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Greetings!
People often ask us why we came to Holden Village. They wonder what inspired our family to move across the country and join this remote community in the wilderness. While it’s easy to remark on the beautiful setting, and trust us, that was a huge draw, the biggest thing that brought us to Holden is the belief that this community can be a model for what is possible in the world.
All of us are too familiar with the destruction and vitriol that characterizes much of our society right now. We see the deep pain that is happening because too many people believe they don’t need each other. Too many people believe their happiness and well-being are independent of their neighbors’.
But Holden Village reveals our interconnectedness by showing us the transformational power of community. The transformational power of living in community. Not because we are with people we agree with all the time, or even people we get along with. This community is powerful because it reminds us that we are connected as beloved children of God. That your well-being and my well-being are intertwined.
And the power of this community lasts long after you leave the Railroad Creek Valley. The transformational experiences we have at Holden Village go with us into the larger world. They remind us that another way of living is possible. They inspire us to not just dream of another way, but to usher it into being– to cultivate a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world.
That is why we came to this place, and maybe that’s why you come to Holden too. Because Holden Village is a community that sustains life. It’s a community where we acknowledge and honor our interdependence. A community where our relationships with each other, with the earth, and with What Is, the Source of Life Itself, are nourished and lifted up. A community that challenges us not to escape from the world, but to go out and make it better.
With Good Courage,
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