Mountain Matters • Your Mountain is Open • Virtual & In-person Offerings |
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Looking for a retreat with your family?
The Mountain may be on your horizon! Explore the 80+ acres of The Mountain's spacious campus.
Enjoy a private room or family bunkhouses.
Travel endless trails to scenic waterfalls.
Take classes at our organic farm.
Find a good book in the library or
write a tale of your own, as an artist on retreat. The Mountain is here for you. |
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Fellow Mountain supporters, I hope that this note finds you and those you care about healthy and staying centered during these difficult times. Despite the challenging public health and economic circumstances we find ourselves operating in, there is much to be excited about at The Mountain. While our group and program (including Mountaincamp) business has largely evaporated through at least the fall, we saw a huge outpouring of support from our donor community since March, enabling us to take full advantage of a $30,000 matching grant from Firespring. Even more exciting, we received donations from 350 donors since March, with an impressive 65% of those being new donors.... |
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We truly hope you and your family are well and will remain so throughout this pandemic. As you may not be aware of what is going on here, we want you to know our good news: Your Mountain thrives! Despite program and retreat cancellations, our sanctuary continues to pay staff as well as repair and improve our facilities. We're writing to remind you what a wonderful resource that The Mountain still is! We have had glowing reviews from our recent guests attending for personal retreats and for our online learning offerings. Our vision here is to be an exemplary retreat that inspires people of all ages to build a more connected and compassionate world. Our campus exists to serve YOU! |
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If you are enjoying what we are offering via virtual content, or want to support our continued quest to be an exemplary retreat, camp and learning center for when you return, consider supporting us with a small monthly contribution. |
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Join us for a Farm to Table Cooking Class |
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Join us at The Mountain for a hands-on approach to al fresco Italian dining! If your favorite food and wine event may have been cancelled this year, The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center can fill that gap with a COVID-friendly, farm-foraging Italian dinner that will feed your culinary heart! Join Chef Sandra Stefani, originally from Pisa, Italy. Sandra arrived in Washington DC in 1979 and started her career at the famous Italian Restaurant Cantina d’Italia, learning to cook “hands on” from the late great Chef Joseph Muran de Assereto. Together tour and learn more about the mission of The Mountain, bringing community closer to their food, by picking fresh ingredients from The Many Hands Peace Farm on site. Chef Sandra will then teach you how to prepare a four-course dinner, which you'll then enjoy with wine and good company “Al Fresco”, with spectacular Mountain views. Accommodations available for a night in the lodge after dinner. Limited space available. To book your place click here! |
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Can we build A More Beautiful World in just one Weekend? We can try... Our upcoming program A More Beautiful World Week has gone through many changes over the past several months, as we planned and re-planned for what a potent and safe in-person gathering will look like in the age of covid. We are pleased to announce that our schedule for this, now condensed, WEEKEND program is finalized! Happening Friday, September 18th through Sunday, the 20th, you are invited to join us, in circle, to explore sacred activism and environmental, social and economic ideas that ask us to move from the story of separation toward authoring our own narrative of interbeing. Check out the full schedule of events and more details here. |
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Understand White Privilege and Become an Anti-Racist Sep 23 - Oct 28 A Six-Week Series on Wednesdays from 12 noon - 1:30 Acquire guidance and answers to these questions and more: • What is white privilege?
• Why is it so difficult for white people to talk about racism and how can we do better?
• What is the difference between a racist, a non-racist and an anti-racist?
• How can each one of us authentically become an anti-racist? Register - Learn how to Be More. Learn More. Do Better. |
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Mountain Musings Community Address |
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In honor of Lee Knight and his tremendous impact, bringing joy to countless children with his songs and stories. Former Campers and Staff of The Mountain have decided to dedicate The Mountain's Campership Fund in his name. The Lee Knight Campership Fund has been started with the generous donations from the cancelations of the 2020 MountainCamp year. The Mountain hopes to continue to grow this fund into the future with your support, to become a sustainable fund available for generations of campers to come to experience the wonders of MountainCamp, just as so many have over the past 41 years. Thank you Lee for being there for it all! |
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What's Growing Down Below From The Many Hands Peace Farm |
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As the summer begins to fold its wings, the cadence of autumn drifts towards us. By working in the garden or spending time observing nature, we connect with the seasonal cycles that shape life on Earth. Signs that herald the change in season have been celebrated by human cultures throughout time. This time of year is just past the peak of harvest, when fields are becoming emptier and the cupboards are becoming fuller. We can shift our focus from the bustle of cultivation and creation towards enjoying the fruits of our labor and finding ways to share them with others. As we approach the Autumnal Equinox, this is also a good time of year to seek and establish balance and harmony in your life, whether between realms of work and home, between inner and outer worlds, or any other elements of your life that need to be reintegrated. | | |
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We are looking for you! Building a Mountain Network This year for many has been a time to invest in yourself, turn inward, and further develop what you want to bring to the world. Being you is a gift you get to share with the world! At The Mountain we have had the honor of hosting so many unique and diverse groups and individuals that we wanted to put together a resource for people like you to connect with others who may be nearby. Below you can find a link to a new local talent and resources page. This is intended to be an online community database for those looking to connect and share their skills and talents with the wider Mountain community, and to further communication, skill sharing, bartering, trading and commerce locally. We hope that when we resume regular programming, this page can be used to connect individuals who are interested in gathering resources to help with their own programming and events. The Mountain aims to be the container for community building, connection, growth and development that enables positive ripples in your lives. |
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If this appeals to you and you'd like to share your unique offerings with The Mountain community you can fill out the form below to be added to this page. |
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We were sorry not to see you to say goodbye and convey our gratitude for our nourishing weekend at The Mountain. Just being a small part of your wonderful and decent community for a few days did us wonders. Having such immediate access to so many beautiful sites was a dream come true. I can see why my son grew in so many ways over his summers there. Like all the beautiful foliage adorning the grounds, people visiting The Mountain are allowed the space and encouragement to grow in natural and fulfilling ways not possible in most places. I continue to be so indebted to the staff and volunteers. I've attached the first of what I hope will be a series of drawings and paintings based on what I saw over this past weekend. I'm certain we'll be back soon. Greg Benson |
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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. Thanks 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 |
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Visiting The Mountain in 2020 |
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Our Instagram account is humming along, so follow us; @themountainrlc and tag your favorite Mountain memories with #themountainrlc! We'd love to see your pictures. |
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Bellow you can find more about how your congregation can connect with The Mountain. Under Media Resources you can find posters for upcoming programs, as well as text from events to copy and paste into your own newsletters or mailings. You'll also find presentations and social links. Let us know if you would like a visit from a Mountain representative to engage with your congregation. |
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Thank you for being a part of The Mountain |
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The Mountain is a Membership Organization. As such, we value your contributions 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 Mountain's 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 hope you had a awesome August, We look forward to seeing you on The Mountain. |
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