Greetings!
Summertime is in full swing in the Railroad Creek Valley. Villagers find renewal by attending teaching faculty sessions, making block prints in the art studio, venturing into the forest, wading in the creek, eating fresh cherries and peaches from local orchards, and more.
As Holden Village contemplates the theme of Jubilee, the community grapples with the tensions between claiming the rest and renewal that Jubilee aspires, and the stress and difficulty of short staffing.
As you have probably seen on the news and noticed in local businesses, many places face staffing shortages in the wake of the pandemic. Unfortunately, Holden Village is no exception to this national trend.
There have been many things we’ve had to release and let go of. As we move into the fall, we are modifying our guest season to being open select weekends. Help us renew this community by sharing volunteer and employee positions far and wide!
Faithfully,
Stacy Kitahata, Mark Bach, and Kathie Bach
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Teaching Faculty Highlight
Listen to an interview with Maya Mineoi who served on Teaching Faculty at Holden in mid-June!
“My work is about being embodied, about being connected; whole."
Maya Mineoi 三根生 真矢 (they/them) comes from a lineage of gardeners, community organizers, and musicians. They are a somatic therapist with a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Maya brings ancestral values of creativity, attentiveness, and slowing down into sessions. With play and gentleness, participants will attune themselves to their surroundings and their needs for freedom, connection and rest. Maya uses movement, touch, psychosomatic education, imagery, breathwork, and stillness to help each nervous system embody presence.
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Save the Date - Jubilee Auction |
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Celebrate Holden Village's 60th anniversary and support Holden for the future!
As Holden continues to navigate the pandemic challenges, short staffing has required us to cap registration at lower numbers than anticipated.
The third annual online Jubilee Auction on October 5th-9th will help offset the loss of guest revenue from the summer and fall and make it possible to continue to transform the future of Holden Village for another 60 years and beyond!
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We are looking for donations of items and experiences for the auction.
Do you have a vacation home or cabin you'd like to share with the Holden community? Are you an artist or maker with something to donate? Do you have Tickets to sporting events, performances, theaters, concerts that you'd like to give?
If you are interested in donating an item or experience, please contact: laura.development@holdenvillage.org or 509-903-8756.
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We are looking for people to help as Head Cooks, Kitchen Assistants, Services Associates, and more in November, December, and January so we can host guests over the winter holidays. |
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Thank you for sharing Holden volunteer and job opportunities with anyone interested in applying. |
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Above: Summer 2022 Village staff enjoy a special Lake Day field trip to Lake Chelan during a heat wave in July. |
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Kathy's Story
“When planning my retirement, I knew I wanted to come up to Holden and volunteer for a month in my first year.
I’ve always loved the Kitchen and Dining Hall and what happens in that time of gathering in the Holden community. I wanted to be part of creating the space for guests and staff to engage in conversation while eating together.
I’ve been a guest at Holden many times and have had rich experiences. And it is a different kind of experience to be part of helping the village function each day.
Because you are usually here longer you have more opportunities to get to know others and form friendships, and more opportunities to be shaped by the daily rhythms of Village life. We are living together, eating together and worshipping together. We work hard but there is still the space and time to read, weave, attend teaching sessions, hike, reflect, and have great conversations.
I wanted more reflection time at the start of my retirement. I wanted to work and see what bubbles up. Coming here to work is a fantastic opportunity. I was able to do it as a young adult and now that I have more time, I can do it again.”
-Kathy Strand, Kitchen Assistant, short-term volunteer
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Whether digging hands into clay for the first time, or throwing at the wheel for the thousandth time, the Holden Village Pottery Studio offers people of all ages and experience levels the opportunity to practice the joy of the creative process.
Holden’s 20-year-old gas kiln, Abendigo, had a failing brick arch and needed to be rebuilt so that the pottery tradition can continue. Thanks to funds raised in last year’s Jubilee Auction, Holden ordered the bricks and supplies needed and volunteer expert Jim Halvorson and Village Potter, Julia Nellessen, rebuilt the kiln in a week.
Villagers gathered for a joyful celebration and blessing after the completion of the kiln – the coming together of many minds and hands!
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Being unplugged and having fewer distractions is something that many people cherish about visiting Holden. The Village is working on improving our internal technology systems and databases so that you don’t even notice them.
Holden Village is pleased to announce that we have a received a grant from the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust to fund our New Technology project. These funds will help us create a more seamless registration process, improve our website so you can find the information you need, and help us be good stewards of our resources to have better data and not send multiple mailings to your home.
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All individuals pictured have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
Reference herein to any specific commercial products or services does not necessarily constitute or imply its
endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by Holden Village.
PHOTOS: Callie Mabry, Jennifer Wolbrecht, Annika Bernsten, Maeve Bittle, Mark Griffith, Sarah Olsen, Julia Nellessen and courtesy of Maya Mineoi
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