Note: The article below by Kevin Lynch is from the National Fellowship of Catholic Men Blog. It is posted under the topic, "Starting/Sustaining Parish-Based Men's Groups." The Blog contains multiple articles on important men's topics (including "The Battle for Sexual Integrity") and provides the opportunity for men to communicate with one another on these topics. The Blog is accessible from the NFCM Home Page or you can go directly to it here. Please consider forwarding this article to other men to let them know of the NFCM Blog. You can do this by clicking on the "Email this Article" hotlink at the top of this article. The men will also get to watch some very funny videos.
The group that formed at St. Gertrude Catholic Church, in Cincinnati, is a good illustration of how a typical small men's fellowship group works and looks. In fact, many of the fellowship groups in the Cincinnati area are formed along similar lines, as St. Gertrude's, and several serve as "Incubators." These Incubator Parishes allow potential Leaders to attend sessions with a mature group and then initiate a similar gathering in their home or adjacent Parish.
St. Gertrude Parish formed a leadership team so that responsibilities were shared and a format was adopted that remains to this very day. It is important to note that this is a dynamic team so that responsibilities are rotated and men become competent in a number of areas. This is especially important for the facilitator's role. This leader must present a fresh, encouraging and effective tone to the discussion so that all participants feel valued.
St. Gertrude men gather at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning for coffee and doughnuts served by our hospitality chairman. At 7:45 a.m. our song leader exhorts the men to join in several opening songs that are robust in nature and "ideally" tie in with our discussion topic. The prayer leader follows with an opening prayer or petition and is joined by as many men as feel called to offer their own intentions. By 8:00 a.m., or so, the facilitator introduces the topic with Scripture and Catechism references. Discussion follows and the process comes to an end, with prayer, at 9:00 a.m.
This format encourages men to be honest with one another and openly share what is going on in their lives. It is important that a non-judgmental attitude prevail which means that trust must be high among the men.
Topics vary but an effort is made to make sure they relate to issues more germane to men and the sort of issues they grapple with on a daily basis. For example, one area that arouses intense discussion centers on Fatherhood and its spiritual aspects. For example: "How did your Father model a prayer life for you?" and/or "What does it mean to you that your Heavenly Father loves you unconditionally and how do you pass that on to your children?"
We have found a number of guides to be helpful. We often use SIGNPOSTS published by The Word Among Us Press. SIGNPOSTS contains 52 topics that focus on relationships, and other male oriented topics, with provocative discussion questions along with Scriptural and Catechism references. One of our men recently commented that "the beauty of SIGNPOSTS lies in the fact that once we work our away through it we can start over because thinking changes over the course of 52 sessions!"
A number of Emmaus Journey publications have served as excellent resources for our group over the years as well. EMBRACING THE KINGDOM and, more recently, LIVING IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT have fueled many a fine session among our men. Books like this not only prove to be helpful discussion starters but excellent tools for learning about and enriching our Catholic faith. SIGNPOSTS, the Emmaus Journey publications, and many other fine Catholic men's group resources are available on the National Fellowship of Catholic Men website at www.catholicmensresources.org.
Today's technology enables us to inject some immediacy in our gatherings. Everyone is set up on e-mail so that we can quickly communicate prayer needs, special requests and information about the upcoming fellowship sessions. For example, the leadership team will send out an e-mail several days before an upcoming session, which details the topic, Scripture and Catechism reference and a key discussion question or two. This e-mail "alert" serves as a reminder and provokes the men to read and reflect on the topic ahead of time. This advance effort enriches the overall experience.
Many members of the St. Gertrude gathering have assumed other roles within the Parish as a result of their participation in the fellowship group. We have sponsored events for the Parish featuring well known Speakers, weekend retreats and information sessions on various Church documents. Our Pastor, Fr. Ken Letoile, actively encourages the group, participates when he can and "loves having a men's fellowship group in my Parish"!
What about you? Are you interested in joining or forming a Catholic men's fellowship group? Are you interested in ways to make your current men's group more vibrant? If so, feel free to contact the National Fellowship of Catholic Men for the help and support you need.
Kevin Lynch is Co-Founder of the Catholic Men's Fellowship of Greater Cincinnati and National Fellowship of Catholic Men.
