Announcing the Inaugural
William Black Lodge Conversation Series
We’re excited to launch the William Black Lodge Conversation Series—a series of intimate gatherings bringing together multi-faceted perspectives for thoughtful exploration and reflection on themes of transformation and renewal, both personal and collective.
The inaugural series will take place in January 2026 and explore the theme of Thresholds.
Each evening will take place in one of the Lodge’s warm, welcoming spaces and will begin with a brief 10–15 minute exchange between our featured guest and a conversation host. From there, the conversation with the featured guest, supported by the host, will expand into a shared opportunity for participants to reflect and contribute. These informal, 90-minute evenings open up space for curiosity, openness, and meaningful conversation grounded in lived experience and shared inquiry.
Schedule:
January 12, 2026 — Gareth Higgins: The Forgotten Threshold – Rites of Passage
January 13, 2026 — Mahan Siler: From Elder to Ancestor
January 19, 2026 -- Jean Sutton: Honoring Thresholds with Ritual
January 20, 2026 -- Rick Eigenbrod: Crossing Unexpected Thresholds
Join us for an evening – or all four – as we honor the thresholds that shape our lives.Registration is required because SPACE IS LIMITED. The tickets are “pay what you want” donations that help defray the cost of presenting the series.
CLICK THIS LINK for more info and to REGISTER
The inaugural series will take place in January 2026 and explore the theme of Thresholds.
Each evening will take place in one of the Lodge’s warm, welcoming spaces and will begin with a brief 10–15 minute exchange between our featured guest and a conversation host. From there, the conversation with the featured guest, supported by the host, will expand into a shared opportunity for participants to reflect and contribute. These informal, 90-minute evenings open up space for curiosity, openness, and meaningful conversation grounded in lived experience and shared inquiry.
Schedule:
January 12, 2026 — Gareth Higgins: The Forgotten Threshold – Rites of Passage
January 13, 2026 — Mahan Siler: From Elder to Ancestor
January 19, 2026 -- Jean Sutton: Honoring Thresholds with Ritual
January 20, 2026 -- Rick Eigenbrod: Crossing Unexpected Thresholds
Join us for an evening – or all four – as we honor the thresholds that shape our lives.Registration is required because SPACE IS LIMITED. The tickets are “pay what you want” donations that help defray the cost of presenting the series.
CLICK THIS LINK for more info and to REGISTER
David LaMotte's Roots and Branches Retreat
William Black Lodge is also very pleased to host David LaMotte's Roots and Branches Retreat once again.
Join us Oct. 2-5, 2025!
More details & info -
DavidLamotte.com/rootsandbranches/
There is also an opportunity to attend both David Wilcox and David LaMotte's Retreat and stay through the week at WBL for a special rate!
Call the Lodge for Details
Make your Reservations
William Black Lodge is also very pleased to host David LaMotte's Roots and Branches Retreat once again.
Join us Oct. 2-5, 2025!
More details & info -
DavidLamotte.com/rootsandbranches/
There is also an opportunity to attend both David Wilcox and David LaMotte's Retreat and stay through the week at WBL for a special rate!
Call the Lodge for Details
Make your Reservations
Wilcox Weekend
William Black Lodge is very pleased to host David Wilcox! We’re excited to let you know that the Weekend is now re-scheduled for this fall Oct. 9-12, 2025 in its new location in Montreat, NC!
More details & info -
DavidWilcox.com/Wilcox-Weekend
Inspiration. Creativity. Connection.
Make your Reservations
William Black Lodge is very pleased to host David Wilcox! We’re excited to let you know that the Weekend is now re-scheduled for this fall Oct. 9-12, 2025 in its new location in Montreat, NC!
More details & info -
DavidWilcox.com/Wilcox-Weekend
Inspiration. Creativity. Connection.
Make your Reservations
2024 Montreat
Youth Conferences
June 2-August 3, 2024
Group Lodging Currently
Available @ WBL week 6 (open)
Call for updated information and details
Dining Options include:
Available @ WBL week 6 (open)
Call for updated information and details
Dining Options include:
- Eating meals at Galax Dining Room in Assembly Inn
- Preparing your own meals in WBL Kitchen
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2024 Music and Worship
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Women's Connection - August 9-11, 2024 - lodging is currently filled. Wait list is open - call for more information.
October 20-23 - Barnabus Track at William Black Lodge
Barnabas Track | The Pastor in a Secular Age (begins Sunday after dinner), Led by Rev. Dr. Andrew Root
Being a pastor is no easy task in our time. Institutions are weaker, budgets are in decline, people are uninterested, and commitment is wavering. But these are only symptoms of a bigger issue. In our time together, we will seek to peer beneath the symptoms and explore why many pastors find themselves in an identity crisis. The presentation examines what living in a secular age does to pastoral identity and how pastors can find new footing within it. We will explore topics like: Why are They Leaving? Misdiagnosing Our Challenges in a Secular Age, Ministry Inside the Immanent Frame, The Task of Speaking of God in a Secular Age, and Families, the Good Life, the Need for a Story, Or Why Everything Else is More Important than Church. -
Wee Kirk Conference 2024 | Montreat Conference Center
Barnabas Track | The Pastor in a Secular Age (begins Sunday after dinner), Led by Rev. Dr. Andrew Root
Being a pastor is no easy task in our time. Institutions are weaker, budgets are in decline, people are uninterested, and commitment is wavering. But these are only symptoms of a bigger issue. In our time together, we will seek to peer beneath the symptoms and explore why many pastors find themselves in an identity crisis. The presentation examines what living in a secular age does to pastoral identity and how pastors can find new footing within it. We will explore topics like: Why are They Leaving? Misdiagnosing Our Challenges in a Secular Age, Ministry Inside the Immanent Frame, The Task of Speaking of God in a Secular Age, and Families, the Good Life, the Need for a Story, Or Why Everything Else is More Important than Church. -
Wee Kirk Conference 2024 | Montreat Conference Center
WBL has lodging available for
John Phillip Newell's Earth and Soul
October 23-25, 2024
The third of a three-part series of annual retreats led by the Celtic teacher John Philip Newell and his colleague Cami Twilling in which we explore the sacredness of the imagination, the sacredness of compassion, and the sacredness of reshaping the world. This retreat is part of Earth & Soul’s Celtic initiative of study and spiritual practice with the aim of further enabling compassionate action in our lives and world.
Earth & Soul Retreat at Montreat in North Carolina | Montreat Conference Center
John Phillip Newell's Earth and Soul
October 23-25, 2024
The third of a three-part series of annual retreats led by the Celtic teacher John Philip Newell and his colleague Cami Twilling in which we explore the sacredness of the imagination, the sacredness of compassion, and the sacredness of reshaping the world. This retreat is part of Earth & Soul’s Celtic initiative of study and spiritual practice with the aim of further enabling compassionate action in our lives and world.
Earth & Soul Retreat at Montreat in North Carolina | Montreat Conference Center