Dear Alan and Kathy,
Thanks to two very wonderful members of the church in North Carolina I just found your site. I must first thank you for having the courage and time to put together this wonderful "meeting place".
I have been a member of church all my life but have only discovered naturism in the past 5 years. My ex wife and I first visited Glen Eden in California as an opportunity (suggestion from a marriage counselor) to see if it would help our marriage. The experience (at Glen Eden) was a real eye-opener. Glen Eden is a family resort and nothing could have been more wholesome than the atmosphere we found there. All my life I had wrongly believed that all nudist resorts were a place of sexual debauchery (and I'm sure there are some). But nothing could have been further from the truth about Glen Eden, as we were to find out.
I must confess however that I had more than a little fear driving up to the gate. However after about 15 minutes inside the resort I found that I was more comfortable than I have ever felt in my entire life. That experience (at Glen Eden) changed forever my feeling about social nudity. Up until this point I had never experienced any nudity in public. While at the resort we met some absolutely wonderful families and conversation was easy and relaxed.
That weekend mended a lot of fences for my wife and I and I honestly believe that if we could have moved near there we might have still been married today. However we lived in Utah at that time, and not having a resort close-by made social nudity somewhat difficult. We tried a couple of the AANR clubs in Utah but could not seem to make any real positive connections especially in regards to members of the church.
Skipping ahead a year, sadly the divorce took place, and my new job took me to Missouri. My job here is one, that while it pays well, it is also VERY stressful. To make a long story short my stress was starting to affect my work about two years ago. A recommendation from a friend who said I might try a naturist retreat again, since I seemed to enjoy it so much the first time.
So I tried the Internet to find some resorts and/or clubs and, to my surprise, was told (by the resort closest to me) that they limited single men to attending only on weekdays, when it was not as busy. Well I was somewhat discouraged, to say the least, but did attend on a weekday and must again confess that the stress relief was nothing short of marvelous. Since that time I have become a card carrying AANR and TNS (Naturist Society) member even though I really wish I was more welcome at more AANR resorts. I can and do understand their reluctance however.
It was during a Naturist Gathering Last Fall at Cherokee Lodge in Tennessee that I had the pleasure of meeting two of the greatest people I know. While on a hike to a skinny-dipping spot I noticed that one of the ladies (whose husband was carrying their 6-month-old baby) was wearing a CTR ring. Anyway a great conversation ensued about how they came to be nudists, and their living in North Carolina. Most of this conversation was about the church.
Because of that connection mostly
(and of course the fact we met at a naturist gathering) we have become
fast friends for life. Many a conversation has taken place since
that first meeting and many times we have said wouldn't it be wonderful
if there was a group of fellow members of the church that felt the same
as we did about social nudity. Now, thanks to you we have it.
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