Special Event Hosting

Partner Programs

A Word from the Host

We are proud to partner with Montreat Conference Center to provide housing for many conference center events. We also partner with leaders seeking a great space for retreats and events. Please contact the director if you are interested in bringing a retreat to William Black Lodge.

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.
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CLICK THIS LINK for more info and to REGISTER

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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 DetailsMake your Reservations

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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!
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More details & info -
DavidWilcox.com/Wilcox-WeekendInspiration. Creativity. Connection.Make your Reservations

2026 Montreat Conference Center Programming

 

Youth Weeks 1-6;
June 7-August 8, 2026
June 6- August 7, 2027

Group Lodging Currently
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
Conferences
Week 1 - June 16-22
Week 2 - June 23-29

Individual, Family, and small group lodging available at WBL
Full meal-service included in special package rates 
Currently Full - Call William Black Lodge 828-669-6314
for wait list or cancellations


Women's Connection

August 14-16, 2026

Call for more information.

PictureBarnabas Track | The Pastor in a Secular Age (begins Sunday after dinner), Led by Rev. Dr. Andrew Root

October 19-21, 2026

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

 

 

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WBL has lodging available for John Phillip Newell's Earth and Soul


October 21-23, 2026

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

Upcoming Events - Check back for more information 

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Event Date 12/31/26

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