Have you ever reached the point in your life when you needed restoration — body, mind, or spirit? Has the tyranny of the urgent consumed you to the point where you just needed a break? I was at that point, and Holden village provided me with solitude, an environment to re-focus, to rest, and to restore my energy level. But the on-going restoration work at Holden village is not only human restoration but also includes the nonhuman creation.
Holden was a mining town (copper, gold, silver, and zinc) located in the north Cascades about 12 miles west of Lake Chelan. The mine closed in 1957, and the town shut down. In 1960, the Howe Sound Mining Company deeded the village to the Lutheran Bible Institute in Seattle for $1.00! For more than 60 years Holden village has been a vibrant place for education, church retreats, youth groups, family gatherings, and personal spiritual renewal.
The mine was highly productive for a time, but its tailings pile left a legacy of contamination. The site, located along railroad Creek, was designated a superfund cleanup site by the EPA in the late 1980s. Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest mining conglomerates, is managing and has paid nearly half a billion dollars for the cleanup that began in 2013. Today, Railroad Creek flows freely without contamination leaching into its clear tumbling water and trout have returned. Thousands of new trees now grow on the topsoil encapsulating the old mine waste as evident from the photograph. The billowing toxic dust blowing off the tailing piles is now only a memory. Restoration work and monitoring continues but the end is insight. God’s creation is breathing freely again.
On June 29, 2015, a lightning strike ignited a fire three miles northwest of Lucerne (the port on Lake Chelan serving Holden Village) and another form of restoration began! Holden was evacuated as the fire burned around the village, but the beautiful 100+ acre forest surrounding Holden was saved. Today the burned area is undergoing its own restoration as the new growth of the forest begins. The slopes are now ablaze in the spring with wildflowers! And for the wanderer, the blueberries are abundant on moist years.
Have you been to Holden Village? Many at Trinity Lutheran have been blessed by their visit to this unique and beautiful place. Our little group of 12 from TLC joined about 200 other visitors hosted by a staff that varies from 50 to 100. A wonderful group of teaching faculty and musicians are present. Meals (mostly vegetarian and locally sourced), provide an excellent variety of food for the discriminating palate. Each day’s itinerary is packed with optional opportunities from lectures, hikes, musical performances, handicrafts, art, guided nature walks, evening vespers worship and personal down time. Hiking trails lead in nearly every direction – and vary from less than a mile over level terrain to much longer overnight opportunities into the alpine tundra and glacial cirque lakes! Located at the very edge of the Glacier Peak Wilderness, Holden Village is a spectacular place! Expect a time of solitude with no cell phone coverage or internet! Disconnecting from the ever-expanding barrage of news was a blessing!
Oh, and one more thing – you should expect up-close encounters of the furry kind! Non-human people wander through the village foraging for food on the lawns and walkways. Mule deer, hoary marmots (see photo), golden-mantled ground squirrels, and yellow-pine chipmunks are present in abundance! An occasional visit to your lap by a golden-mantled ground squirrel should not be a surprise but try to resist the urge to share your snack – feeding of the creatures is discouraged!
Our Prayer: Lord, we pray for the ministry of Holden Village – a place that has impacted the lives of many. May its restoration work to bring encouragement, community, and healing to both your human and non-human creation be blessed.
Thanks for caring!
— Joe Sheldon
Direct comments to Joe Sheldon at jksheldon43@gmail.com
