Fall Leaves and the Holden Bell

About Holden

Over the course of 50 years, Holden Village has been transformed from a copper mining town to a vibrant place of education, programming, and worship. It has been a rich journey of faith. Holden welcomes all who seek contemplation and community in the remote wilderness of the beautiful Cascade Mountains. We invite people of all ages to come and experience our rhythms, which inspire and equip travelers to continue a sustainable life of faith outside the Village. And we continue to listen to and reflect on our story and history as we seek to discover our place in God’s creative mission in our world.

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Kathie Caemmerer-Bach, Stacy Kitahata and Mark Bach
Holden Village Executive Directors

A Place Apart

No roads lead to Holden Village, which makes the journey itself exceptional. Most visitors arrive by boat, taking the historic Lady of the Lake ferry from Chelan or Fields Point to the Lucerne boat dock. There are also a small proportion of visitors who choose to complete the pilgrimage on foot – hiking into the Village from trails connected to the Pacific Crest Trail.

The isolation of the Village creates room for a unique way of life at Holden. As a “place apart,” Holden inspires rhythms of living that vary with the seasons. Summer offers a diverse program menu from learning sessions by visiting faculty to art courses and family programs. Other seasons offer their own rhythms, providing time for personal reflection, outdoor recreation, exploration of our art and craft studios, and good conversation.

Education

At Holden, the summer season brings a robust lineup of visiting faculty to the Village. Specializing in a breadth of disciplines from ecology and art to theology and social justice, formal and informal teaching sessions present diverse perspectives on our world's most pressing issues.

Volunteers

Since its founding, Holden has relied on a tradition of volunteer service. Operations depend on the efforts of more than a thousand volunteers annually who stay in the Village between 2 weeks and 1 year. This generous giving of time and talents makes Holden a vibrant and supportive community of renewal.