find the hope already here

a p p a l a c h i a n c a t h o l i c w o r k e r

 
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we are unable to accommodate individual volunteers or retreatants, but check out some of our friends who can!

 
State Champion - West Virginia’s largest American Elm tree as registered by the Department of Forestry on ACW farm. Over 300 years old, 78 feet in height, 78’ feet in breadth, and it takes 4 adults, arms outstretched, to reach around the trunk.

State Champion - West Virginia’s largest American Elm tree as registered by the Department of Forestry on ACW farm. Over 300 years old, 78 feet in height, 78’ feet in breadth, and it takes 4 adults, arms outstretched, to reach around the trunk.

“Just when you think you’re lost,
you’re almost there.“
~several College students

Ever wonder what’s at the end of the Earth?  Well, now you know!  You’ll find our Catholic Worker Farm -and yourself- here, deep in a beautiful 100 acre holler off a winding country road.  It’s anything but a dead-end.  Life is teeming all around and you’ll want to match its relaxed pace, especially on the mountain miles it takes to get here.  No need to drive white-knuckled looking like a deer in headlights. Enjoy taking your time. We bet you’ll soon agree that, without these ancient hills among us, it would be way too crowded and noisy. As it is, we already have our fair share of natural neighbors, and the silence can be deafening.

We’ve found the source of Puddle Run’s stream waters to be the perfect place for an Appalachian E.C.O. Center, so, that’s what we do here: Education, Contemplation, and Outreach for all creation.  Have your college group join us for “heavy, deep, and real” discussions on justice and spirituality, a rejuvenating retreat in the woods, and to offer life-giving work in the community and on the land.  After all, we believe these are means to fostering the type of society the Creator intended.

 

“Define sustainability? It’s being in relationship.
It’s recognizing all life is interconnected…and acting like it.”

Jean E. Kirkhope / Founder

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PURPOSE:

ACW is a listening presence in the mountains.

MISSION: 

We accompany those on the margins in Appalachia
and educate visiting college groups about the region and its people.

VISION: 

Inspired by the gospels, Catholic social teachings, and the three Appalachian pastoral letters,
we find hope for all creation in the context of these ancient, battered hills.

CORE VALUES: 

Connection, Compassion, Equity, Harmony

PERSONAL VOWS:  

Solidarity, Simplicity, Service, Contemplative Prayer