Newsletters

November Newsletter #2

Happy Turkey day a few days late. I wanted to give you time to process the meal!

You know, each year we pray that God will send those who He'd have attend our conference. Our prayer warriors begin praying this pray at the end of each conference. For a full year, they ask God this same thing. I am always amazed at how God shows up. Yearly, my ministry partner, Eddie Jones fusses at me about worrying if the on-campus rooms will fill. When you sign your name to a contract that wields some $40K, it has a tendency to  weigh heavy. But this year, I've cut back on my worry. (Though I think Bob Hostetler may disagree - I really have!) 

Our family has just been through too much to take on any more. To summarize, the hubs - aka, the Prince, nearly died on me. We spent 10 days at University of Tennessee Medical Center while they tried to repair his two-year-old cancer fix. I was tested for cancer (A-ok there), Tim was hit in the head with a 5 ft metal level at church when he was helping with a walkway cover and ended up in the ER and getting 11 sutures. My brother is dealing with a cancer that has been in remission, and now my sweet niece is undergoing treatment for a rare leukemia at UT Med. It's just been one thing after the next. All that to say, I decided this conference belonged to God and He would manage it. AND HE HAS. 

All that to say, those people we prayed to attend - ARE! We only have 2 on-campus rooms available (there could be a couple more, but over all that worry is off my plate).  We have 28 total conferee slots available and 26 of those will be off-campus. In other words, we are nearly sold out! Look what happens when God takes the reins.

If you have friends who wish to stay on-campus, tell them to register now. We have plenty of off-campus space which just means they rent their own room at one of the hotels at the foot of the Cove. Those registrations include ALL their meals at the Cove and the conference registration. Pass the word. I'd love to see us completely sold out by mid-December. Oh, did I say we sell out every year? So, continue to pray that God will send those He would have attend.

If you have friends wanting to attend, push them over to our registration page asap. https://ashevillechristianwritersconference.com/registration2023

CLASSES 
Most all our classes are listed under classes. You do not have to sign up for classes. We run two tracks and you simple attend the classes you wish to attend. We do recommend staying in a track because you need classes that meet you where you are currently in your writing. You can purchase the mp3's of the full conference and catch the classes you were not able to attend.  Our schedule is NOT ready. It's not ready for a reason. Not by my laziness, but that the Cove tends to change our schedule once or twice before we get there. I will fill in classes there but don't count on the times. That will change, I can almost guarantee that. Terri and I tend to do this schedule at least three times before February, so this year we just decided to wait. We'll let you know when the schedule is ready for you to depend on.

VISITORS AND CONFEREES
So, the Cove is a non-profit organization. And though some of you may work or have a non-profit you must understand that their policies are 1) not ours 2) set up by their board, Uncle Sam and their powers that be. They may not be what you think they should be but it is what it is. As an event non-profit, they are required by federal and NC state laws to maintain specific things. The one that is most inconvenient, is that individuals must be registered and attending a conference to stay on-campus. They must account for each person on the premises to fulfil their state and federal mandates that govern their non-profit. This is why even if a husband and wife attend, they must both register and pay as individuals. The Cove is a hotel but it is not a for-profit hotel, so you cannot pay one price for a room and have 4 people share it. Everyone must be accounted for and therefore, they are charged individually. Again, this is not our rules, but how the Cove must maintain their non-profit status. If you have a spouse attending, they must attend some of the conference. We always recommend our general sessions. 

The Cove does have personal retreats but they are very limited and there is a cost involved. If your spouse would like to attend, you would need to contact the Cove yourself and ask about the time and cost for a personal retreat. There are stipulations for those retreats. If your spouse choses to do a personal retreat, please let me know so I can still mark them on housing. They will not be able to attend our conference, but they will be on-campus appropriately and their meals are included with their housing in a personal retreat.

We have 119 slots for conferees. In other words, 119 seats in the auditorium on the 3rd floor where we meet. There is no room for visitors. The fire codes allow 119 on the 3rd floor. So we do not encourage you to have folks come meet you at the Cove to visit. We recommend you meet them off campus and visit.

I know you wonder why I offer this information, but each year we have folks who ask the questions about why their spouse has to pay, why can't they join me for meals, or why can't Auntie Em visit? This is why I offer you these explanations.

OUR NEWSLETTERS ARE POSTED ON THE SITE

Also, each newsletter is posted on the website  at https://ashevillechristianwritersconference.com/newsletters . 
Folks said my newsletters were too long last year so I am giving you links and trusting that you are super dooper enough, to go there and read.
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WHY DO I REPEAT MYSELF?
You will notice that there is repetition in the newsletter. This is because we have new folks signing up weekly. BUT, that doesn't mean you don't read the newsletter, because things change...like our schedule or classes. Updates on mentoring availability and critique availability. Read your news letter.

 

MENTORING AND CRITIQUES -  Our mentoring slots are filling quickly. Terri only has a few left so if you are interested in a 1-hour mentoring session, act quickly. Plus, your mentor will need your work soon so they can study and prepare to mentor you. Visit the mentoring and critiques page and take advantage of this unique opportunity. There is a small cost involved but folks, let me say this, to spend one hour individual time with a professional is worth it's weight in gold. Check out the page for genres, critiquers and mentors, then if you feel like this is for you, do it. Remember the slots fill up quickly so if you want a mentor, decide quickly. You can contact Terri Kelly if you wish to participate. Her email is [email protected] . She will be happy to help you schedule that time and help you get in touch with your mentor. Currently we have Larry Leech, Edie Melson, Linda Gilden, Billy Wayne Arrington, Linda Goldfarb, Tammy Karasek. Also Andrea Merrell and Denise Loock. 

Scholarships - Our scholarships have been awarded. We have exhausted our funds. If you feel touched, we always accept donations to help other conferees attend. Contact me at cindy[email protected] if you would like to donate.

Contests - Sparrow Book Award - Sarah Loudin Thomas heads up our book contest and Andrea Merrell is wonderful to help with the devotions contest. Visit the link for information on both of these. Time is ticking down. https://ashevillechristianwritersconference.com/bookcontest

VISIT OUR FACULTY PAGE
Get to know your faculty. Visit us at https://ashevillechristianwritersconference.com/faculty
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Please pray for this conference. Pray that God will send those He'd have attend. Pray that we are able to be His light into a world that so needs Him. Pray that our staff and faculty are safe, well and ready to serve when February arrives. Pray for good weather and a problem free conference.

One final thing. God has spoken to my heart this summer. He whispered, "Cindy, I AM. I will. I already have. Because I AM who I AM. Do you believe this? I do.

Please, please go to your browser security and mark [email protected] as a safe email. This will assure you that you receive the newsletters.


Cindy Sproles
Director