"Mens Prayer Group"...a bad name?

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BenRosa

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Greetings:

We’ve a “Men’s Prayer Group” in our parish that has been active since February, 1998. What started-out as several groups of about 6-8 men, has since dwindled down to a single group of four. This is a poor showing for even a small parish (I believe we’ve about 3500). The parish does “plug” our group in the bulletin from time to time. Still…just this core regulars.

Question: Is the name of our group actually keeping men away?

I’ve heard it is not considered “manly” to prayer. In reality, we really do little praying at our group; we open and close with prayers. In between, we read the upcoming Sunday’s reading and discuss how they relate to modern life. One suggested we change the name to “Men’s Bible Study”. It was thought that that name could send prospects running in the other direction.

Can anyone provide any examples of how they turned-around such a situation? We are open to changing the name of the group.

Thanks in advance for any and all guidance or advice.

Ed in Tampa
 
Hi Ed.

At my parish, we call ouselves the Men’s Fellowship, which I think is more accurate than Men’s Prayer Group or Men’s Bible Study, although both of those would be very worthwhile.

It sounds like your group is much like ours, except we usually have 25-30 men each time we meet, which is the second and fourth Saturday at 7:00 am. Over all, we have about 60 members who come at least once in a while.

We also have social events. This Saturday, we are getting together to make some beer and in about 6 weeks we will have a social with our spouses at which time we will enjoy the product of this Saturday’s get together!

I hope you find an answer to your situation because I think that our Men’s Fellowship is an incredible way to develop and nurture faith of Catholic men.

Peace

Tim
 
I think the most important thing would to have someone confidentially interview the men who left, find out why, and then present the report (anonymously, of course).

You might find out some very surprising things.
 
My parish has a “Men’s Club” that does a lot of activities and of course prays also. We have “Brothers in Christ” which is smaller groups of men that meet in homes on a rotating basis to provide fellowship and spiritual support for them in their manly roles as friend, brother, son, husband or father.

The latter group does more praying together from what I’ve heard. A lot of men who participate in this group have been through a spiritual renewal program of some kind like Christ Renews His Parish, so they are possibly less freaked at the thought of shared prayer with a group of men than the average man.

I would think that “Men’s Prayer Group” might not appeal to a lot of guys at a glance. It sounds less cool than a club or a fellowship or brotherhood. I think something that sounds more fraternal in nature is less intimidating to people who may not be as far along in their spiritual journey.
 
Your problem isn’t your name. It is your expectation that advertisement in the bulletin will draw new members. You need to personally invite people into the group. Who would want to join a group where you don’t know who is in it, what it actually does, etc. Personal contact is how we spread the good news. We don’t use advertising. Make it personal and you’ll fill up. I’m a member of a Christian Book Club and a Catholic Bible/Prayer Study Group. In both cases, I joined when invited personally. And both of my groups are spin-offs of another group which thru growth was decided to split off for more intimacy.
 
Orionthehunter said:
Your problem isn’t your name. It is your expectation that advertisement in the bulletin will draw new members. You need to personally invite people into the group. Who would want to join a group where you don’t know who is in it, what it actually does, etc. Personal contact is how we spread the good news. We don’t use advertising. Make it personal and you’ll fill up. I’m a member of a Christian Book Club and a Catholic Bible/Prayer Study Group. In both cases, I joined when invited personally. And both of my groups are spin-offs of another group which thru growth was decided to split off for more intimacy.
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I agree with this completely. I didn’t join our group until I was invited personally. It makes a world of difference.

Peace

Tim
 
We have both a Dad’s of Mary and a Mom’s of Mary prayer group.
 
Greetings:

Great suggestions and advice all. We will discuss at our next meeting.

Hey, if you are ever in Tampa on a Tuesday evening…

Peace.

Ed
 
Cursillo stands for short course in Christianity and was begun by lay men in Spain about the time of WWII. To make a Cursillo is to attend a special three day retreat in piety, formation, and evangelization. Cursillo weekends are not co-ed. Men and Women approach prayer differently as we approach relationships differently. There are issues that men can only speak about with men and there are issues that women can only broach with women.
Cursillo does not stop with the three day weekend but continues for life with groups meeting weekly. Again, men’s groups meet separately from women’s groups. Men can be more open with one another when there are no women around. While this forum is about prayer, not Cursillo, the concept is the same. It is about growth in prayer and understanding of our faith. The prayer of a man is quite powerful and for men to have their own prayer group is a good thing.
 
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