March is Women's History month, an opportunity to celebrate the strength, creativity, and countless contributions toward peace and justice made by women within and beyond the Holden community. Join us in highlighting the voices and stories of the women who make life at Holden possible!

Holden Village uses an inclusive definition of women and welcomes trans women and non-binary folks.

Holden Village Co-Director Kathie Caemmerer-Bach shared this story about one woman who is important in her life.

At 27, I was a high school English teacher working for the American School in Taipei when I was handed an application to participate in a summer seminar offered by the National SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) Project. Months later, I was on my way to a week-long experience in Colorado that ended up shaping my career and changing my life. Not only did SEED give me an inspiring new community of women educators spurred by a bold, transformative vision, it gave me tools and fresh new metaphors for engaging that vision for equity and diversity in life and leadership. 

Today, SEED is the nation’s largest interdisciplinary program preparing teachers to do deeply personal group work in their own institutions. Its founder, Peggy McIntosh, who became a mentor to me that summer and later a friend, was inducted (along with tennis phenom Serena Williams) into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2024 for her “unflinching commitment to naming white privilege and confronting systemic forces of oppression.” Many reading this will know Peggy for her article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” 

Peggy and the SEED project likely don’t need additional accolades from me. However, as I come to the final chapter of my formal career, I’d like to raise up her work and the work of SEED this Women’s History Month as we honor those women who have birthed so many transformation gifts into the world. 

Here is one SEED metaphor that continues to shape and inform me today:

• Window/Mirror - from SEED sister, Emily Jane Styles, this simple wisdom challenges educational leaders to create environments and curriculum that both affirm students' lived experiences and open up new worlds and stories outside of their experiences. Beyond the classroom, Window/Mirror challenges all institutions to ask whose faces are being reflected in leadership, in history, in the arts, in every facet of community influence and impact. It asks, “Is EVERY person seeing self and other?” 

At Holden Village, we have important Window/Mirror work to do as we practice living into a mission of hospitality for all. Next time you come to the Village, look for your windows and mirrors. 

Window: At Holden, what experiences show you worlds that are unfamiliar and throw a window open inviting you to look out? As Shirley Murray prays in her hymn “Give me wit to welcome change / to accept and not estrange” (ACS1020) These words acknowledge that we all need help and stamina to stay curious and open-hearted. That’s our “window” work. 

Mirror: At Holden, what experiences sing to you like a familiar song and affirm your story, your traditions, your ancestry? As we learn to name how an experience “mirrors” our lives, we also learn to take responsibility for what we feel and believe and grow in compassion for ourselves. 

Thank you to Peggy McIntosh and to all of the SEED siblings out there standing strong and committed to equity and diversity practices in our nation’s schools. If there are any educators out there reading this - men and women - look for a local SEED chapter near you. There are thousands now.

Do you have a story or reflection on Holden Village or women's history month you want to share? Email Carl at communications@holdenvillage.org

Following high registration for the February Women’s retreat, Holden village hosts a second women’s retreat this week!

Thank you to all the participants and teaching faculty for making such meaningful connections, creating art together, and deepening love in this place.

Preparations are under way for 2026 Women's Retreats. Watch our social media for dates and information about those events.

Themes carry through this summer with these faculty and more:

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah is the President and CEO of Global Refuge, formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. She previously served in the Obama White House as Policy Director for First Lady Michelle Obama and at the State Department as Senior Advisor under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of State John Kerry. She has been recognized as one of The Daily Record’s “Top 100 Women” and serves on the Advisory Committee of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration. July 28-31

Kari Lerum is a researcher, scholar, educator, & social justice advocate. She is an Associate Professor of Gender, Women, & Sexuality studies at University of Washington Bothell. She will spotlight how conservative, moderate, and progressive faith communities in the U.S. have influenced policies around sex education, family & reproductive justice, and the treatment of sex workers and LGBTQ+ individuals. August 25-28

Haven Herrin has served for over 15 years at Soulforce, an LGBTQ+ organization working at the intersection of sexuality, gender, race, and Christian Supremacy. CoFacilitator Cole Parke-West has worked as a research analyst (aka “Queer Spy”) at Political Research Associates, a social justice think tank dedicated to understanding and interrupting right-wing extremism. Join Herrin and Parke-West for an expansive and engaging exploration of embodied practice, ritual design, and community transformation. August 25-28

Holden's Accent Resource Newsletter released a special issue honoring Women's History Month in 1993.

Pulled from the Holden Village archives, read a piece written by Nadine Addington, a member of the 1992 summer teaching faculty. Addington was the first black administrator at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, where she worked from 1986 to 1995.

You can also hear recordings from her 1992 lectures bellow.

www.holdenvillage.org

PHOTOS:

Berit Kirkegaard, Beck Dengler, with excerpts from the Holden Village archive

Video edited by Ellen Callender & Elli Vegdahl-Crowell



Newsletter edited by Carl Norquist & Ellen Callender