It's not easy to be a man of faith. So much of what is genuinely powerful about Christianity and the life of Christ falls into the realm of the subjective, the relational, the emotional and the celebration of God's power in weakness and vulnerability. All of this is held up against the cultural expectation for men to be right, in charge, more thinking than feeling and utterly silent on the relationships that matter most. Often times this tension results in a sense of faith that is so deeply personal that it is repressed, either out of embarrassment for the strong feelings attached, or out of a need to exhibit self-control even when things are out of control. Sometimes you need a space to be both a guy and a Christian. Sometimes you need to know that other guys are in fact going through the same things. Sometimes you need to be fed and just know that Jesus is present, and that you can lean on him without any sense of shame.
Starting on October 14th you can plan to take 45 minutes out of your week for Bible study, prayer, and breakfast with some of the men of Trinity Lutheran Church. This is a great opportunity to make friends, renew old friendships and get a spiritual charge before heading into the middle of your week. Participants will receive a Lutheran Study Bible if they don't already have one. We will meet in the Golden room at 7:00 a.m. and be on our way by 7:45 a.m. Each week we will have a light breakfast with coffee, take an opportunity to check-in as a group and discuss the readings that will be read during worship on Sunday. We'll look for insights that are important for our working lives and family lives and try to compile some key sermon points to listen for. We'll close each session by holding one another up in prayer.
Study and prayer without service makes for an incomplete walk with Christ, so the Men's Breakfast will also be traveling to Calumet in early May next Spring for the camp opening work weekend. The trip is free, it just requires your work gloves and your energy. We'll take time during that weekend to further explore our faith and to give back to an important ministry of the New England Synod.
You can simply drop in on October 21st, but I'd love to have an idea of how much food to provide for the session. Please drop me a line at 508-753-2989 x.13 or jmlongworth@trinityworc.org. Let me know if you plan to attend and if you have any allergies that I should be aware of.
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