Upcoming Programs

Michael Morwood
June 3-9, 2013

It’s Time. There is much to let go of and much to be reclaimed if Christian prayer and spirituality are to resonate with our twenty-first century understanding of the universe and with belief that the Divine Presence is active everywhere. The retreat will focus on bringing our understanding of Jesus and his insights into harmony with this understanding.

Cost $665  includes double occupancy room, board and tuition

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Mike Lew and Thom Harrigan

June 7-9, 2013

This weekend retreat offers a safe, encouraging environment of healing for couples where one or both of the partners is a non-offending survivor of child abuse, rape, physical violence, and/or emotional abuse. All couples in committed relationships are welcome.

Cost $650 per couple  includes room, board and tuition

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Cindy Garis
June 28-30, 2013

This retreat focuses on the spiritual life by letting themes from The Wizard of Oz invite us to a richer prayer life.  We will be going ‘behind the curtain’ as we follow the yellow brick road of our souls to draw personally closer to God.

Cost $355  includes double occupancy room, board and tuition

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Bill Harley
July 19-21, 2013

"Bill Harley has the uncanny ability to reaffirm life for listeners, be they five or fifty. Humor, empathy, intelligence and reality all radiate from his work and from him." - Penguin Books

A two-time Grammy award-winning artist, recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the RI Council for the Humanities, Bill uses song and story to paint a vibrant and hilarious picture of growing up, schooling and family life. His work spans the generation gap, reminds us of our common humanity and challenges us to be our very best selves. A prolific author and recording artist, Bill is also a regular commentator for NPR's "All Things Considered" and featured on PBS. He joined the National Storytelling Network's Circle of Excellence in 2001 and tours nationwide as an author, performing artist and keynote speaker.

Bill began singing and storytelling in 1975 while still in college.  His work has influenced a generation of children, parents, performing artists and educators. Bill's songs are joyous, direct and honest, his stories are filled with the details of daily life – all told and sung from his slightly off-center point of view.

"Humor is my weapon," says Harley of his award-winning recordings. A two-time Grammy winner, Bill's recordings have also garnered numerous other national awards including Parents' Choice, NAPPA (National Association of Parenting Publication Awards), ALA (American Library Association) and the highest honor from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio for his concert DVD, "Yes to Running!" filmed in conjunction with Montana PBS

Cost $415  includes double occupancy room, board and tuition

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Information for CEU Credits

Caroline Fairless and Sally hare
July 23-25, 2013

Humans are hardwired to connect, building relationships both human-to-human and human-to-non-human. Although such interdependence is often diminished, dampened, distorted, or ignored, the knowing is innate and cannot be extinguished. Our sense of place and innate knowing of time are birthright gifts that deepen with our experiences.  Living in the Space Between is a three-day retreat to explore and reclaim our connectedness with the Earth and with our Selves. By creating a safe, supportive space, facilitators Caroline Fairless and Sally Z. Hare invite you into a space in which we can let down the defenses we have built around our own deep listening to our Selves and the Earth  -- and the wisdom of both.

Cost $650 includes single occupancy room, board and tuition

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Mike Lew and Thom Harrigan
Aug 16-18, 2013

This retreat is for non-offending adult male survivors of abuse who are actively engaged in recovery work. A variety of activities to promote healing will include shared stories, writing, anger work, small group discussion, and relaxation, all in a safe and supportive environment.

A letter of recommendation from a therapist must accompany the registration form/deposit. The registration deadline for this event is August 2.

Cost $380 includes double occupancy room, board and tuition

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Virginia Mollenkott & Mary Hunt
Sept 6-8, 2013

Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Women of Faith and our allies gather to discuss the challenges of coming out—not only regarding sexual/gender identities but also our convictions on personal, family, national, and global justice issues.  Presentations by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott and Mary E. Hunt, three panel discussions, singing, worship, alcohol-free partying, and opportunities for individual participation will make for a happy celebration of what has become a year-round support group.

Cost $355 includes double occupancy room, board and tuition.

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Michael Morwood
Sept. 13-15, 2013

This weekend offers the opportunity to discuss and reflect on the key issues in his book: It’s Time. Challenges to the Doctrine of the Faith. Topics will include: understanding "God" in the 21st century, moving beyond the worldview and the Christology of Paul and the gospel writers, Jesus as revealer of the Divine always present, the importance of Jesus’ message for our world today, how to be "church" today.

Cost $365  includes double occupancy room, board and tuition

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Jean Richardson  and Lee Walters

Join a discussion exploring ways Kirkridge might be more fully involved in the lives of families living with various experiences of disability. Together we will work toward extending circles of support and friendship around our loved ones who deserve to be more fully included in the abundance of life.

Cost $325 includes double occupancy room, board and tuition.

 Dana Greene
 Sept 27-29, 2013

A major poet of the second half of the twentieth century, Denise Levertov (1923-1997) was a  “poet in the world.” Levertov combined a life-long commitment to a poetic vocation with engagement in the social justice issues of her day:  opposition to the Vietnam War, nuclear proliferation and environmental degradation. At life’s end, this agnostic daughter of a Hasidic Jew became a Christian through the process of writing poems.

Cost $365 includes double occupacy room, board and tuition.

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Chris Glaser & Brendan Fay
Oct 3-6, 2013

We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, a communion of gay saints who inspire us to speak for justice and peace, inclusion and love. From Serge & Bacchus, Aelred of Rievaulx, and Francis of Assisi to Bayard Rustin, Troy Perry, and John McNeill (who founded this retreat 30 years ago), we have centuries of witnesses to God’s unconditional love. Reclaim our history as well as our own stories!

Cost $450 includes double occupancy room, board and tuition.

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John Bell
Oct 7-10, 2013

Just as we cannot pick and choose aspects of our nation’s history which we like, but rather have to deal with the warts as well as the wonders, so Christians as people of the Book cannot simply erase aspects of the Bible which they find unpalatable.

In this retreat we begin with noting the major differences in supposition with which Western Christians come to the Bible over against most people in history and most people elsewhere in the world today. We then will spend time with particular passages which cause concern - the stories of violence in Hebrew history, the vengeful poems in the psalms, the things Jesus and Paul said which we might prefer had gone unsaid.

Cost $435 includes double occupancy room, board and tuition.

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Laurice Nemetz
Oct. 11-13, 2013

For thousands of years, yoga has been a means to obtain a higher level of spiritual understanding. As such, it can be complementary to one’’s own religious background. During this weekend we will explore yoga through asana (physical postures), meditation, and philosophy as it applies to a variety of religious and belief systems. We will explore the transformative power of the body/ mind/spirit connection and the principles practiced to encourage peace in the body and the greater world.

Cost $400 includes double occupancy room, board and tuition.

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Ysaye Barnwell
Oct. 18-20, 2013

Join us for a weekend of singing, American history, and fun. Experience music from the African American vocal tradition, including calls and chants, spirituals, ring shouts, hymns, gospels, songs of the Civil Rights Movement, and songs of contemporary struggle.

Cost $365 includes double occupacy room board and tuition.

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Kathy Staudt, Kathleen Glaser and Michael S. Glaser
Oct. 22-24, 2013

This conference will examine the confluence of these two rivers – poetry and prayer, and how, both individually and together, they can open channels for gratitude and blessings. We will both read and write poetry, practice being present to one another and to the world, and explore ways that poetry and prayer together can enrich and deepen our humanness and our ability to listen, be present and compassionately serve.

Cost $400 includes double occupancy room, board and tuition.

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Grace Fala and Neill Johnson
Oct. 24-27, 2013

In its nineteenth year, Agape is a spiritual retreat for transgender, bisexual,
lesbian, gay and queer young adults who come to celebrate the wild beauty of
the mountains that hold and surround Kirkridge.

Cost $160  includes double occupancy room, board and tuition

Full Description

Kathleen Glaser, Michael S. Glaser and Jean Richardson
Oct. 25-27, 2013

The design of this weekend will be to provide a nurturing and safe place in which to recognize and open ourselves to those significant questions are often too busy to listen to, or find too uncomfortable to hear.

Through careful listening to ourselves and each other, we will seek to discover the excitement and satisfaction that comes from taking time to explore our most important questions, pay attention to the invitations they may hold and begin to live our way more fully into both the possibiities and the mystery they afford us.

Cost $400 includes double occupancy room, board and tuition.

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Carrie Newcomer and Faith Kirkham Hawkins
Nov 8-10, 2013

Within Jewish tradition, sacred texts are renewed through midrash—creatively retelling and asking questions of important sacred stories. Participants will explore ways the traditional wisdom speaks to the questions we face now. Open to both those new and experienced in writing and creative arts.

Cost $435 includes double occupancy room, board and tuition.

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