By Lyn and Mollie MacLean (2019)
Holden Village is a Cascade mountain retreat for rest, relaxation and reflection established in 1961 as a Lutheran education and renewal center. This camp is focused on families, with programs for children and a variety of adult programs.
Our camp experience was six days without cell service and WIFI, proving that we could survive without it. We developed deeper friendships with fellow SOTV members and got to know other campers and staff. This is one of the easiest places to have a meaningful conversation with people you’ve never met. Some camper families included three generations!
The challenge at camp was deciding what to do. Some of the activities we chose included:
- Presentations by Christa Olson on “Photography and Social Justice” and “Ethics of Photography.”
- Jacqueline Bussie reading from her bestselling new book Love Without Limits and explaining the trials of getting it published.
- Hal Tusing discussing the Bodies of Wisdom in the Gospels of Thomas and Luke and the importance of Thomas for our time.
- A concert, informal conversation, and singing with Ray Makeever (guitarist) and Linda Breitag (violinist).
- Andrew Zimmerman’s (village naturalist) overview of the remediation of mining impacts on Railroad Creek.
- A hike to Hart Lake (9 miles). Some from our group completed multiple hikes, totaling between 30 – 40 miles for the week!
- Other short hikes near the village, as well as fishing for cutthroat trout in Railroad Creek.
Every night at 7:30 pm, the entire village gathered for worship through song, prayer, silence, and scripture. New arrivals to the village were welcomed by name, and those departing were recognized and blessed for the journey. Many visited the snack bar for ice cream afterward!
We had a wonderful time, but are sorry that we couldn’t fit more activities into our stay!
