Welcome to Holden Main Street: a playful podcast series dedicated to capturing the daily life and creative musings of ordinary folk at Holden Village. Who are the people drawn to this wild and uniquely transformative mountain community? How do their descriptions of hilarity, wilderness living, shared work and interior exploration shape the landscape of their time here? Expect to be delighted by improvised stories, poetry readings, the sounds of tea being poured, songs being sung, and bits of whimsy inspired by the moment. Enjoy.

In this episode we are highlighting three fantastic musicians of the village (Hannes Carlsen /Willow Kitson/Nathan McClure), who had the opportunity to record some Holden original songs earlier this Summer. At this moment, I would love to give a big shout out to Dave Michel...who hauled his precious gear from Minnesota so that the village could have these opportunities. None of this would have been possible without his generosity and skill. This episode only contains the music. If you want to hear an in-depth and incredible fun conversation about how these songs were created...check out the Zebra Mussels edition.

To learn more about Holden Village, visit: http://www.holdenvillage.org or to listen to more audio recordings visit: http://audio.holdenvillage.org. The Holden Village Podcast is accessible through Apple iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart Radio, and most podcast apps. For questions and inquiries, contact [email protected].

During the non-Summer months, Holden village dedicates one Vespers session a week to the lives of villagers. We call this Staff Story and this particular session centered around the current longest tenured villager: Jonah Jensen-Young. This also happened to be his final week in the Village, so it also served as a sincere farewell. In order to succinctly articulate our love for Jonah, I am including part of the official farewell transcript that was spoken of his actual departure, written by our talented Emily Meyer.  

Jonah has lived in the Village since the summer of 2018, serving as Media Ministry Head and Librarian, Audio Archivist, Podcasting and most recently, school teacher. Before Jonah was the teacher, he served the Village by supporting A/V, audio archives, videos and podcasts. He has a knack for getting people to tell interesting stories about their lives which he put to good use for podcasts with teaching faculty. 

When there were multiple people named Jonah in the Village, he took on the nickname "Mountain Jonah," which perfectly reflects his penchant for outdoor adventures and his extensive knowledge of snow conditions, clouds, birds, wildlife, and more. Jonah's plans for adventures never cease to amaze! If all of the skiing, hiking and literally running out of the Village weren't enough, he even took paragliding lessons last summer! Jonah's discipline to make sure he had enough time each weekend to enjoy nature on an epic adventure, then make time to lesson plan and get everything accomplished for his role as teacher is admirable.

Jonah is a deeply authentic person with such a kind heart and encourages others to bring their real selves to the table. He is a steadying and trustworthy presence here in the village. His check-ins and encouragement were appreciated by many. He’s great at giving support for the little things that others do. The high fives and the way he says “Hey good for you!” or “Way to go!” are powerful words of encouragement. He seems to be happy for people to be on whatever journey they are on and doesn’t compare it to anyone else’s. That’s one of the things that made him such a good community member and such a good teacher.

Jonah is incredibly patient and kind with his school kids. He makes learning fun, and allows plenty of opportunity to impart his love of the outdoors to his kids. He has an incredible skill when it comes to befriending each child, instructing to their needs and passions, and being a core part of the child's sense of home in the community. Jonah normalized curiosity and helped each child find their own unique learner within. He has been an expert in turning the Railroad Creek valley into his classroom. 

He took the kids (and sometimes parents!) geo-caching, salmon raising, reindeer herd searching, igloo and yurt hot chocolate-sipping, morel mushroom finding, Domke lake fishing, snow angel-making, lake shore trail hiking and so much more. (The parents note that they are relieved he did not bring the kids along with him during his flight adventures!) These adventures and outings will be remembered by his students for the rest of their lives. One parent notes that being at Holden was the first time they heard their child say they liked school and many adult villagers wish Jonah had been their elementary school teacher.

Be it on the trail, in the (very hot) sauna, or on a couch watching a movie, Jonah is always a rock steady presence, with a playful, loving heart. This village is grateful to have shared many laughs, songs, adventures and hugs with him. He is a one of a kind teacher and person, and will be sorely missed. This valley feels lucky to know you. Just as you have been an important part of all of our journeys, we hope that you will remember Holden as part of your journey.

Background music composed by Zakhar Valaha.

"I have been coming to Holden since 1971 and became intrigued with the Prayer of Good Courage early on because the prayer has been at Holden since the beginning, in 1963. I have been the unofficial historian of the prayer, especially in telling people who wrote it. It was not written by Marty Haugen, Carroll Hinderlie, Martin Luther, or a Holden committee."

Pastor Nancy Winder has been a weekly preacher for thirty two years, with the last twenty seven as pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Seattle. A sought after preacher, she has written about preaching and worship. Pastor Winder has served on the Augsburg Fortress Board, the Alumni/ae Council of Luther Seminary and is currently chair of the Candidacy Committee of the Northwest Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

To learn more about Holden Village, visit: http://www.holdenvillage.org or to listen to more audio recordings visit: http://audio.holdenvillage.org. The Holden Village Podcast is accessible through Apple iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart Radio, and most podcast apps. For questions and inquiries, contact [email protected].

Ed Miles lived and worked at the Holden mining community from 1936, fought in World War II, and was an employee of Howe Sound at Holden until the mine closure in 1957.   Ed visited Holden Village in the summer of 2021 and was interviewed by Director Mark Bach and archivist Larry Howard during his visit.  Ed recounts living first on Honeymoon Heights, then in Chalet 8 with his parents, and then later in the Winston housing tract west of the mining town.  He met his wife in the Holden dining room and they raised their family at Holden like many other miner couples of the era.  

To learn more about Holden Village, visit: http://www.holdenvillage.org or to listen to more audio recordings visit: http://audio.holdenvillage.org. The Holden Village Podcast is accessible through Apple iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart Radio, and most podcast apps. For questions and inquiries, contact [email protected].

"My work is about being embodied, about being connected; whole." Maya Mineoi 三根生 真矢 (they/them) comes from a lineage of gardeners, community organizers, and musicians. They are a somatic therapist with a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Maya brings ancestral values of creativity, attentiveness, and slowing down into sessions. 

With play and gentleness, participants will attune themselves to their surroundings and their needs for freedom, connection and rest. Maya uses movement, touch, psychosomatic education, imagery, breathwork, and stillness to help each nervous system embody presence. Based on the work of Polyvagal Theory, Internal Family Systems, and Brain-spotting, Maya encourages individuals and collectives to tap into the wealth of information in each body-mind.

To learn more about Holden Village, visit: http://www.holdenvillage.org or to listen to more audio recordings visit: http://audio.holdenvillage.org. The Holden Village Podcast is accessible through Apple iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart Radio, and most podcast apps. For questions and inquiries, contact [email protected].

"My work is about being embodied, about being connected; whole." Maya Mineoi 三根生 真矢 (they/them) comes from a lineage of gardeners, community organizers, and musicians. They are a somatic therapist with a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Maya brings ancestral values of creativity, attentiveness, and slowing down into sessions. 

With play and gentleness, participants will attune themselves to their surroundings and their needs for freedom, connection and rest. Maya uses movement, touch, psychosomatic education, imagery, breathwork, and stillness to help each nervous system embody presence. Based on the work of Polyvagal Theory, Internal Family Systems, and Brainspotting, Maya encourages individuals and collectives to tap into the wealth of information in each bodymind.

To learn more about Holden Village, visit: http://www.holdenvillage.org or to listen to more audio recordings visit: http://audio.holdenvillage.orgThe Holden Village Podcast is accessible through Apple iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart Radio, and most podcast apps.To contact the podcast author, [email protected]

Rev. Terry Kyllo is a Lutheran pastor serving as the director of Paths to Understanding: Bridging Bias and Building Unity. He is the founder of Neighbors in Faith, answering Islamophobia with building the beloved community and recognizing and honoring one another’s humanity. A graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, he began his pastoral career in 1991 and has served in partnership between Episcopalians and Lutherans since 2004.

Terry was the recipient of the Faith Action Network Interfaith Leadership Award in 2016, the Interfaith Leadership Award from the Muslim Association of Puget Sound in 2017, and the Sultan and Saint Peace award in 2017, and the Called to Lead award in 2018 by the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

To learn more about Holden Village, visit: http://www.holdenvillage.org or to listen to more audio recordings visit: http://audio.holdenvillage.org. The Holden Village Podcast is accessible through Apple iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart Radio, and most podcast apps. For questions and inquiries, contact [email protected].

Through their work with Team Naturaleza, Elisa and Monica are creating a space where the Hispanic/Latinx community can gather, learn about the environment bilingually, and gain a sense of belonging in the outdoors. In this episode, Elisa and Monica talk about what brought them to their work, and their experience spending a week at Holden. Team Naturaleza is one of the recipients of offerings collected at Holden this summer. You can learn more and support them with a donation on their website: https://www.teamnaturaleza.org/

To learn more about Holden Village, visit: http://www.holdenvillage.org or to listen to more audio recordings visit: http://audio.holdenvillage.org. The Holden Village Podcast is accessible through Apple iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart Radio, and most podcast apps. For questions and inquiries, contact [email protected].

"How do we bring forward a counternarrative to political oppression?"

"Those vestiges of colonialism when empire was present in a particular context, when it left, those forms of knowledge still exist and they're still informing how you make decisions and how you move with one another and we can ask those questions of the Lutheran Church." - Hierald

"I think the questions we were asking around, who benefits from this kind of interpretation, and how does someone's history shape their story? Those are questions I want people to bring back to their communities." - Ben

Hierald Osorto has a passion for stories hidden out of sight, which drives him to work collaboratively and creatively to bring those stories to light. He comes to Holden from Ithaca College, nurturing belonging and meaning-making as Director of Religious and Spiritual Life and Executive Director for Student Equity and Belonging. Assigned to the DC Metro Synod, he will soon be the newest rostered leader in the ELCA. Three words that describe Hierald? Intuitive, insightful innovator.

Ben Masters is a lover of stories and sacred song, and a pastor among those complicated, covenant people called Presbyterians. He comes to Holden with greetings from the farmers, wine-makers, and librarians beside beautiful Seneca Lake. He started baking sourdough bread long before lockdown, but the perfect pie crust still eludes him. Three words that describe Ben? Hopeful, humming homilist.

To learn more about Holden Village, visit: http://www.holdenvillage.org or to listen to more audio recordings visit: http://audio.holdenvillage.org. The Holden Village Podcast is accessible through Apple iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart Radio, and most podcast apps. For questions and inquiries, contact [email protected].

When we talk about healing, what it means to bring some of our stories or our voice forward ,activating our senses or coming home to the body is one way to do that. Through the arts, it’s entering through another door. – Shabrae

How do we give ourselves permission to play? To stand in that is an act of resistance against a culture of production, of exploitation of labor, of refusal for rest. What difference does this workshop make, what difference does this accompaniment make, if we’re playing together? Because it seems superficial or light, but it really is revolutionary and radical, that sense of presence, and response to what is. - Mylinda

Mylinda currently works with International Ministries ABC-USA as a Global Consultant for Training using the Restorative Arts, sharing effective arts-based healing resources with social change agents, global peacebuilders, faith community leaders, and trauma survivors. Mylinda holds advanced facilitation certifications from Training for Conflict Transformation Trainers, Training for Change, Build A Bridge International, and EXIT (Expressive Arts in Transition). She has been an ordained American Baptist clergywoman for over 30 years.

Shabrae is a trained expressive arts educator working in communities impacted by challenge and crisis. She is co-founder of UMBRAL, a Mexican-based organization engaged in arts-based psychosocial trauma and healing work; currently exploring the intersection of arts, sports, and peace-building with LudArtem, and a Director of training for International based groups and organizations. Shabrae is a certified coach and has facilitation certifications from Training for Conflict Transformation Trainers, and EXIT (Expressive Arts in Transition).

To learn more about Holden Village, visit: http://www.holdenvillage.org or to listen to more audio recordings visit: http://audio.holdenvillage.org. The Holden Village Podcast is accessible through Apple iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart Radio, and most podcast apps. For questions and inquiries, contact [email protected].