Creation Care Alliance WNC Presents
Symposium 2026
“Building Resilience: Congregations in a Climate-Changed World”
Friday, May 1 – Saturday, May 2 at Montreat Conference Center
Hurricane Helene gave the people of WNC a common experience of the unpredictable and devastating effects of climate change, even on places once considered “climate havens.” In its aftermath, faith communities were among the most effective first responders, quickly transforming into food and resource storage and distribution centers, communication hubs, and gathering places for neighbors helping each other through unimaginable times.
This spring, Creation Care Alliance of WNC will gather people of faith from 28 counties across WNC for Symposium 2026 at Montreat Conference Center and explore how communities of faith have been changed by their response to these challenges and how the work of disaster recovery and climate resilience-building in their communities has re-energized their ministry and elevated their value in the wider community.The goal for Symposium 2026 is for participants to return home with ideas, connections, and activities that strengthen your creation care ministry and encourage partnering with other climate-connected communities of faith.
Day 1 of this two-day conference will stand on its own as a collection of creation care rituals and activities for participants to bring back to try in their home congregations and communities including an Awe/Wonder Walks, a Reclaim-the-River Ritual, and an interfaith Earth Sunday Vigil full of ideas for future Earth Sunday services. Lunch on your own in Black Mountain or at Montreat’s Huckleberry Cafe on Lake Susan.
Day 2 features workshops on topics including:
- Considering Going Solar?
- Planting a Pollinator, Butterfly, or Vegetable Garden on Your Campus
- Congregational Disaster Preparedness and Resilience-Building
- Climate Justice Advocacy – Rev. Susannah Tuttle, Director, Eco-Justice Connection of the NC Council of Churches
- Green Burials – Author and Professor Mallory McDuff of Warren Wilson College
- Creation-Caring Congregations present their most effective programs and answer questions about their effectiveness and implementation.
- Panel discussion featuring staff from various regional denominational offices for disaster recovery and resilience discussing how the work is evolving and impacting congregational life and ministry.
CCA WNC
With natural disasters increasing in frequency, faith communities are attending more to the natural world and to finding our true place within it. As a union of climate connected congregations, MountainTrue’s Creation Care Alliance is working to strengthen and expand its network of Covenant Partner Congregations, helping them become lifelines of resilience, compassion, and mutual aid in the face of future climate challenges.
Ticketing information:
*Please note that Friday registration does NOT include lunch (lunch will be on your own. You can check out the Huckleberry Cafe at Montreat, visit on of the tasty restaurants in Black Mountain, or bring your lunch from home.)
*Saturday registration DOES include lunch at the Galax Dining Room of Montreat’s Assembly Inn
*You can register for just one day, or both!
