The Village Now
“If we understood this place, we’d destroy it.” - Hortie Christman, retired logger and longtime Village volunteer
After a half century, the Village is still indescribable. Holden is still mainly staffed by volunteers (already by 1971, one million volunteer hours had been contributed). More than one third of its annual budget comes from thousands of small gifts. Village life is upheld by daily worship – the twenty minute or so Vespers is still the one discipline that all attend. (“Vespers longer than twenty minutes are boring and boredom is a sign of the demonic.” Carroll Luther Hinderlie).
Of course, there have been hundreds of changes, improvements and losses. Some ventures, bright with promise, faded: for example, the Lucerne property and Tekoa community at 25 Mile Creek on Lake Chelan. Some construction took a generation: Chalet 2 was finally rebuilt in 2006. Some ventures have changed with the times; 45 years of taped sessions are now housed on the internet. Some things are new, like yurts!
Always there are new people—with new challenges for a Village that can never be complacent. The Columbia Valley is now home to a vibrant Latino-American Culture. The Valley has changed. In the ’60s and early ’70s, Holden volunteers would sometimes make up for their lack of summer income by picking fruit in the Wenatchee Valley; 30 years later, Holden Village hosts Abriendo Caminos each August. And the Gospel keeps on living by controversy—from African American Theologians confronting the Village in the early ’70s to Haiti Week in 2011. What a great conversation.
There have been eight directors (or directorial “teams”) over 50 years. There has been experimentation with different Village models, but as John Schramm wrote to the Holden Board in his final report, the centrality of the Cross is crucial to Holden’s health. When the Cross is not at the center of Village life, all sorts of ideals contend for prominence. When the Cross is at the center, every idea and ideal is in play. The Village can never be explained: Holden Village proclaims a God whose power is perfected in weakness. The Village remains a mystery and is always, God willing, hilarious.
In 2006, Holden’s Board reformulated the Village Mission, Vision and Core Values statement to as follows:
The vision of Holden Village is the love of God making new the church and world through the cross of Jesus Christ.
The mission of Holden Village, a Lutheran ministry, is to welcome all people into the wilderness to be called, equipped and sent by God as we share rhythms of Word and sacrament, work, recreation and study, intercession and healing.
Holden Village Core Values
WORSHIP We are grounded and united in daily Gospel-centered worship.
THEOLOGY We interpret Word, sacrament, and daily life through the Lutheran theology of the cross.
HOSPITALITY We offer lavish hospitality to all.
VOCATION We believe that God calls all persons to love and serve God and neighbor.
DIVERSITY We celebrate the unity and diversity of all God’s children.
GRACE We offer ourselves to one another in mutual forgiveness, conversation and respect.
SHALOM We trust God’s mercy as we pray and work for justice and peace.
ECOLOGY We celebrate and seek to serve creation’s well being through faithful patterns of daily living.
GIFTS We express gratitude to God for extravagant gifts of creativity, imagination and ingenuity in all who volunteer.
STUDY We value critical thinking, provocative discussion, and the integration of learning and experience.
REST We embrace God’s gift of sabbath by offering refreshment to those who are weary.
PLACE We commit to be grateful stewards of the surprising gift of Holden Village and its place in the wilderness.
COMMUNITY We believe that the Holden community includes all who care for Holden through their labor, gifts and prayers.
HILARITY We love that holy hilarity returns us to the joy and freedom of the Gospel, which alone overcomes all our lapses of mission, strategies, goals, garbology, dishteam, work, and relationships.
To view a list of Holden Village’s yearly themes from 1965 to present, click here