Glimpses of a Holden Christmas

It is the morning of Christmas Eve here at Holden. It is a Christmas Eve that will be, by virtue of the fact of its isolation in terms of its location in the wilderness, a very different Christmas Eve from that celebrated throughout most of the nation. The buses bringing guests, food, and the mail arrived yesterday. We will not be able to make that connection again until Monday.

With all that being said, we have to acknowledge the fact that modern technology connects us via the Internet. It was my thought that on this, the morning of Christmas Eve, the world in which the telephone connects each of you to friends and family you cannot be with, the world in which you can rush out to buy that last minute gift, the world in which you can make a quick trip to a grocery store for an item needed for tomorrow's feast...that your world might like some glimpses, some snapshots, if you will, of Christmas at Holden Village.

For starters, there is this sweeping and wondrous view of Buckskin Mountain as seen from "the second level." Where we are serves both to limit the things we can do and the things we have access to and at the same time serves to expand the mind and the spirit, nourish the soul.

One of the Advent candles in the Advent wreath in Koinonia Fireside.

A Christmas ornament hung outside in a snow-laden evergreen tree.

One of the kite paper stars mounted on the front window of Koinonia.

The Christmas tree in the dining hall. It is a custom at Holden to decorate the tree with warm hats and scarves and mittens, most of which are knit by Holden guests and staff members. Early in January, the handmade items will be distributed from a local homeless shelter to those needing them to protect themselves against the cold of winter.

Reed stars, made by members of the Holden staff, hanging above the Koinonia winter worship space.

A strand of Christmas lights at the east end of Agape.

A "hotel pan" of hand made tamales made and celebrated in the feast following Las Posadas. There are no words to adequately describe them.

Looking up the Railroad Creek Valley on a frighteningly cold day. Temperatures had been below 0 degrees all night and would not get out of single digits during the day.

Frost on the window of the Hotel, looking out on the road and Koinonia on the other side.

Advent candles decorate each of the tables in the dining hall.

Merry Christmas from Holden!