More than 300 men, a patchwork of young, old and in-betweens, turned out Super Bowl weekend for the Arkansas Men’s Catholic Conference, the cornerstone event of the Men of Faith ministry at Christ the King Church in Little Rock.
Chris Fray, one of the co-coordinators of the Feb. 1 event, said the conference’s underlying purpose has remained unchanged in this, its fourth year, even as attendance and visibility have grown.
“We are Christian men seeking to do God’s will,” Fray said. “That hasn’t wavered from the very first. Each one of us is called to witness as a Christian man in a world that doesn’t want to talk to us. The challenge is to live in Christ and emulate Christ at all times.”
This year, registrants from as far away as Fayetteville, Pine Bluff and Texas helped double last year’s attendance, in part thanks to men’s ministries that are taking root in parishes across the diocese. Christ the King’s Men of Faith group is among the largest and most prominent of these, attracting an average of 60 to 70 men each Friday at 6 a.m. for faith discussions.
“What we see in society today is that the Church goes as men go,” said John Neuman, another of the conference’s coordinators. “We truly feel that a dedicated men’s ministry where you are getting together, you are talking to each other, studying the Scripture together, understanding how that applies to your daily life, will make you a better husband, a better father and make you a better man in society.”
Catholic men’s ministries differ from other parish groups, such as Men’s Clubs or Knights of Columbus councils. These groups, while devoting a segment of time to communal prayer, are typically geared to service, fundraising and fellowship. They generally don’t devote much time to studying Scripture or other faith-based literature.
“I think men have not been encouraged enough to stand up and know their faith and share it,” said Deacon Robert Wanless, who heads a Men of Faith group at St. John Church in Hot Springs. “The biggest challenge is … living in the world with that faith where there’s a lot of things against it and it’s so easy to flow with the crowd and be part of the world instead of a witness in the world.”
Abbot Jerome Kodell, OSB, of Subiaco Abbey, a speaker at the men’s conference, said God created people uniquely man and woman and as such each needs the chance to learn and understand what is expected of them. He said Catholic men face many impediments to this understanding.
“We don’t realize the masters that we are obeying, because most of the masters that we obey, unless we are careful, are unseen,” he said. “And so we think we’re free because we do what we think we want to do but really, we’re driven from the outside. The only way to be free is to choose your master, choose your identity and act from the inside.”
Part of attaining that freedom is a forum to talk about work, family or faith issues from the male perspective, which is at the heart of men’s ministries.
“The importance of this group is that it is a relationship group,” said Paul Warren, director of church operations at St. Joseph Church in Fayetteville. “It’s not just about the Scripture study, the guys here have come to know each other on a personal level.
“I think it’s because they have that trust level that we can say things here in our group that might otherwise be considered a little harsh, even a polite argument or two. We talk about men’s issues and our role in the issues of the day. It’s definitely guy talk.”
Warren said a core group of 15 meet for the once-weekly Saturday morning group which, with a couple of exceptions, trends toward an older demographic. Such is the challenge of many men’s ministries and to attract some of the younger crowd, St. Joseph also sponsors a men’s basketball night.
In nearby Rogers, St. Vincent de Paul Church has taken a two-pronged approach to help ensure the widest participation as possible. Twice per year, the parish sponsors “Mornings with Monsignor” a six-week Friday morning book study led by pastor Msgr. David LeSieur. The course runs concurrently with that offered to Spanish-speaking men, led by associate pastor Father Juan Manjarrez on Monday nights
Connecting across cultural lines mirrors the connection across generational lines that many say is at the heart of successful men’s ministry.
“It’s invaluable to have men who have the wisdom of where the Church was, where we’ve come and the experiences they’ve had as father and husband,” Neuman said. “Being a husband, being a father, there’s no instruction guides, and so having these older gentlemen to confer with is just invaluable.”
