GBTQ Men's Retreat: Seeking Restoration through Community

All retreats are offered on a sliding scale, with scholarships available.

Private Room – $710.00

Shared Room – $560.00

Camping – $395.00

Commuter – $320.00

Date & Time Details: Check-in is between 4:00 and 6:00 pm on Thursday. The first gathering is dinner at 6:00 pm. The retreat concludes after lunch on Sunday, at approximately 1:00 pm.

Location: Turning Point

Address: 2495 Fox Gap Road, Bangor, PA, USA

Contact: lacey

Email us about program

October 22 - 25, 2026

With Dave Howser and Paul F. Morrissey, OSA

For many years, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Questioning men have come together at Kirkridge to deepen community, share laughter and song, tell stories, honor those who have died, and draw strength from one another in the beauty of the mountain landscape. This annual retreat welcomes GBTQ men of every generation who are walking a spiritual path. Seekers, ministers, single or partnered men, first-time guests, and longtime participants are all invited to arrive exactly as they are.

The program includes guided presentations as well as space for reflection, conversation, singing, and small-group connection. There will also be generous unstructured time for solitude, walking the land, socializing, and resting.

This year’s retreat leader 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 take part in program leadership throughout the weekend and help shape the retreat experience.

Leaders

Dave Howser, M.Div., LCPC has facilitated groups, workshops, and retreats for LGBTQ+ people of faith for more than 30 years. His work centers on the meeting point of spirituality and sexuality, informed by experience as a resident chaplain on a hospital AIDS unit, a mental health counselor at an HIV/AIDS service organization, and a retreat leader with men’s groups and interfaith organizations. He now practices psychotherapy and pastoral counseling in Chicago, IL. You may also find Dave canoeing, hiking in the forest, camping on a mountain, or reconnecting with his Western Maryland Appalachian roots.

Paul F. Morrissey, OSA is an Augustinian friar and ordained priest. In 1973, Fr. Paul co-founded the Philadelphia chapter of Dignity, an LGBTQ ministry in the Catholic Church. In 1977, he co-founded Communication Ministry (CMI), an international monthly newsletter, journal, and retreat ministry for LGBTQ priests, brothers, and sisters. His ministry has focused primarily on those marginalized in society and the Church—people who are dying, those in need of counseling, those in prison, and LGBTQ people and their allies. He is the author of three books, including Let Someone Hold You: The Journey of a Hospice Priest, an award-winning memoir, The…