Coming Home

Photo by Chuck Hoffman © Genesis+Art

Holden Village, Washington  

After weeks of anticipation, it brings us deep joy to announce that all Holden Exiles have been cleared to come home. After weeks of exile ourselves, we know first-hand the difficulty of waiting and how daunting it is to return home. Of all the challenges we've faced over the last month—evacuations, fires, and running from place to place—telling Villagers "you can’t come home yet" has been the most frustrating for us. That has been heartbreaking.

A couple of small groups have already returned, and more are scheduled to come home soon. But even now our forest is closed. In cooperation with the Forest Service, Holdenites are given limited legal permission to reenter to make assessments, repairs, and preparations for winter (how could it possibly be time for winter preparations?). When Exiles return, they find the Village remarkably the same and yet completely different.

The Forest Service is concerned about surrounding risks, mostly involving the road—they speak of “hazards known and unknown.”

Some immediate risks will be abated by the removal of burned trees and rocks that could (and sometimes do) fall from the slopes above. That constitutes “the hazards known.” What remains to be seen are “the hazards unknown,” which will only be revealed by the autumn winds and rains, the winter snows, and the spring runoff. In the coming months, the forest will reveal its strengths and its weaknesses. It will speak to us in new ways, in new growth, soil movement, and avalanches. It will tell us what it needs and show us how to best deal with its new form.

Like the forest, our staff will also tell us what they need. Coming home, reuniting with friends, time, community rhythms, and the results of the fire will reveal vulnerabilities in each of us. As we have written to the Exiles, we also say to the entire Holden community:

Know that we have missed you. Know that our lives and our Village are incomplete without each and every one of you. Know that we will eventually bring you all home. Know that we hear you. Know that the time is coming. Know that this place—miraculously intact—awaits your return. Do not lose hope now. Know that we carry a deep love for you. And, most importantly, know that the Holy One is present and travels this space with you.

With good courage, Peg + Chuck

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