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Hello Holden,
A blanket of snow covers Holden Village. So far this season, we’ve received over 55 inches, and the coldest– and darkest days of winter are still ahead.
As the sun falls below Buckskin peak, we take joy in the light of the advent season.This week, the Village celebrates Los Posadas– the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem and their rejection from shelter and hospitality. Los Posadas invites reflection on the plight of immigrants and refugees and what it is like to be an outsider seeking shelter today. Las Posadas challenges us to open our doors and our hearts to the strangers in our midst.
Beneath all the glitter and dazzle of the holiday season, is God's call to action. When we celebrate Thanksgiving, Los Posadas, and Christmas we engage the consistent plea for justice. Throughout these narratives we find God’s abiding and transforming love for the most vulnerable among us and around the world. As a community we look for creative practices to inhabit these stories and live out God’s love daily.
Living out the gospel is good work, and not always comfortable. This too is Work of the Village.
Faithfully,
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Stacy Kitahata, Mark Bach, and Kathie Bach
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Christmas Shopping with Holden | |
Buy a Cookbook!
Next time you are in the village, stop by the Holden Village store and purchase the Return to Simplicity cookbook. Take the tastes and aromas of Holden Village home with you.
Available in the bookstore for $25
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Holden Store Questionnaire
We are looking for feedback on the Holden Store in order to inform our product selection and displays in the new year. The survey only takes a few moments. Thank you for taking a few minutes to let us know what is important to you.
Click here to complete the Holden Store Questionnaire.
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Village Wishlist
Want to surprise Holden with some Christmas presents? Visit this Wish List link to browse and purchase items Holden staff have identified as helpful to the work and life of the Village. These selections also align closely with Holden's efforts to source item(s) from ethical and sustainable companies. Please make sure to ship the item(s) directly to:
Holden Village at HC 0 Box 2,
Chelan, WA 98816.
And thank you!
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Registration for our Winter and Spring season is open now! The Village is excited to offer a range of special events, teachings, and sacred gatherings that connect participants with the natural beauty of our environment and one another. Whether you’re interested in education and self-reflection or wintertime adventures, there is a place for you at Holden Village.
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Christmas Festivities SPACE AVAILABLE
December 20-27
Christmas includes a winter solstice walk on the longest night of the year and Yule bonfire. Guests can expect a candlelight service with Holy Communion on Christmas eve and a Christmas feast meal on Christmas day.
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J-Term FULLY BOOKED
January 6-29
In January, 50-60 students from St. Olaf, PLU, Augsburg, and Wartburg fill the village. J-term is an opportunity for students to live, work, and learn in the intentional Holden community. Many current staff were first introduced to the Village through their school's J-term programs.
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Cascade Wolverine Project
SPACE AVAILABLE
The Cascades Wolverine Project has been visiting Holden for a few years now. Committed biologists passionate about the dwindling population of wolverines in the Cascades come through the Village to conduct research and teach the Holden community about these wonderful and misunderstood animals.
Project researchers ski deep into the back country around Holden and set up cameras, hoping to learn more about these elusive creatures. This winter the team will be visiting Holden three times collect data, show their documentary “Finding Gulo”, present their findings, and teach us how we can help support wolverine recovery.
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If you attend any of these events you will be left with a new passion for conservation and a deeper love of our precious North Cascades.
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January 6-8 with evening presentation on Monday the 6th.
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February 7-10 with evening presentation on Saturday the 8th.
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March 12-14 with evening presentation on Wednesday the 12th.
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Women's Retreat FULLY BOOKED
January 31-February 3
Through teaching sessions, group conversations, reflections, crafts, and outdoor adventures the Women’s retreat provides opportunities to reconnect with the self, and join other women in conversation and recreation.
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PhD ecologist Nate Hough-Snee
February 19-23 SPACE AVAILABLE
Nate’s interdisciplinary approach to rivers, streams, wetlands, and forests informs ecosystem management and restoration. Join Holden Village for a week of poetry and presentations about the Lake Chelan and greater ecosystems
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Men's Retreat SPACE AVAILABLE
February 28-March 3
What holds you back from living fully out of your own belovedness? What holds you back from loving the world in a bold and beautiful way? Holden welcomes all men on all parts of the continuum of gender identity and expression for a weekend of spiritual renewal and recreation at our 2025 Men's Retreat co-hosted by Illuman of Washington.
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Plan Your Summer Trip to Holden Village | |
Summer Theme: Life Anew
"When you send forth your Spirit, they are created. And you renew the face of the earth." - Psalm 104:30
Join us summer 2025 to reflect on ten years since the Wolverine Fire and lift up new directors in the Village.
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Barbara Rossing
Barbara Rossing is a New Testament professor who loves to teach and preach about the Bible, including the Bible’s role in public life. She taught at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago for thirty years, and she served as pastor at Holden Village 1986-88.
From June 23-26, in collaboration with guest musician Tom Witt, Rossing will be leading sessions on Dan Erlander's Manna and Mercy: A Brief History of God's Unfolding Promise to Mend the Entire Universe.
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Richard Nance
Richard Nance was the conductor of Pacific Lutheran University's Choir of the West from 2006-2022. Nance's choirs, conducting, and choral compositions have won numerous awards and honors.
Together with longtime Holdenite Steve Wolbrecht at the keyboard, Nance will conduct a choir of Village staff and guests July 14-17.
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Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney
The Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney is a biblical scholar whose work focuses on translation of the scriptures for congregations and lay readers, womanist and feminist biblical interpretation, and women who prophesied in ancient Israel and the ancient Afro-Asiatic world.
Holden Village has been using Dr. Gafney's three-volume A Womanist Lectionary for the Whole Church in our Eucharist services over the past year-and-a-half. On July 28-31, she will be leading sessions from her Womanist Midrash, which draws on African-American preaching traditions to tell the stories of Biblical women.
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Abriendo Caminos
August 10-16
John in the celebration of Latine heritage! This week will feature special, bi-lingual programming in partnership with Holden’s Latine community members, including Copa de Holden, a meal of community-made tamales, and a week-end fiesta. You can learn more about the ELCA Latino Ministry strategy here.
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Summer Registration Opens January 3! | |
Holden Village is preparing to roll out a new registration system. From December 18-21, the current registration will go offline to transition to the new software. Registration will not be available during those days. Watch our social media pages for updates. | |
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Support Holden's
Year-end Fundraising Goal
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Help Holden reach our $100,000 goal! Contribute to the vital ministry of Holden by returning your gift in the reply envelope provided in the mailing, or by donating directly at this link. Major credit cards are accepted.
With your contributions, Holden Village continues to co-create a space that values hospitality, human connection, and spiritual growth in the coming new year. Together, we can welcome all to the wilderness and cultivate a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world for which God longs!
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A letter from Abby d'Ambruoso, Village Pastor:
In the Christian liturgical calendar, the season of Advent is a time to prepare for the Holy Guest who comes to abide with us. Like a host who scurries about arranging the house for hospitality, we may notice anew all the places that are not yet in a state of readiness for guests. In our earthly home there are many situations that need to be addressed: injustice, violence, hunger, despair, just to name a few. Each unlit candle on the Advent wreath stands for all the places where we long for God’s redeeming love and power to bring healing and hope.
On December 13th, we reenacted St. Lucia with a procession of light, special bread (lussekatter) and a retelling of the story of Lucy, who was a martyr of the early Christian church near Rome. One of the legends of St. Lucy tells of a woman with a crown of candles bringing food to Christians hiding in caves. Let us be like St. Lucia: feeding the hungry and resisting the ways of the empire.
As we make space in our hearts and our homes for the Christ child, we work together to make the world a welcoming and caring place, so that all may sleep in heavenly peace.
Pastor Abby
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Join the Holden team and experience a community and work environment like no other!
Open Volunteer Positions:
Open Employee Positions
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The Holden Board welcomes applicants for Executive Director. Deadline for submission December 20. Term begins September 1, 2025.The primary responsibility of the Executive Director(s) is to nurture the Village’s Mission, Vision, and Values, animating them and keeping them central to Village life and work. | |
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Support Holden, Save on Taxes!
The end of the year is filled with joy, generosity—and for some, a little bit of tax savings! Retirees who have reached the age 70½ can make tax-free charitable gifts from your IRA through a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). This allows you to donate directly to Holden Village without the distribution being counted as taxable income. Distributions must be made by December 31 for 2024, and other restrictions apply. Contact your IRA custodian today to set up your QCD for Holden Village!
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Reference herein to any specific commercial products or services does not necessarily constitute or imply its
endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by Holden Village.
PHOTOS: Amy Huacani, Ellen Callender, Elli Vegdahl-Crowell, Kristin Storey, Berit Kirkegaard, Hannah Johnson,
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