Summer registration is open NOW!

After some delay, registration is open for Summer! Starting today, book your Holden Village visit between June 1-September 3. Explore the spectacular faculty already scheduled. Bring family and friends of all ages to explore art, faith, community, conversations outside, a hike in the scenic backcountry and more.

This is the year to make Holden Village an annual tradition!

Registration Update

Enjoy the changes to our booking site, recently upgraded. The improvements aim to make registration faster, easier, and more flexible!

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.

Group Rates

Groups can apply starting today for visits to Holden Village January - September 2, 2025. We are accepting and welcoming groups all summer, even the peak season!

Group Application Form

Faculty Preview

Aja Martinez and Robert O. Smith

(June 9-12)

Authors and professors Aja Martinez and Robert O. Smith lead sessions that draw on three new co-authored book projects on the history of Critical Race Theory

Barbara Rossing

(June 23-26)

Barbara Rossing, New Testament scholar and former Holden Village pastor, collaborates with guest musician Tom Witt to explore Dan Erlander's Manna and Mercy: A Brief History of God's Unfolding Promise to Mend the Entire Universe.

Heidi Neumark

(June 30-July 3)

Heidi Neumark will lead a Bible Study. She is the founding member of South Bronx Churches, an ecumenical community organizing group, and the author of three books, including Sanctuary: Being Christian in the Wake of Trump.

Richard Nance

(July 14-17)

Richard Nance conducted Pacific Lutheran University's Choir of the West from 2006-2022. Together with longtime Holdenite Steve Wolbrecht at the keyboard, Nance will conduct a choir of Village staff and guests.

Wilda Gafney

(July 28-31)

Wilda Gafney, biblical scholar, has written a three-volume A Womanist Lectionary for the Whole Church which Holden has been using over the past year-and-a-half. She will lead sessions from her Womanist Midrash, which draws on African-American preaching traditions to tell the stories of Biblical women.

Larry Rasmussen

(August 4-7)

Larry Rasmussen, renowned Christian environmental ethicist and Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics Emeritus at Union Theological Seminary, leads sessions on the theological and moral dimensions of climate change.

The summer faculty list is always evolving.

Return to the website for regular updates.

View Full Faculty List

Family Option

This summer, Holden welcomes families and their children to join the village as volunteers. Through the Holden Village Narnia school, children can attend class while their parents perform work of the village. The Family Option allows the Village to facilitate some families that might not normally be able to live and work at Holden during the season.

The 2025 Holden Family work option begins June 6th. Applications are open now. Download the form at the link below, fill it out and mail it to staffing@holdenvillage.org

Apply for Family Option

Learn More

Abriendo Caminos

(August 10-16)

Join in the celebration of Latine heritage and bilingual programming featuring Jorge Lockward. You can learn more about the ELCA Latino Ministry strategy here.

Learn More

Plan your trip now!

Winter Events

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.

Learn More

BOOK YOUR VISIT

The Holidays at Holden

Christmas Festivites

This Christmas, the Village welcomed over thirty guests for the holiday. (And over eighty for New Year's). It’s always wonderful to gather, decorate the tree, feast, and worship in community. Plenty of new snowfall added to the Christmas spirit.

See the latest updates on our Facebook page:

Link

View Christmas photos

Moonlit Mountains

Enjoy an escape from the sounds and light of the city. During the longest night of the year, we were dazzled starry skies, and a Village bathed in the beauty of the moonlight.

Nathan McClure, Garbologist and Photographer Extraordinaire, captured some amazing photos of the mountains in moonlight. You can see more great pictures by following us on Instagram.

Visit Instagram

Return to Simplicity

Learn how to make Village favorites like Holden Bread, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, and Aria’s Tofu Nuggets. Edited by generations of head cooks and food service leads, the Return to Simplicity cookbook encapsulates Holden Village’s Food Philosophy and showcases the community's rich culinary traditions.

Only $25 each—Purchase yours now online at the Holden Store!

Visit Store