Visit Holden Village this fall to participate in the following events/retreats and learn from incredible faculty! Witness the vibrant yellows of larch trees and orange and red foliage throughout Railroad Creek Valley in autumn. Sip tea or warm apple cider and watch the mist curl around mountain peaks.
Flourishing in the Field
September 11 – September 15, 2023
Description
Artist-activists, educators, and faith leaders Paul Vasile, Maren Haynes Marchesini, and Leah Silvieus will facilitate this five-day retreat exploring topics of collaboration, connection, joy, purpose, rest, and repair. This retreat will be enriching for those seeking ways to incorporate creativity & play into everyday life, those leading or participating in organizations seeking to build communities, and those hoping to recover their sense of purpose and excitement. You can read more on Flourishing in the Field’s blog and Music That Makes Community’s website.
You are invited to arrive on Sunday, September 10th or Monday, September 11th, with retreat programming beginning on the 11th.
About the Faculty
Paul Vasile (He/Him) is a church musician, consultant, composer, and teacher who finds his greatest joy in collaborative and community-centered ministry. Committed to modeling expansive, imaginative, and hospitable experiences of music-making wherever he goes, Paul’s leadership builds trust, invites spaces of creativity, vulnerability, and play, and supports practices of reflection and holistic learning. He is currently Executive Director of Music that Makes Community.
Dr. Maren Haynes-Marchesini (She/Her) serves as Director of Worship & Music at Hope Lutheran Church in Bozeman, Montana. Maren is a choral director, cellist, vocalist, composer and scholar with broad-ranging musical interests. She holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of Washington where she focused on megachurches, gender, and ritual, and she continues scholarly work in Christian music, ethics, and community, including a current research project at Holden Village.
Leah Silvieus (she/her) is the author most recently of the poetry collection Arabilis and is the co-editor of The World I Leave You: Asian American Poets on Faith and Spirit. She holds degrees from Whitworth University, the University of Miami, and Yale Divinity School.
How to Sign-Up
On the Visit Holden page, scroll down to Visit in the Spring, Autumn, or Winter and click on Make a Reservation under the trio of photos.
You’ll see a calendar where you can select an arrival date (Sunday, September 10th or Monday, September 11th) and ending date (September 15th). The reservation system will calculate your rate. Your completed reservation serves as the registration fee for the retreat! A scholarship fund is available. You are encouraged to fill out this form to request tuition support.
Also, be sure to book your travel by boat uplake to Holden Village (on the Lady of the Lake) and downlake to Chelan or Field’s Point (on the Lady of the Lake, Lady Express, or the Stehekin Ferry).
If you have questions about the program, contact Paul Vasile at paul@musicthatmakescommunity.org.
The Fourth Fall Sojourn to Holden Village
September 24 – October 2, 2023
Description
After the busy summer schedule, fall is quieter and a beautiful time to visit. While at Holden Village you will have the opportunity to create your own rhythms for each day according to your interests. You are encouraged to take time for rest and recreation and a host of other activities. This late September week will feature the following teaching staff.
About the Faculty
Mark Gravrock is a wonderful Biblical teacher and scholar. He has taught Bible, Greek, and Christian spirituality for 22 years at Trinity Lutheran College in Washington. He has taught us scripture with keen insight, humor, and grace on three of our other sojourns.
Larry L. Rasmussen, no stranger to Holden is a renowned Christian environmental ethicist and the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics, emeritus, at Union Theological Seminary. His newest book (2022) is, The Planet You Inherit: Letters to My Grandchildren when Uncertainty’s a Sure Thing. He is also the author of Earth Community, Earth Ethics; winner of the Grawemeyer Award; and a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Christian Ethics. He has mentored a generation of scholars in eco-theology and green religion, rooted in practices of environmental justice within community contexts. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Mark Sedio served as Cantor at Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis until he retired in 2022. In addition he has held teaching positions both at Augsburg University and Luther Seminary. Sedio is an active recitalist, clinician, conductor and composer, having presented hymn festivals and workshops throughout North America and Europe. He will be the Village Musician for the week and will help the worship and music life of the village come alive.
Jacqueline Bussie is an award-winning author, professor, theologian, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Her 2nd book, Outlaw Christian: Finding Authentic Faith by Breaking the Rules won the 2017 Gold Medal Illumination Award for Christian Living. Her 3rd book, Love Without Limits: Jesus’ Radical Vision for a Love with No Exceptions, won the IAN Outstanding Religion Book of the Year Award, and just came out in 2nd edition in August 2022. Love Without Limits was also named by Publisher’s Weekly as “a must-read for all Christians interested in inclusivity for their communities.” At Holden Jacqueline will speak on her books and the themes of grief, love, loss, compassion, and interfaith peacebuilding.
Please let Darius Larsen know ASAP if you or others may be interested or have questions at dariuslarsen@msn.com.
How to Sign-Up
On the Visit Holden page, scroll down to Visit in the Spring, Autumn, or Winter and click on Make a Reservation under the trio of photos.
You’ll see a calendar where you can select an arrival date (Sunday, September 24th) and ending date (Monday, October 2nd). The reservation system will calculate your rate. Your completed reservation serves as the registration fee for the retreat. A scholarship fund is available. You are encouraged to fill out this form to request tuition support.
Also, be sure to book your boat travel to and from Holden Village. Learn more about Getting to Holden here.
Collective Justice Seminar
October 6 – October 9, 2023
Description
Calling educators, organizers, leaders, and community workers to register for Alchemizing New Worlds: Restorative Circle Practices for Beloved Community at Holden Village. Participants should arrive on Friday, October 6th, and plan to depart on Monday, October 9th, with retreat programs throughout the day on Saturday, October 7th and Sunday, October 8th.
Collective Justice facilitators will lead this two-day retreat exploring topics of restorative justice, circle process, centered accountability, and repair. This retreat will offer models and practices for community-based responses to conflict and harm that move us away from punishment and toward healing, abolition, and liberation.
You can read more on Collective Justice’s website.
About Holden Village
Holden Village is a remote wilderness community, rooted in the Lutheran tradition, that welcomes all people into the North Cascade Mountains, above Lake Chelan, Washington. Over the course of 60 years, Holden Village has been transformed from a copper mining town to a vibrant place of education, programming, and worship. Learn more about Holden Village.
About the Faculty
Taylor Tibbs is a HEAL Team facilitator with Collective Justice, mentor, racial justice advocate, and auntie born and raised in Seattle, Washington. They joined the collective in 2021 to learn more about incorporating Restorative Justice into their education equity work and fell in love with the vibrant and caring CJ Community. Taylor is deeply committed to practicing accountability, compassion for all living beings, and Restorative Justice as a pathway to systems change. They are trying to practice self-love, compassion for all living things (except spiders), and believe that their liberation as a Black and Queer Person is connected to the liberation of all people. Taylor dreams of opening a bookstore with friends and creating a social hub for folx of color to gather, rest and practice mutual aid.
Matthew Kama’aina moves with the ways of his ancestors and their teachings of “all our relations.” He is Kanaka Maoli, born in Maui, and grew up in circle and sweat lodge on the Puyallup Indian Reservation. He believes in the power of community-based healing that centers dignity, agency, and collective care. He locates his circle work in movements to end mass incarceration and state repression. Matthew’s unwavering dedication to creating a world free from all forms of violence is driven by his own experiences as a survivor, second-generation gang member, and third-generation formerly incarcerated person. Matthew is the Restorative Dialogue Director and circle facilitator at CJ. He has facilitated many circles in the aftermath of serious harm and holds an Associates of Arts degree through University Beyond Bars.
Chloe Huber is a member of Collective Justice and South King County & Eastside Mutual Aid, and a participant in survivor-led and survivor-stewarded healing and arts spaces. Her experience is in collaborating on community-based healing spaces for persons who have experienced gender-based violence, grounded in a value of meeting the essential needs of shelter and food first. Chloe is a member of API Chaya’s RISE! Circle, if you identify as a BIPOC and/or API survivor of sexual violence, abuse, or assault, and are interested in healing and building political power through creative arts, please reach out! As a facilitator, the spaces I like to foster are: spaces of healing and agency for survivors, spaces for taking authority and power from the state and back into community, and spaces for organizations to explore messages around harm and care within their collective–to create processes and spaces to prepare for and respond to harm intentionally aligned with our values.
Brandon Pedro does his community work through Community Passageways and Collective Justice. Guided by the experience of rising from and beyond the violence of multi-state systems. He comes from two generations of incarceration and has been negatively impacted by the public school system. As a HEALING Justice practitioner, he faces his trauma while honoring the space for resiliency. Sharing these practices with those he serves; youth, formerly/incarcerated, and whomever he can.
How to Sign-Up
Ready to register? On the Visit Holden page, scroll down to Visit in the Spring, Autumn, or Winter and click on Make a Reservation under the trio of photos.
You’ll see a calendar where you can select an arrival date (Friday, October 6th) and ending date (Monday, October 9th). The reservation system will calculate your rate. Your completed reservation serves as the registration fee for the retreat!
Also, be sure to book your travel by boat uplake to Holden Village (on the Lady of the Lake) and down lake to Chelan or Field’s Point (on the Lady of the Lake, Lady Express, or the Stehekin Ferry).
A scholarship fund is available. You are encouraged to fill out this form to request tuition support.
For questions about lodging, registration, etc., contact Registrar@holdenvillage.org. For questions about the retreat program, contact Program@holdenvillage.org.
Faith & Public Life Seminar
**POSTPONED** New Date to be Determined
Description
Sensing despair in the daily news? Unsure how progressive faith values fit into public discourse?
Community advocate Kristin Ang and journalist Jason DeRose will facilitate this 4-day seminar exploring ways faith informs our perspectives on social and political topics like environmental issues, gender, and Christian nationalism. During the program, you’ll learn about the powerful ways faith can shape public discourse, how to express your faith perspective, and how to become an advocate in your community.
About the Faculty
Kristin Ang (She/Her) is a Filipino-American attorney who grew up in Pierce County, WA. She is the Policy Engagement Director at Faith Action Network (FAN), where she advocates at the state and federal level for FAN’s legislative agenda of building a just, compassionate sustainable world. Kristin is also a Port of Tacoma Commissioner and Northwest Seaport Alliance Managing Member. She made history as the first person of color elected on the Port of Tacoma Commission, along with the historical endorsement of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians. She serves on the executive board of the Central Puget Sound Economic Development District and the Washington Council of International Trade. She is on the Port’s Environmental, DEI, Tribal Liaison, Workforce Development, and Joint Municipal Action committees. She is focused on environmental leadership, building community relationships, and creating economic prosperity for all. Kristin completed her business degree at the University of Puget Sound and law degree at Cornell Law School.
Jason DeRose (he/him) is the Religion & Belief Correspondent for NPR News, reporting on the ways belief shapes American public life and the ways American life shapes religious expression. Jason is a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Santa Monica and a member of the Holden Village Board since 2020. He graduated from the University of Chicago Divinity School and St. Olaf College.
How to Sign-Up
This event has been postponed. Please stay tuned for more information about when it will be rescheduled.
The Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton is the Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Everett, WA and the Vice-President of the House of Deputies of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Rachel has a bi-cultural heritage as a Shackan First Nations person and Northern European lineage of settlers who first immigrated to these shores in 1629. With 30 years of experience in working with diverse communities, Rachel is a Board Certified healthcare chaplain and has facilitated journeys of recovery and healing with communities and organizations that have experienced organizational trauma. She is the founder of Circles of Color in the Episcopal Church in Western Washington and serves as chaplain to the Province 8 network of Episcopal Church Women.
Michele Bombardier is a Northwest poet whose work centers on connection, resiliency, and witness. Her debut collection, What We Do, was a Washington Book Award finalist. Michele holds an MFA in poetry from Pacific University. Her work has appeared in over a hundred literary journals such as Parabola, Atlanta Review, JAMA, Crab Creek Review, and many others. She is the founder of Fishplate Poetry, teaching workshops and leading retreats while raising money for humanitarian aid, specifically medical care for refugees in the Middle East and Northern Africa, partnering with SAMS (Syrian American Medical Society). Michele teaches poetry to all ages and is the inaugural poet laureate of Bainbridge Island where she hosts readings, open mics, workshops, and community events, including activities with high school youth. She’s finished her second collection and is at work on her third.
Gabrielle Wildheart 