Our Staff
Rev. Keith Grogg
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Keith Grogg was called as pastor of Montreat Presbyterian Church in April, 2014. He and Vivian Hare have been married since 1992 and they have two young adult children.
Keith is a graduate of McCormick Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1993) and Columbia Theological Seminary (D.Min. in Christian Spirituality, 2024).
He grew up in Second Presbyterian Church, Bloomington, Illinois in the 1970s-80s, mentored by inspiring ministers, teachers, musicians, and youth advisors including Phil Queen, Susan Baller-Shepard, Mark Ramsey, Dirk Ficca, Bob Dykstra, Doris Hill, Irv Martin, David Peters, Hal LeMert, Al Zinter, and many others.
After graduating from Indiana University in political science/history, Keith spent a year as a PC(USA) Mission Volunteer serving at St. Andrew’s Church, Bedford, England in 1989-90. Ordained in 1994, he served a shared ministry in Kannapolis, North Carolina as the pastor of Kirkwood Presbyterian Church and associate pastor of Bethpage Presbyterian Church. From 2000 until 2014, he was the pastor of Carolina Beach (NC) Presbyterian Church.
Vivian Hare
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Vivian Hare became our Director of Music on January 1, 2019, overseeing the church’s music program, playing piano and organ, instituting and conducting the church choir, directing special music, interweaving music with other church programs, helping select meaningful and inspirational music, and coordinating worship planning with the pastor.
Vivian is a graduate of Presbyterian College with degrees in music (pipe organ, magna cum laude) and religion (Christian education, magna cum laude). She has a Master of Arts degree from PSCE (now Union Presbyterian Seminary) in Christian
Education and is a certified Christian Educator of the PCUSA. She was director of
music, organist and choir director of Carolina Beach Presbyterian Church 2002- 2015. From September 2016 through December 2018, she held a similar position at Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church. In between, she spent a year serving as pianist/choir director of New Hope Presbyterian Church in Asheville.
Also in Vivian’s background are more than 15 years as a Director of Christian Education at various churches, two years as a Volunteer in Mission in Taiwan, and more than five years serving at the national level of the PC(USA) in Louisville, culminating in the position of Director of the Mission Volunteer (USA) Program, in which she was part of the team that developed the YAV program.
Vivian has been coming to Montreat since before she can remember. She has been married to Keith Grogg since 1992 and they have two young adult children (who also have been coming to Montreat since before they can remember). Vivian’s
mother, Clara Moore Hare, is a graduate of Montreat College. Vivian, Keith, and
Clara live in Montreat.
Rev. Lynn Bledsoe
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In February 2023 the Session announced that God has again blessed us with an additional pastoral caregiver! The Rev. Lynn Bledsoe began providing
limited weekly hours immediately, making visits in our church family and
being available for emergency pastoral care when the pastor is unavailable.
Lynn retired in late 2021 after several years of providing dedicated pastoral care to the community at Givens Highland Farms, where she was a beloved spiritual presence and pastoral caregiver for many, including many members of MPC.
She has been an ordained PC(USA) Minister of Word and Sacrament for two decades. Within an amazing educational journey, work history and record of service to the community, she served for several years as Minister to Older Adults at First Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, AL, has been a Hospice chaplain, and was Visitation Pastor at First Presbyterian- Asheville in 2014-16 before starting at Highland Farms. A harpist, she is certified as a music therapy practitioner and a “Sage-ing” leader, and has also been certified by the Living School of the Center for Action and Contemplation. She studied theology at Vanderbilt University and among other degrees holds an MS in counseling from Oregon State University. She and her husband, retired psychiatrist Bill Ryan, have between them four adult children and four grandchildren.
Bonnie Shoemaker
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Bonnie comes to us from St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Orleans, where she has been an administrative professional since 2016. She has served in administrative capacities in other contexts, including a stint of more than three years as operations coordinator in Iraq in the mid-2000s.
Before that, she was, for seven and a half years, an International Student and Scholards Programs coordinator, student advisor, and administrative assistant at Columbia Theological Seminary, where she is well known,fondly remembered and highly recommended by members of our community.
Bonnie also has a rich and wondrously varied record of community service, including helping non profits with organization, coordination, recruitment and training of volunteers, and assisting in teaching older adults basic computer functions, typing skills, internet research and email. Those who have worked with her are celebrating and rejoicing with us in this providential “get” for Montreat Presbyterian Church!
Having stayed in Montreat before, she is not unfamiliar with the area. When the job listing was posted, Bonnie had just made the decision to conclude full-time work and move to Fairview, keeping her eyes open for a part-time position that offered rewarding work that could put her considerable skills and experience to meaningful use. We are convinced that God has brought us together at just the right time for this partnership.
Our Heritage
Montreat Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) which reaffirmed its denominational identity in 2007. We are part of the Presbytery of Western North Carolina.
MPC was formed in 1906 as an outgrowth of the interdenominational fellowship, Montreat Church of Montreat, which was chartered in 1902 with 37 members. In 1905, the Rev. Dr. J.R. Howerton of Charlotte vigorously pursued the idea of the Presbyterians purchasing Montreat as a retreat for Bible study and spiritual renewal, and the first meeting of the stockholders of the Mountain Retreat Association under the ownership of the Presbyterians was held on November 21, 1906, in the parlor of the First Presbyterian Church in Charlotte. Dr. J.R. Howerton was elected President. The interdenominational church was reorganized as Montreat Presbyterian Church, with 25 charter members on December 13, 1906, and enrolled in the Asheville Presbytery. Services were held in the Community Building built in 1900 which now houses the Montreat Post Office. Our church has worshiped in various locations in Montreat, but for over one hundred years has never owned its own sanctuary.
Our Core Values
WORSHIP—Meaningful worship is the heart of our life together.
FELLOWSHIP—We share life, encourage each other, grow as friends, meet Christ together and face some of the difficult moments of life together.
GROUNDED IN LOVE AND SPIRIT-LED—Our mission and ministry are rooted in the Reformed tradition of faith in God’s inexorable love for the world. The Reformed motto ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda (“the church reformed, always being reformed”) indicates our conviction that the Holy Spirit is always at work in us and that the true Church of Jesus Christ is a dynamic reality rather than a static institution.
IN PARTNERSHIP—Relationships with others enhance our ministry, and while we are ecumenical in spirit, we celebrate our bond with the Presbyterian Church (USA), our ties to the life of the Montreat Conference Center, and our partnerships with others seeking to serve God and the larger community.
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE—We are called to serve the future as we serve the present, so we embrace and nurture all ages. We seek creative ways to strengthen our church and our denomination.
MISSION—We serve God by giving of our time, talent, and treasure, and we offer comfort to those in need. We trust that our actions will spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and claim justice for all. Through our earth ministry, we commit to being good stewards of God’s creation.
DISCIPLESHIP—We are a learning community, studying God’s word and learning from one another. Laity and clergy share the teaching and nurturing roles.
DISCERNMENT—Alert to the mystery of God’s presence in our lives, we seek to follow God’s call with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love.
Our Session
