Some insight gained while out in the woods...

http://www.intothewildweekend.com/

I went with two parishoners, Mark and Mike, on an outdoor men's retreat called "Into The Wild" (http://www.intothewildweekend.com/) run by The King's Men (http://www.thekingsmen.org/) out of Philadelphia. What a great experience! Picture 100 men, out in the woods, in cabins, celebrating mass, praying, fishing, digging holes and tramping through the woods together in the spirit of faith.
 
The whole weekend is structured to teach three elements of Masculinity: leader, provider, and protector. For example, we had a presentation to teach us basic Orienteering. We were broken into groups - guys we didn't know. We learned to use a map and a compass to determine the direction to head. I had done this before, but this way was better. Then we walked 100 meters and counted paces to determine our pace "factor" or the distance we walk in each pace. After learning this, of course we could determine from a map direction and distance to go and then count out the paces.

Okay, so then we are sent into the woods to find markers that matched points which we copied onto our map. The first thing we found out was that often you can't just go in a straight line and count the paces because there is an obstacle in the way. So we had to learn to read other symbols on the map, such as a foot path or contour lines to tell us to go uphill or downhill or symbols that showed there is heavy vegetation.

My team of 4 (myself, Ted, Harry and his son Mark) split into two sub teams. Ted and I calculated the distance and direction from the map, compared it and then sent Harry off into the woods. Then the rest of us would catch up and spread out to look for the orange pole with a red, yellow or green band (for number of points) with the name of a saint and a code we had to write down to get the points.

After two hours of scrambling through the forest we had found 6 markers worth 26 points. We were pretty proud of ourselves. (until we heard that others had 40 something points and higher. ;)  This whole exercise was to get us thinking about leadership. And to learn that to be a leader, you have to know the direction you want to lead and be able to work with people to get there. As Christians, we men lead based on Gospel values.

Harry and I talked a lot that night and he helped me talk out some things I was struggling with. Thanks, Harry! Later that evening and every night we sat around a huge bonfire and guys would get up and share how the weekend and their faith journey was going. Very inspiring stories.

On Saturday, we broken up into three teams: fishing, outdoor chapel building, and outdoor cooking. The fishing guys got up very early and headed out to a beautiful lake. The chapel building guys worked all day to build a chapel in the woods: benches made from logs, a stone and wood altar and lectern and some other decor such as a main cross (with two stone crosses on a hill to represent the two thieves) and a little grotto for Mary. We had mass in this outdoor Cathedral on Sunday morning. Awesome.

I was on the outdoor cooking team. The team dug a 2 foot by 6 foot by about 2 foot deep hole out of incredibly rocky ground. In it we placed volcanic rock that had been heated in the fire and  a burlap wrapped pig. We covered it with the rock and dirt and let it cook in the earth oven for 10 hours. We dug two more holes for logs in which we cut notches for the spits with 12 chickens (stuffed with garlic and rosemary.) We also cut up little potatoesand some veggies: red bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash and fennel (which John, our chef, grilled later.) John also baked some brisket. At night we had a big Ol' feast for a bunch of hungry, tired guys. It was delicioso!

That night we had the hugest bonfire I had ever seen. More guys got up and shared their story. I was inspired to share even though I wasn't planning on it. I shared a bit of my struggle to discover what a real man is (versus a macho Rambo type or the Sex addict or the dopey husband portrayed on TV.) I realized how much, as a man and a priest, that I needed the witness of these faith filled Catholic men. I need them to bring their wives and children to mass. I need them to support me in preaching the Truth to a culture that does not welcome it. I need them to have the courage to stand up against evil and promote Christian values in our community. And sometimes, I need someone like Harry, to tell me when I am being prideful and need to learn humility.

Overall, it was a great retreat, despite the sleeping on plywood and the bug bites (even with spray) and the lack of sleep. I definitely feel fired up and had some good insight into the direction my parish's men's group should go.

I highly recommend checking out the Kings Men and possibly attending one of these retreat weekend (maybe with your son!)