Welcome to The Kirkja
Please reach out to make new reservations
PLEASE - The Kirkja is located in a residential neighborhood with minimal parking. Park on Kalua Street and walk the short distance to Jib Court and The Kirkja. If you have supplies to drop off at The Kirkja, feel free to pull into the driveway, unload, and then park your car on Kalua. This will ensure that we keep our relationship with our neighbors healthy, so The Kirkja can remain open to the community for years to come!
Thank you to all who donated to our two magnificently successful Go Fund Me campaigns! Thanks to everyone’s generosity, The Kirkja (pronounced keer - kah) has a tremendous permanent all-season roof that would make our Norse, Welsh and Scots ancestors proud, and we have new seating and blankets as well. For those who don’t know, ‘Kirkja’ is a general western- and northern-European word for cathedral - a building used for sacred community gathering, reverence and celebration.
The Kirkja is here for any and all who will follow the few instructions for how to care for it, and who will respect the residential neighborhood in which it is nestled, and the intentions which have brought it into being and sustain it.
To make a reservation scroll to the form at the bottom of this page · (We ask a minimum of 48 hours cancelation or you will be asked to pay for your reservation in full.)
The Kirkja, built in 2011, is used by groups for all sorts of events including men’s/women’s groups, family gatherings, ancestral reverence and healing, community tending, ceremonies and rites of passage, grief rituals, ghost-story-telling, seasonal holiday celebrations, slumber parties, and so much more. It was conceived out of a longing to have more readily-available non-commercial places to gather (in all our configurations and identities) to be with each other, with our ancestors, with our grief and gratitude, and all the other ways we feel our humanity in this unique and intense time.
Both individuals and groups are invited to rent The Kirkja for on-going or single-time use. For those who are using The Kirkja for groups and gatherings, feel free to include any of the information on this page in your invitations to your people.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to Christiane (303-449-8590) with any additional questions.
Come participate in one of our
monthly community gatherings:
Women’s New Moon Fires happen on or around the new moon each month and are open to all women. this is a drop-in event and as such it may be very crowded or very spacious. That’s part of the wonder of spontaneous gathering. Come ready for whatever might unfold. Requested donation of $25 to support the ongoing upkeep of this very special place!
Community Council gatherings happen the last Sunday of each month and are open to all adults. This, too, is a drop-in event. No need to register. Requested donation of $25 to support the ongoing upkeep of this very special place!
To see all the scheduled Kirkja & Community events please visit the Calendar.
General Information to All Renters
Please read this thoroughly before using The Kirkja. You are responsible for understanding all information and respecting and carrying out all instructions.
Donations and Rates:
We ask $25/hour for your use of The Kirkja. (Please let me know if that amount poses a hardship for you and your group. I offer a Sliding scale and free options.) I take payment via ApplyPay (303-449-8590), Venmo (@christiane-pelmas) and also can take cash and checks at the time of your use. If you are using the space for more than 10 hours, the fee is $200 for each 24-hour period. I ask that you include a padding of 15 minutes on either side of your event when calculating your total fee.
The Kirkja Calendar:
To reserve The Kirkja for an on-going group, single-time use, or to find availability for a spontaneous visit, check out the calendar.
Animals:
Please do not bring your dogs to The Kirkja. We regret that this restriction applies to companion animals as well. The Center On the Edge is home to several ducks and two canines who roam the grounds freely.
The Grounds:
There is an outdoor zero-waste, composting outhouse on the property that can be used when renting The Kirkja. Please note the instructions carefully (posted on the wall of the outhouse), and let your guests/attendees know how to use the outhouse as well. There is an open green space just outside the back gate of the Center’s property, that is available for your use, should you and your guests want to be ‘topside’ under the sun or stars at any point during your time here.
There are Kirkja blankets, 6 cushions and 14 folding stadium seats available in the cabinet on the east side of The Kirkja. Please make sure to shake everything out and return to the cabinet, folded and stacked (refer to the image at the bottom of this page for a reference). If anything gets wet please leave the wet items in The Kirkja and let me know, via text or in person, before you leave so I can attend to it.
The Kirkja spaciously seats 12 to 13 individuals. We have had groups as large as 20 but a few of your participants would have to sit on the covered stairs, and those around the fire would be sitting shoulder to shoulder. If you’re uncertain about the size of your group and the Kirkja space, please do come by and check it out before reserving.
The Fire: All the fire materials (wood, kindling and paper) are available for your use. Some kindling and wood of various sizes may already be stacked at the west side of the Kirkja, accessible from inside the Kirkja or by going out of the Kirkja and around. But please know – you may need to split wood for your fire so leave plenty of time before your event for whatever set-up is required. There are fire-tending tools and a small hand ax in the Kirkja. Please make sure they stay in the Kirkja.
Do not burn anything in the fire that is synthetic. Make sure there are no flames – only embers – in the fire upon exiting for the evening, and also make sure to cover the fire with the mesh grate.
Candles: If you burn candles/votives in the Kirkja you must make sure to place them in a container that will hold the melted wax. Do not burn candles directly on the hearth stones or in the pea gravel.
Food: If you wish to have food in the Kirkja please make sure to clean up all crumbs, wrappings and debris. There is a battery-powered lantern hanging on the right pillar at the foot of the stairs to help you shed light on your set-up/clean-up process.
Location & Parking:
The Kirkja address is 6482 Jib Court, Boulder 80301. This is the Twin Lakes area of Gunbarrel. Jib Court is a small cul-de-sac. Please park on the adjacent streets (Mast and Kalua). It’s fine to park anywhere along the side of the road on Mast and Kalua. The house itself is a small brown cottage with orange and red trim. To get to The Kirkja walk up the drive and take the path to the left that takes you through the gate to the back of the house. The Kirkja is to the East of the house. It is well marked with a sign.
What to Wear:
The Kirkja is an intimate environment and the fire often throws sparks, which sometimes find our clothes! Wear clothing that you won’t mind getting little holes in, here or there. In Winter, I advise bringing layers, including a cap/hat. Temperature changes after sundown are often big.
What to bring, if your event includes offerings to the fire:
It is common to make offerings to the fire during ceremonies in the Kirkja. I request that nothing synthetic be offered to the fire. Anything that grows naturally (including paper, cotton, silk, wood, plant material, and liquids that are not flammable) are all fine. Please do not burn alcohol or any other flammable liquid. When burning paper please make sure it has been torn into small pieces so it does not become airborne flame or ember. Have the grate ready to cover anything that looks like it might fly up out of the Kirkja. Human ashes are welcome in the fire as well but please do let me know if you plan to offer human ashes to the Kirkja fire.
In the Kirkja:
I ask that you do not use your cell phones in the Kirkja. The Kirkja is a ceremonial space built to provide space for us to honor and make contact with our ancestors and to nourish ourselves and our community. While The Kirkja is used for many different purposes in a wide range of ceremony and celebration, I ask that everything that occur in the Kirkja be sincerely respectful, even if it is a ghost-telling and marshmallow roasting evening with family and friends. Raucous laughter, singing, drumming and other loud sounds are welcome until 10pm and then quiet gathering is in order, to respect the residents of Jib Court and surrounding neighborhoods.
The Kirkja sits in a rural residential zone. That means that while others will not hear the conversations that take place in The Kirkja, your drumming, singing/chanting and other louder sounds will carry. And, you will often hear what goes on in the neighborhood; children playing, cars, dogs barking, etc. This is part of the unique gift of The Kirkja; that ceremony takes place in the community and therefore we are impacted by the community around us. But it’s important to know, noticeable noise might occasionally occur.
On the Grounds:
When renting the Kirkja please feel free to also use the open space behind the house, outside the gate. But please do know that it’s likely there will be people in the house at Jib Ct, while you’re using the Kirkja, so you will not have privacy when you’re outside the Kirkja.
For Individuals:
The Kirkja is here for your use. Whether you simply come sit for a few hours without a fire, or you come spend the night, The Kirkja is a wonderful, nourishing spot. The Kirkja comes with folding stadium seating, blankets, cushions, wood (which you might need to chop into right-size pieces), kindling, and paper. If you are spending the night in The Kirkja, you’re responsible for bringing your own sleeping bag, thermarest/padding, pillows and anything else you’ll need to be warm and comfortable. Remember, you’ll be in a small space with open flame and sparks. Sleeping bags and thermarests are particularly vulnerable to holes. The blankets provided are 100% wool, flame retardant blankets and can be used as covers to keep your items (relatively) safe.
NOTE: Reservations need a minimum of 72 hours to go through the official channels. Cancelations require a minimum of 48 hours for a refund. Within 48 hours we ask that you pay for your reservation in full. (Payments can be made via cash or check, Venmo or ApplePay.)
If you’re interested in coming to The Kirkja spontaneously, and you check the calendar and see that it is not reserved, you are free to come and use the space. However, it is possible that you will arrive to find another spontaneous person already in The Kirkja! This is a community gathering space so should this serendipity occur we encourage you to attune to the process going on already and have fun!
And a secondary note: Please respect everyone’s desire for silence and do not start conversation unless it is relevant to the specifics of the use of The Kirkja, fire-tending, etc. These should be kept brief and to the point. Children are welcome in The Kirkja at any time (except for events that state specifically ‘adults only’ i.e., the monthly Community Council). However, the littles (under 16) must be accompanied by an adult at all times and must be capable of respecting the Kirkja and all those who are using it.
When you are done with your visit in The Kirkja, please make sure the fire is spread out with no visible flames, only coals. Cover the fire with the grate. Fold all blankets and put them back in the armoire neatly, as shown in the following image, with all blankets shaken out, folded and stacked on the left. All folding stadium seats nest/stack on each other as shown. Thank you!
