As we navigate this unpredictable time, we are working hard to continue to offer safe, creative spaces for learning, play, and building community! Holden Village is excited to announce three spring 2026 facilitator sessions. 

These sessions include a Pacific Northwest tour of Isaiah Vespers and two free virtual education seminars. These musicians and facilitators are helping to carry Holden Village’s mission of pilgrimage and transformation beyond the mountains and out into the world. You can learn more about them on the Holden Village Faculty page linked below.

Also keep following our website calendar and social media channels for information about in-person retreats being planned across the country this summer.

In addition to faculty sessions, Holdenites can look forward to other events happening this spring. Holden Prayer Around the World is scheduled for the week of April 26 and invites communities to participate in a shared sacred space. A special Work Weekend is scheduled to take place May 1–3 at the Holden B&B to help caretaker Roberta catch up on some needed projects and repairs, and Holden Co-Executive Director Bjørn Peterson will offer a lecture on "Calling and Place" May 17 as part of the Trinity Lecture series in Renton, WA. 

Offering meaningful programming that embraces the intellectual, spiritual, and emotional aspects of faith continues to be a core part of Holden Village’s mission. During this closure, your continued participation in these events helps to cultivate a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world.

Keep reading to learn more about spring programming and how you can connect. 

Note: Your email may clip off sections of this newsletter. To view the entire message, keep on scrolling.

In this three-part conversation, Paths to Understanding executive director Pastor Terry Kyllo and program director Hannah Hochkeppel invite participants to explore how faith, courage, and love of neighbor can help us move towards a society where everyone belongs and everyone can thrive. 

Paths to Understanding is an interfaith nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering community connections and promoting understanding across diverse backgrounds.

Join award-winning singer-songwriter John Hermanson and editor/arranger, cellist, and vocalist Maren Haynes Marchesini for a Pacific Northwest Tour of “Isaiah Vespers: Is this the fast we choose?”

The music draws from the Book of Isaiah, a collection of prophetic texts in the Jewish canon. Isaiah Vespers was conceived in residencies and commissions in a variety of contexts including Holden Village. Copies of the service are available through the Holden store.

We talked to John and Maren in July. You can hear the conversation, and excerpts from the Isaiah Vespers, on the Holden Village Podcast.

Rev. Chantal McKinney’s first book, Following Jesus Beyond Church Walls: A Catalyst for Your Spiritual Growth will be released April 7th of this year. The book takes readers on a grounded journey of lament, healing, and spiritual discovery as she explores aspects of following Jesus that have been suppressed in patriarchal Christian culture, leading to an inspiring and empowering vision of what the future church can become.

Through discussion and Q&A, we will explore Rev. McKinney’s powerful memoir and spiritual reflection on faith, church harm, and what endures beyond it. 

REGISTRATION COMING SOON

We are less than one month away from Holden Evening Prayer Around the World. 

As we go to press, almost 40 congregations around the region have indicated they plan to participate sometime during this week. These gatherings present an opportunity to gather with the beloved Vespers ‘86.

To see where these events are happening and find a location near you, check out our HEPAW map here. Many communities will livestream their events, including the in-village caretaker crew. Those links will be shared at a later date.

Reference herein to any specific commercial products or services does not necessarily constitute or imply its

endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by Holden Village.

PHOTOS: Carl Norquist, Ellen Callender

Newsletter edited by Carl Norquist