On Saturday the 29thJune, men from all over the Sydney Archdiocese came together at John the Baptist Catholic Church in Bonnyrigg to spend the morning in prayer, celebration, education and dialogue. This latest event in a series of similar initiatives rolling across Sydney is designed to encourage all men in the church to become more active in their Parish (and beyond) in response to their Baptismal call to evangelise the Good news – by being role model Fathers, Husbands, Sons, Brothers and neighbours.

The day titled “Faith under Fire,” began with Eucharistic Adoration / Reconciliation followed by Mass, breakfast and a presentation by Mr Robert Haddad. (Head of new Evangelisation for Sydney Catholic Schools.) Mr Haddad discussed a number of current global challenges affecting Christians including persecution, secularisation and religious freedom. The audience then broke into groups and workshopped the discussion in what turned out to be a very spirit filled exchange. In a tight schedule, the morning concluded in just over 3 hours, but the vast majority of men stayed around after the event sharing their experiences and enjoying the collegial exchange of communal thought. 

If there were any concerns that it may be hard to keep a large group of men engaged for such a length of time, it was encouraging to hear that the number one piece of feedback was that the event was too short. A big thank you to all those who attended, participated and helped make the event a resounding success.

JB Men’s Group Committee.