Berrigan’s Folly Organizer and Activist Respite Program

“The times are urgent; we must slow down.” –Bayo Akomolafe

Are you an organizer or activist in need of rest and rejuvenation? 

Kirkridge Retreat Center is launching Berrigan’s Folly Organizer and Activist Respite program. We are offering no-cost week-long private retreats for movement organizers and activists in Daniel Berrigan’s Folly Cottage at Kirkridge Retreat Center. 

Located along the beautiful, forested Kittatinny Ridge, the one room cottage is fully furnished and has a kitchenette where residents can prepare their own meals.

Deer, black bear, groundhogs, and other woodland creatures forage just outside the large windows, and on rainy evenings, the space is shrouded in the clouds. The cottage sits a few hundred feet from the Appalachian trail, with access to many other trails nearby, and a short walk from a soaring overlook at the very crest of the mountain. The cottage is also a long walk or short drive from Columcille Megalith Park, a serene, self-described “land of myth and mystery” featuring many standing stones, a stone labyrinth shared with Kirkridge, and additional trails through the woods.

Fr. Daniel Berrigan, for whom the respite program is named, was a Jesuit priest and antiwar activist whose involvement with the Catonsville Nine draft card-burning action placed him on the FBI’s “most wanted list.” Founder also of the Plowshares anti-nuclear movement, Berrigan was also a poet and playwright, and he believed strongly in the importance of retreat. Kirkridge’s Folly cottage was one of his most frequent retreat spaces. Renamed Berrigan’s Folly, we hope that the space also offers room for joy and play.

To request retreat space at Berrigan’s Folly, please fill out this form. Space is limited, and the needs of those most directly impacted are prioritized. Thank you for applying. We will be in touch within a couple weeks.