ARKANSAS CONFERENCE 2008 JOURNAL
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MOUNT EAGLE CHRISTIAN CENTER
Mount Eagle focuses on making disciples of Jesus Christ by providing Christian hospitality and
opportunities for holy listening. People come to Mount Eagle seeking time apart with God and to be in small
Christian communities where they can practice and grow in their faith. We offer the space, leadership and
resources for local church events and basic comforts so that distractions will be at a minimum as people
participate in the activities. All of this is done in an environment of stewardship and respect for the earth.
Mount Eagle opened its doors to approximately 3000 guests in 2007. These people came from all over
Arkansas and surrounding states to participate in personal or small group retreats organized by Mount Eagle,
the conference, a district, a church, a Sunday School class, a youth group, a small group or individual. The
average group size was approximately 24-30 with two or three groups being served at the same time in the
various facilities on site.
Mount Eagle educates and encourages our guests and their local churches in two specific areas that connect
spiritual practices with daily life. While at the retreat center, people participate in an earth stewardship program
to encourage an increased understanding of the connection between God and all of creation. We lovingly care
for and show respect for the earth by reducing waste, reusing whatever we can, and recycling everything possible
when it can no longer be reused. We try to make the biblical and practical connections and challenge guests to
step out of their comfort zone and into new lifestyles. The second practice is using fair trade coffee, cocoa,
chocolates, and teas and making them available for guests to purchase. We have provided programs about the
United Methodist Committee on Relief Coffee Project in many local churches as well as on the district and
conference level.
For the 4
th
year in a row, Mount Eagle hosted a retreat for victims of domestic violence funded by grants
from the Conference Board of Church and Society, the Commission on the Status and Role of Women and a few
local churches. We also partnered with the Conference Committee on Native American Ministries and the
Conference Committee on Spiritual Formation to provide two events at Mount Eagle. We helped resource the
Arkansas Student Movement planning team and hosted “Common Ground” at Mount Eagle, the first conference
gathering of college aged students in recent history. Most recently, we were affected personally and as part of
the local community by the EF4 tornado that passed through a large area of north central Arkansas on Feb. 5,
2008. Working with Maxine Allen and Don Weeks from the conference staff and Paul Seay, the North District
disaster response coordinator, Mount Eagle continues to serve as a staging area for volunteer work teams
providing clean up and rebuilding in Van Buren and Stone Counties.
Mount Eagle completed the 3-year $760,000 capital campaign for Beal Lodge in 2007. With help from
Cathy Hall Hughes, our special projects coordinator, Mount Eagle now has an estimated value of 3.1 million
dollars (land, buildings, and equipment) and a debt of less than $70,000 as of March 1, 2008. Although we would
have preferred to completely erase the debt in 2007, we expect to pay it off by January, 2010, with gifts, pledges
from the campaign, and revenues from building usage.
Mount Eagle is a part of the Arkansas United Methodist Annual Conference team. This partnership allows
for aligning resources and sharing expenses as our programs and retreats help make disciples of Jesus Christ for
the transformation of the world. The Mount Eagle operating budget is a reflection of our commitment to good
stewardship of apportionment dollars, private donations, and revenues from guest groups and events.
We continue to give thanks to God for the opportunity to serve….
Tony Hilliard, Lynn Baker, David T. Jones,
Officers of the Board
Lu Harding, Director, Mount Eagle
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MOUNT SEQUOYAH CONFERENCE AND RETREAT CENTER
“Celebrating, serving, preparing...
we invite you to be open with us, to what God can do. “
This heartfelt and challenging statement ended the jurisdictional institution report delivered to delegates
and attendees during the 2004 South Central Jurisdictional Quadrennial Conference. The actions taken by the
Mount Sequoyah Board of Trustees, and the support and increased attendance from Methodist from all
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