service as so many expressed the light they saw within her and how it illuminated them in their interactions.  Miriam could create magic at a whim and make you feel alive with a smile, her childlike wonder, and joyful laughter. We will always miss you. Know that your inprint on our lives will last forever. 

Obituary. 

We were looking for you!

If you would like to send in your contact information, along with your talents, and availability we would like to create an online talent roster. This would be available for groups, or individuals, coming to The Mountain to have a resource list to help fill in program offerings, further connecting members of the Mountain Community!

Take a Moment...

An easy way to support The Mountain this upcoming holiday season if you use Amazon to shop is to use our Amazon Smile link. As a non-profit, Amazon gives a percentage of your sales transaction to The Mountain. In turn, we use this to help keep program cost low, and help facilitate transformational experiences. 

We Thank You for your support! 

The Mountain is a Membership Organization, as such we value your contributions and inputs to keep our doors open to all. If the Mountain has enriched your life in any way, please express your appreciation in the form of a financial contribution. Give through our website—or the old-fashioned way, with a check. Thank you for your support. Please consider:

 Donating to The Mountains Annual Fund

or becoming a Mountain Member.

Just over 25% of our budget comes from contributions. This enables us to help keep programming and camps affordable to all and better fulfill the mission of The Mountain. We thank you for your support! 

We wish you a dazeling December, and we look forward to seeing you on The Mountain.