Community Forum tag:mnmales.org,2009:/community/2 2008-12-01T04:44:08Z This is the place for our community members to join the conversation. Movable Type 3.2ysb5-20051201 Checking in... tag:mnmales.org,2008:/community//2.39 2008-12-01T04:41:02Z 2008-12-01T04:44:08Z All initiated men visiting this site are invited to check in here by clicking on the 'comments' and letting us know you are out there by:1. Sharing your name, the year and place of your ROP.2. Adding any reflections on... Steve Robach All initiated men visiting this site are invited to check in here by clicking on the 'comments' and

letting us know you are out there by:

1. Sharing your name, the year and place of your ROP.

2. Adding any reflections on what your ROP has meant for your life.

3. Listing any ways you have used to keep 'the edges hot' since your ROP.

 

Think of this site as a large 'garage' where a bunch of guys are hanging out and supporting each other on 'the journey'.

 Blessings,

The Web Guy

]]> Summer 2009 ROP at Sandstone, Minnesota tag:mnmales.org,2008:/community//2.38 2008-11-29T02:48:28Z 2008-11-29T02:50:37Z With less than a year before our 2009 Rites of Passage in Sandstone, Minnesota, this is an invitation to all initiated men to do use this site to exchange ideas on recruiting men for next summer's ROP. We need... Steve Robach With less than a year before our 2009 Rites of Passage in Sandstone, Minnesota, this is an invitation to all initiated men to do use this site to exchange ideas on recruiting men for next summer's ROP. We need your ideas and your energy to make sure we have a good turn out for this event. Just a note - please add your thoughts by clicking on the 'comment' word with this entry. Your comment will not be instantly published. The web guy has to check the comments first before publishing them. Unfortunately many 'predator' soft ware packages are active in cyber space, looking for sites to attach themselves to with their mostly perverse messages. Once your comments are checked out they will be published to this site. Keep checking and adding your comments. Where have all the M.A.L.Es. Gone? tag:mnmales.org,2007:/community//2.33 2007-12-19T03:46:52Z 2008-12-01T04:44:08Z WHERE HAVE ALL THE M.A.L.E.S. GONE?Guys, I want your feedback. Is my question true for you? For anyone?A number of us are noticing that the ROP is great and guys leave all fired up. But when we get home, the... JohnP www.mnmales.org


WHERE HAVE ALL THE M.A.L.E.S. GONE?

Guys, I want your feedback. Is my question true for you? For anyone?

A number of us are noticing that the ROP is great and guys leave all fired up. But when we get home, the community building phase, of becoming a leaven for all men and for sharing with young men, doesn’t seem to be happening, al least not in this part of the USA. Men’s groups are few and far between. Large group events are poorly attended. Maybe individuals are nourishing themselves with prayer, reading, websites, one-on-one visits over coffee or beer. But the community forming ain’t visible.

Demands from family and work are surely a factor, and these must be honored. Perhaps there are as many reasons as there are individuals, all of them understandable. But still, . . .

One possible reason has not yet been named. And, if this is real and widespread, M.A.L.E.S. needs to address the challenge. . .

If M.A.L.E.S. is anything, it is an immersion in spirituality for men. Many men find this attractive, answering their deepest hungers and truly desirable. But many men have, for whatever (valid) reason, drifted so far for so long from spirituality and from organic religious experience, that they no longer have any idea how to catch up with the ideal that will fulfill them. Or they never had the opportunity to experience these realities at all. And they don’t even know how to phrase the question, to be able to ask for help. Or they feel they are alone in this predicament and don’t want to look foolish before other guys. Or they are just feeling guilty or ashamed. Or whatever. And so they remain silent and pull away from the very answer to their prayers and hungers.

We need each other. Each of us needs the community. And the community needs each of us. Whatever our shit, the beloved son of God underneath is our best gift to each other and to the future.

So is there a need for M.A.L.E.S. to offer some kind of group or one-on-one remedial catch-up service? If so, I have no idea how or when this need can be answered. But first we have to identify the possible need, before we are able to tailor a response. So, is this a need for you or someone(s) you know?

Lets put it in the form of a question:
What do I need, for me to be more free
to tie in to the community experience of M.A.L.E.S.?


Disclaimer: This question is mine and mine alone. I have not bounced this question off of Richard Rohr or any other of the mucky-mucks of the movement. So if I am out in left field, I’M the one who is out in left field.


John Parkos

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]]> How do we encourage men to commit to a ROP? tag:mnmales.org,2007:/community//2.32 2007-12-18T01:32:52Z 2008-11-29T02:50:37Z As we move forward trying to build a network of men who are commited to promoting ROPs, what are some strategies you believe would help get men to consider a ROP for themselves?... Steve Robach As we move forward trying to build a network of men who are commited to promoting ROPs, what are some strategies you believe would help get men to consider a ROP for themselves? Men keeping edges hot/// tag:mnmales.org,2007:/community//2.7 2007-11-05T01:18:01Z 2008-11-29T02:50:37Z Gentlemen, Since your ROP what are you doing to keep 'the edges hot'?... Steve Robach Gentlemen, Since your ROP what are you doing to keep 'the edges hot'?