We boarded the train Saturday evening in St. Paul, Minnesota, excited for our month long adventure. It would be Tuesday morning before we arrived at our destination. The 32-hour (turned 40-hour) train ride was the first and longest leg of the trip.
by LCF staff member Rebecca Westermeyer
A freight car derailment ahead of us forced a mass passenger exodus from the train onto buses. Twice. We were so impressed with the laid-back nature of train riders. Well, until the bus broke down for the second time. Not even slower-paced, alternative-transport passengers could hold back true Americanized human colors of impatience and frustration. After the "train-bus-train-bus" ride, we transferred onto public bus transit, then took a taxi ride, then hitched a car ride after an evening at a Bed and Breakfast, then a ferry boat ride to our final eleven mile leg on a school bus, where we rode up - thousands of feet up - into a small village nestled in the Cascade Mountains. Three days later we had arrived at our destination - Holden Village.
We could have traveled anywhere else in the world in a shorter period of time, but it was well worth the adventure.
What is Holden Village? I had heard about it, seen it through pictures, and even read about it:
Holden Village, an ecumenical community rooted in the Lutheran tradition, is organized to provide healing, renewal and refreshment of people through worship, intercession, study, hilarity, work, recreation and conversation in a climate of mutual acceptance under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The purpose of this community is to participate in the renewal of the church and the world by proclaiming the Gospel of God's unconditional love in Jesus Christ; challenging and equipping people for ministry in the world; lifting up a vision of God's kingdom of peace, justice and wholeness; and celebrating the unity and the diversity of the church, all humanity and all creation.
Okay. But again, what is Holden Village? Even those who visit there, work there, live there for periods of time struggle to answer that question. It is somewhat indescribable, unique, unusual, unlike anything most of us have ever experienced. It is what its mission statement says and yet so much more than words could ever describe. While after spending three weeks there I can offer no better explanation, here is an attempt at sharing some gifts that it offered me and I see it offering others.
Holden offered me the gift of overwhelming welcome. The community was busy, yet time was made daily to welcome and say goodbye to villagers coming and going. It was encouraged and experienced that work and to-do lists were never to be higher priority than welcome and care for your neighbor. Things got done on their own time, on God's time. The aroma of freshly baked bread daily greeted my nose. Tables were set with delicious food for all to partake of, together: guest, staff, professor, student, toddler, adult - all hungry, equally needing to be fed. Accepted for who I am, I felt appreciated and embraced through daily hugs, listening ears, inviting conversation from strangers, new friends, and discovered acquaintances. (Amazing the connections you discover in the middle of the mountains!) Conservation of God's resources was taken seriously, challenging the village community to become aware of our intake and output of daily uses: food, water, and waste. Sheets were hung to dry in the outdoor air, reminding us to slow down, take in the air and appreciate the gifts that the natural breeze can offer. Daily worship attendance was expected, providing grounding, routine, reminding and renewing us in our commitment to faithful service. Then there was the outdoor jacuzzi, the inexpensive, generous helpings of ice cream, the improvised 4th of July fire works through use of flash lights and bubble wrap (celebrated on the 5th, just because we can), the array of musical concerts, the craft cave brim filled with creative opportunity, the Hike Haus full of free camping and hiking gear, libraries full of resources and reading enjoyment, and not to mention the unbelievably breath-taking landscape. It was almost too much to take in.
The list goes on, and like any community, the list is filled with doses of conflict, dysfunction, open wounds, and healed scars. My Holden experience most definitely encompassed pain as well as delight. It is no utopia, free from the world's harsh realities, but it is real and it is most importantly filled with good intention. This village community intends to live out its mission as stated above, and reviews that mission regularly in trying to live it out.
Reflecting on joy, Reverend Lyle Miller wrote in the Foundation's Winter 2005 Profiles of Joy publication, "Joy lives in our knowledge that all we have is freely given to us; our joy proceeds from God's own way of giving. Joy is made full - and spread outwards - when we choose to use these gifts as God intends. It is a consequence of seeing the gifts of God well used."
Holden provided a first hand witness of seeing God's gifts being well utilized in a community that is infused with God-filled intention. That certainly brought me, and brings me joy. Holden has a uniqueness hard to replicate that is well worth traveling three days to experience. I know I will travel to Holden's destination again. The destination of joy, however, need not be reached by traveling to Holden or anywhere. That destination is available to us daily, as individual, and as part of community, in choosing to use God's gifts as God intends. As individuals, and as communities, let us choose with intention joy's destination.
Rebecca Westermeyer is Community Grants & Services Associate at the Lutheran Community Foundation.