A café latte … then time to reflect

Retired teacher Peter De Voss, who is involved in one of three menALIVE groups at St Kevin’s in the Geebung parish, says the men are aged from their 40s to their early seventies. “Our group meets on Wednesdays at around 6.30am. There are usually around seven or eight people at the meeting.

“The group facilitator will choose someone to read the gospel and then everyone after a period of quiet reflection has a say about how it applies to their lives. It’s important that every person shares their insights. We finish with a prayer.

“We take it very seriously. Some of the men come well prepared having already formed a view about the gospel reading for that Sunday. I might add that some of the men are very steeped in theology and know their Scriptures back to front,” he says.

The three groups are part of menALIVE, the National Catholic Ministry to men. A Geebung parishioner proposed the idea of the program to Father Robert Doohan about seven years ago and a meeting was organised to discuss the possibilities. Knowing there was a need, Fr Robert was eager to promote the concept.

“I was not surprised about the success of the menAlive movement in the parish because for a long time I sensed a need in Catholic men and a calling within many of them to connect their faith with their lives as Catholic husbands, fathers and single men,” says Fr Robert. 

“We had an initial weekend gathering several years ago for men to come together, after which the men came to the parish Mass and I invoked a special missional blessing on them. I was very moved by the goodness and sincerity of the men, then and now.

“Flowing from that, the men formed into a few groups which meet regularly. They really have become like brothers to each other.”

A larger gathering in November attracted around 50 men, adds Fr Robert. “They began with a barbeque, listened and shared with a speaker and once again the Holy Spirit was a powerful presence among them.”

Peter De Voss, meanwhile, says The Majellan plays an important role in the Wednesday get together.

“Mum passed away not long after her 100^th birthday and she was a long-time subscriber to the magazine until she died in 2021. I kept her subscription going and I’m glad I did. Not long after I renewed, I started receiving the weekly ‘spiritual nourishment’ emails (from Majellan Media).

“I forward them to the rest of the group which gives them another insight into the Sunday gospel. They find the additional reflections (including the Sunday bulletins) helpful. We also really love the quizzes,” Peter adds.

The café meetings have resulted in another unexpected and positive consequence.

“At the nursing home where my mother spent her final years, we found there were men who were not engaged with anyone,” Peter says. “Some would spend their days in their rooms just staring at the ceiling.

“We approached the home and asked if we could come in as a team of three or four and cook the men a barbecue. The home would provide the food and we would do the rest. They agreed but asked there be no evangelising because not everyone is of the Catholic faith.

“About a dozen male residents now turn up and have something to eat and chat with us and amongst themselves. We organise barbecues on the second and third Wednesday of each month. It’s become more like a ‘Men’s Shed’ where the men get together and chat about life and to get things off their chest.

“They tell us things that they wouldn’t necessarily tell the staff, some of whom are 30 years younger, so that line of communication is important. We obviously keep the men’s confidence.”

Such has been the success of the barbecues, Peter says the women at the nursing home have asked staff to prepare barbecue lunches for them.

The men’s group has also been active in other areas, building a memorial garden at the nursing home. “We planted rose bushes in the garden and each year a new plaque is installed with the names of the residents who died over the past year,” Peter says.

Footnote: The purpose of menAlive, co-founded by Robert Falzon and Peter Shakhovskoy, is to ‘bring men together, to renew their faith in God and to encourage them become an active force of renewal in the Church’. Details at: https://www.menalive.org.au/

Image: The Chermside menALIVE group (from L to R) Peter, Darryl, Juan, Bob, Tim, Gerry, Chris and Ian.

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