Our parish has been running a Men's Ministry Breakfast for about 15 (16?) years, 6:00 Am- 7:30 Wednesday except for summer. We started with That Man is You and about 75 men attended. After three years we switched to Fr. Larry Richards, "Be A Man" series of videos. Followed by Fr. Barron's Catholicism series and other you tube videos with live speakers. We generated enough interest to run a couple of men's retreats and a Men's Conference featuring Fr. Larry Richards. (It was great to see him in person). Our highest attendance was around 130 when Archbishop Sartain came to talk. Our leadership moved on to other things like Encounter, Alpha, Exodus 90 and evangelical work. Our kitchen crew's average age was about 74, but they cooked a great breakfast at 4:30 every morning. Attendance dropped to about 45 as men left the parish and few new men joined.. Then COVID restrictions hit and shut us down completely for over two years. We are back up running again but having issues getting volunteers to cook and develop content. On the plus side, the Ministry has spun off several small groups of men that meet regularly, including a group of 8-16 "Retired Old Men Eating Out" (The ROMEO's) that attend Wednesday morning Mass then carpool to a favorite restaurant for breakfast. The restaurant was the first one to reopen during COVID. We ate and prayed together in tents in the parking lot. Some of them still come to the Wednesday breakfast, but most prefer to sleep in and eat & meet after Mass. We have some good help. but we are getting stretched thin. It's a challenge to keep offering good content that doesn't go stale. We've done pretty good using the Wild Goose Series, Fr. John Ricardo's talks and sermons, Bishop Barron's videos and even Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. I'm getting burned out running everything after the previous teams moved on and several key personnel left our very liberal, secular, anti-religious area of Seattle for Texas, Idaho, and other refuges. We do get accolades from men and their wives about this being the best thing to happen to them. Hearing the Men's Ministry mentioned as an important part of a person's life at their funeral makes the effort worthwhile. Also, as others have said, I need the men to keep me straight and accountable. Our success is due more to that first group that started things and mostly due to the Holy Spirit. Don Meyer's help and Heroic Men's website has been a Godsend. If you're starting a group, trust in God, start small and let it grow! The friends you make will be worth it!
