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 renewal?

Kirkridge Retreat Center is introducing the Berrigan's Folly Organizer and Activist Respite program, offering no-cost week-long private retreats for movement organizers and activists in Daniel Berrigan's Folly Cottage at Kirkridge Retreat Center.

Nestled along the scenic, wooded Kittatinny Ridge, the one-room cottage is fully furnished and includes a kitchenette, giving guests the option to prepare their own meals.

Wildlife such as deer, black bear, and groundhogs can often be seen outside the large windows, and on rainy evenings the cottage is wrapped in clouds. Just a few hundred feet from the Appalachian Trail, it also offers access to many nearby trails and is a short walk from a dramatic overlook at the mountain’s highest point. In addition, the cottage is a long walk or short drive from Columcille Megalith Park, a peaceful “land of myth and mystery” with standing stones, a shared stone labyrinth, and more woodland trails.

Fr. Daniel Berrigan, the namesake of this respite program, was a Jesuit priest, antiwar activist, poet, and playwright whose role in the Catonsville Nine draft card-burning action landed him on the FBI’s “most wanted list.” He also founded the Plowshares anti-nuclear movement and believed deeply in the value of retreat. Kirkridge’s Folly cottage was one of his most frequent retreat spaces. Now renamed Berrigan’s Folly, it is hoped the cottage will also hold space for joy and play.

To request retreat space at Berrigan’s Folly, please complete the form. Space is limited, and priority will be given to those most directly impacted. Thank you for applying; you will hear back within a couple of weeks.