Monday, February 18, 2013

Holden Village Retreat in the Cascades

We just returned from a wonderful time at Holden Village, a retreat center in the Cascade Mountains.  We took the boat up Lake Chelan and a bus up a small winding road to the old mining town-turned-Lutheran-retreat center called Holden Village.  It was a great start to the sabbatical, a chance to totally unplug from all electronics -- no phone, computer, TV -- just lots of snow, good food, beautiful sun, and a chance to worship daily, enjoy God's beautiful creation, read good books, and hang out together and with the Holden year-round staff.  Some of the people at Holden Village were there a year and a half ago when we got engaged, so it was good to see them again!  We met a lot of new people and enjoyed hearing the many stories of people's journeys.  We went hiking up to Copper Basin, snow-shoeing in several feet of snow, and a little cross-country skiing.  Leigh make three cool weavings on the loom and also met some talented artists who were coming in for the 6-week Artist-in-Resident program.
We walked the labyrinth in the snow -- an ancient Christian path that reminds us that our life is a sacred journey.  It was an opportunity to pray and walk -- giving thanks to God for God's blessings, asking God to open our eyes on our sabbatical pilgrimage.

6 comments:

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  2. Ha, ha, I didn't check my spelling in my previous comment and the only option I had was to delete it. Anyway...I shared how glad I was for you all that the journey has started off so well. God's peace and blessings to you both as you get ready to go to L.A. :-) Tell uncle Reggie and aunt Cheryl I said hi!

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    1. Malcolm! We met with Uncle Reggie and Aunt Cheryl today for lunch...we had some great BBQ tips! It was so great to talk with them!

      -Leigh

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  3. hi want to say hi had a good class Sunday 5 students you were missed

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    1. Ronnie,

      I miss those kids! Blessings to you Ronni!

      -Leigh

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  4. wow the service was great tonight and the soup was good have a great night

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