Feb. 10, 2012 – “That’s interesting … That’s really interesting,” I said in response to her, my friend, who was telling me, “I don’t believe in God.” This occurred three weeks ago up on the Goat Trail. For me this situation may have been similar to what my sister-in-law talks about when she tells this [...]
Read more...I read this week in the Village Voice an invitation to share “Holden Stories.” I’d like to use Matins this morning to tell part of ours. I learned on Monday from the J-term students that Holden’s original name was Holden Village: A Place Apart. When life up this mountain includes power outages due to avalanche [...]
Read more...Dear Mom and Dad, How do I describe Holden in the winter? I guess the last few days would suffice, but really, they’re only a slice of the full experience. We’re finally getting some snowfall. I say that as the inured second-year villager who felt that the 10-feet of cumulative snow as of mid-January was [...]
Read more...Martin Luther King Jr., the famed civil rights leader, is the man we remember and honor today. As I was reading some of King’s writings this weekend, I thought of the ways I honor or do not honor the civil rights leader. I know I often get caught up in my own day-to-day without much [...]
Read more...Empathy is a weird word for me – not that it sounds weird, just that it seemed to take a long time for me to learn. I suspect this is because it’s a word that contains much more than its meaning. A while ago, I read an op-ed piece in the New York Times by [...]
Read more...On the first night we came, December 28, the pastor talked of the Feast of the Innocents which remembers Herod’s slaughtering of all the male children aged 2 and younger, because he was afraid of Christ’s coming power. At Matins the next morning, David [Messenbring] told the story of the storyteller – how the storyteller’s [...]
Read more...I’m thinking right now about the Christmas Eve Pageant that accompanied the service on Saturday. Mary and Joseph walked proudly out to their chairs set on a stage; giggles erupted at the braying of a donkey who was crawling on all fours. Animals of all kinds clustered around the couple, and then came the host [...]
Read more...The antiphon for Dec. 21, Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, is “O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice …” It came to life as the morning sun highlighted Dumbell Peak, making the mountain shimmer with brilliance. The light of “Radiant Dawn” was still alive as we entered the longest [...]
Read more...I’ve been preparing for Christmas by getting to know the woman for whom I am named: Mary, daughter of Anne, mother of Jesus. Before now, I was never that interested in Mary. I blame the Christmas pageants of my childhood. Mary never had anything to DO nor lines to say. She just sat there, smiling [...]
Read more...With guidance from Creative Resident Lisa Dahill, Holden Villagers are exploring and personalizing ancient prayers known as the “O Antiphons” during the final week before Christmas. The seven antiphons traditionally are sung in conjunction with Mary’s song (The Magnificat) at Vespers. They are also familiar to modern worshipers through the beloved hymn, “O Come, O [...]
Read more...Feb. 10, 2012 – “That’s interesting … That’s really interesting,” I said in response to her, my friend, who was telling me, “I don’t believe in God.” This occurred three weeks ago up on the Goat Trail. For me this situation may have been similar to what my sister-in-law talks about when she tells this [...]
I read this week in the Village Voice an invitation to share “Holden Stories.” I’d like to use Matins this morning to tell part of ours. I learned on Monday from the J-term students that Holden’s original name was Holden Village: A Place Apart. When life up this mountain includes power outages due to avalanche [...]
