Recently I celebrated my 75th birthday, and this reminded me that Blowing Rock Conference Center (formerly Blowing Rock Assembly Grounds) will be celebrating 75 years of operation. From my earliest memories, BRCC has been in my sight…from the annual mountain trip in my father’s 1949 Packard for Sunday worship at Mt. Bethel and a picnic on the grounds, to today’s Annual UCC/Disciples Servants’ Retreat in October. Throughout my life BCCC has been there. I recall from my teen years the first time I joined the Senior Youth Fellowship for Saturday night at BRAG in the Rowe Dorm and a movie in Blowing Rock, followed by worship at Mt. Bethel on Sunday, and my first experience in Shuford Dining Room to partake in the delicious meals prepared by the Bonds family. The cafeteria style venue was new to me, and I had to let the older youth and adults help me navigate the process of picking up my meal and getting to choose what I wanted to eat: eggs, country ham, bacon, sausage, toast, biscuits, jelly, jam, juice and even coffee for this teenage boy. Sunday dinner had even more choices: fried chicken, country-style steak, country ham, all the vegetables including corn on the cob, and watermelon, cakes and pies. On cool mornings, even a fire in the huge fireplace was there to welcome us.
Over the years as a minister within the UCC, I was able to attend the annual Ministers’ Conferences, Men’s Fellowships, youth and confirmation retreats, and senior adult retreats at BRCC. As chair of the Commission on Christian Education of both the Western North Carolina Association and the Southern Conference, BRCC was central to where events were hosted: Marriage Enrichment, Confirmation and Youth retreats, Family Camps, Southeastern Regional Youth Retreats and Music Camps for children. Wherever I was serving in my 40 years of full-time ministry, there were annual trips to BRCC with local churches for youth, men’s fellowship, consistory and senior adult retreats. In recent years through retirement, BRCC has been a place for family fun with grandchildren, the Annual UCC/Disciples Servants’ Retreat in October, and a complimentary weekend for Century Club members in November. As a past member and chair of the BRCC Board of Directors, I have seen significant changes in growth and expansion as more and more folks are making BRCC their “Place in the Mountains.” I invite you to make BRCC “Your Special Place in the Mountains” as well, where the view of Grandfather’s Mountain is serene, hospitality is found in the warm welcome of the staff and delicious meals, and the wonder of God is always present in the people there and the beauty of nature.