Kirkridge Retreat & Study Center

Kirkridge Retreat & Study Center Kirkridge is a place to be, and to become a people of hope, compassion, justice, and service.

Since 1942 Kirkridge has always welcomed persons seeking spiritual, personal and social transformation. Kirkridge offers you rest and opportunities for spiritual renewal, a haven from the whirling world. For a fresh perspective, or quiet withdrawal, come to our retreat place on the mountain. Kirkridge offers in-house programs year round, as well as rents its facilities for groups to come to the mo

untain to host their own retreats. For more information about Kirkridge Retreat Center, please visit our website at www.kirkridge.org

Join us for our June gathering! We’ll be celebrating queerness together with snacks and fun. We’ll make popcorn; you can...
06/01/2026

Join us for our June gathering! We’ll be celebrating queerness together with snacks and fun. We’ll make popcorn; you can bring your favorite snack to share.

Sunday, June 14, at 6pm
Kirkridge Farmhouse
2281 Fox Gap Road, Bangor, PA 18013

We are a gathering of folks who are looking for both fun and depth in our LGBTQ+ connections–authentic conversation, connection, creativity, and community.

You are welcome to RSVP, but you can also just come: https://kirkridge.org/programs-container/1461/lgbtq-social-ritual-space-june-pride-celebration/

These gatherings are free to all, and a freewill donation will be taken to cover cost of supplies.

Access notes: We will gather at the big white farmhouse and about 100 feet from the parking lot down a narrow paved path. There are single-stall, all-gender restrooms available in the Farmhouse, where there is one step up into the building. Seating without arms is available, and you are also welcome to bring your chair if that’s more comfortable. Masks are welcome but not required. Please do not come if you are feeling sick. Please feel free to reach out about other accessibility needs

Forest and mountains! Bullfrogs and deer! Silence and song! Come make art and music with like-minded folks on beautiful ...
05/29/2026

Forest and mountains! Bullfrogs and deer! Silence and song! Come make art and music with like-minded folks on beautiful Lenape land.

Visit https://kirkridge.org/programs/ (or under our bio) for more information and to register.

Join us in the mountains for a weekend of silence. Kirkridge staff will offer some brief communal ritual spaces, but mos...
05/27/2026

Join us in the mountains for a weekend of silence. Kirkridge staff will offer some brief communal ritual spaces, but most of the time will be yours for whatever you need. There will be time for prayer, wondering and wandering, reading and writing, rest and sleep, silent connection and nourishing food. Let the land hold you in these hard days. Let silence wash over you.

Register here or at the link under our bio: https://kirkridge.org/programs-container/1425/silent-retreat-2/

For decades, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Questioning men have been gathering at Kirkridge to build community, sing, laugh,...
05/26/2026

For decades, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Questioning men have been gathering at Kirkridge to build community, sing, laugh, tell stories, remember the departed, share our strength and wisdom, and soak in the beauty of the mountain. This annual retreat is for GBTQ men across the generations who are on a spiritual path. We welcome seekers, ministers, single, partnered, those new to the community and those who have been coming for years- come as you are!

The program contains structured presentations and time for reflection, discussion, singing, and small groups. There will also be ample unstructured time for solitude, walking the land, socializing, and napping.

The retreat leader this year is Dave Howser, a therapist and pastoral counselor in Chicago, who grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Maryland and has attended this retreat for many years. Other men will also participate in program leadership throughout the weekend and will help shape the retreat experience.

Register here or through the link under our bio: https://kirkridge.org/programs-container/1110/gbtq-mens-retreat-seeking-restoration-through-community/

05/24/2026

Our theme this year for the Summons to Radical Discipleship is "Come to the Water, " and we are seeking to learn from living water what we need to know for this time.

You are invited to join other people of faith and goodwill next Wednesday, May 27, for this new, monthly vigil in solida...
05/22/2026

You are invited to join other people of faith and goodwill next Wednesday, May 27, for this new, monthly vigil in solidarity with our migrant neighbors.

Wednesday, May 27, and every fourth Wednesday of the month
Gather at noon, brief vigil at 12:10
Lehigh County Courthouse, 455 Hamilton Street in Allentown

Bring signs if you like. Symbols of your faith tradition (stoles, prayer shawls, etc) are welcome and encouraged.

Vigils will continue monthly at the same time on fourth Wednesdays. They are sponsored by the clergy caucus of the Lehigh Valley Emergency Response Network.

The emergency response hotline for reporting ICE activity in the Lehigh Valley is 610-850-9930.

The land where we rest, grieve, and celebrate is the only thing we have in common with those around us. Our bodies are c...
05/14/2026

The land where we rest, grieve, and celebrate is the only thing we have in common with those around us. Our bodies are created of and are part of the land. When we die, we fold back into the land’s cycle of life. Our breath, the sea water that is beneath our skin, and the minerals of our bones and eyelashes are all shared with the oak and marmot and seal. And for most of us living on Turtle Island, the land we are on is occupied. Most of us are living as uninvited guests, as settlers of people who are beholden to treaties, even as those treaties are continually broken.

During our time together, we will work with three different layers of relationship with land: the physical sensed truth of relationship, the memories of our people’s generational relationship to land, and the clarity of repair and accountability that seeks to change what is possible for all of our descendants. For those registering, you will receive a guide for prework about a month before we gather. Doing this prework will help deepen our very short time together. After all, moving at the speed of the land is not the same as moving at the speed of a workshop.

This workshop builds on the workshop from the previous year. This means that it is open to those who have not yet attended this workshop and those who would like to return. The focus of the workshop is on practice which includes supporting practice for the long term.

Scholarships available!

More info and registration at https://kirkridge.org/programs-container/1189/with-the-land-remember-relationship-repair-2/ or through the link under our bio.

“Everyone knows everything sings and dies. But could it be, too, everything dies and sings….” — Galway KinnellWe live in...
05/14/2026

“Everyone knows everything sings and dies. But could it be, too, everything dies and sings….” — Galway Kinnell

We live in a culture that often turns its face away from the one certainty we all share. Yet, when we lean into the mystery of the “Great Mystery,” we often find that our lives become more vivid, purposeful, and harmonious.

Join singer, songwriter, and master facilitator Barbara McAfee for a soulful investigation into the thin places where life and death meet. This is not a clinical seminar, but a communal ritual—a space to metabolize our grief and celebrate our vitality through the ancient tools of song, story, and silence.

Through the lens of “conscious dying” and the restorative power of voice, we will create a brave container to explore the ultimate threshold. Whether you are navigating a personal loss, facing your own mortality, or simply seeking a deeper connection to the pulse of life, this retreat offers a sanctuary for the heart.

More information and registration here or at the link under our bio: https://kirkridge.org/programs-container/1349/living-dying-music-and-mystery-a-retreat-exploring-the-threshold-2/

Calling all lovers of the wild! Join us May 20 for a Wild Church service. Wild Church is a time to listen for the Spirit...
05/13/2026

Calling all lovers of the wild! Join us May 20 for a Wild Church service. Wild Church is a time to listen for the Spirit as it moves through the trees and pulses in the earth. It is a time to come back into right relationship with the more-than-human world and to advocate for its thriving.

Wednesday, May 20
Service at 5:30pm
Potluck at 6:30
2881 Fox Gap Road, Bangor, PA

We are LGBTQ+ affirming and often LGBTQ+ led.

Please bring something for the potluck if you can, and also, don't let that be a barrier to coming.

Access notes: We typically gather outside, usually between 100 and 400 feet from the parking lot. If it is raining hard or extremely cold, we will meet inside, often in the barn, which is free of hay. A variety of different kinds of seating are available, and you're welcome to bring a chair that works well for you. There are all-gender, single-stall bathrooms available in the Farmhouse, usually 100-200 feet away from our service. There will be time for solo wandering at your own pace in the woods and meadows, but you are always welcome to remain seated or take a chair with you. If you have more questions about accessibility, feel free to reach out.

Address

2495 Fox Gap Road
Bangor, PA
18013

Telephone

+16105881793

Website

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