On Aug. 3, Montreat Conference Center welcomes the Rev. Will Jones as guest preacher in the last of the 2014 Summer Services for the Lord’s Day.
Each Sunday since June, outstanding theologians, educators, and ministers from all over the country have led the Montreat community in worship at 10:30 am in Anderson Auditorium. It is a highlight of Montreat’s summer season.
Jones, is pastor of Germantown (Tenn.) Presbyterian Church. He has a Ph.D. in systematic theology from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. His sermon topic, “Wrestling for a Blessing” is taken from the Old Testament story in Genesis 32 when Jacob wakes from a dream that changes his life.
Jones has been on numerous boards of trustees and mission boards in the Presbyterian Church and served churches in Scotland, Georgia, and Alabama. He has a deep interest in the conversation between faith and various sciences, and part of his ministry is exploring the connection between food, agriculture, and faith and how they relate to physical and spiritual wellness.
Looking back over the Sunday morning worship services at Montreat these past months, the Rev. Merri Alexander, vice-president of The Center for Faith and Life at Montreat Conference Center, speaks of the variety and wealth its leaders have brought to the worshiping experience: “We have had splendid preachers from across the country who have both comforted us in these difficult times and challenged us as God’s people to move with love and justice into the world God loves.
“We owe a word of gratitude to our conference center musician, Eric Wall, arts ministry director, the Rev. Ann Laird Jones, liturgical artist, Johanna Garrity, and the ministry interns from Union Presbyterian Seminary, Katie Voegtli and Eric Koenig ― all of whom have offered their wisdom, experience, and creativity to the glory of God through this 2014 season of summer worship in Montreat.”
Each summer during the season, Montreat Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) joins the Conference Center in hosting this series. Beginning Aug. 10 it will return to its regular worship time of 9:00 a.m. in the Walkup Building. Services will be led by the church’s new minister, the Rev. Keith Grogg, a native of Illinois and a graduate of McCormick Seminary in Chicago who came to Montreat Presbyterian Church this past April.
All of the summer Sunday services in the series are at 10:30 am in Anderson Auditorium, just off Assembly Drive in Montreat. Child care is available for children six months through kindergarten at the Updike Child Care Center on Texas Road.
As is the summer tradition, the community is invited to the lunch buffet from 12 to 1:30 p.m. in the Assembly Inn’s Galax Dining Room following worship.