Speaker Profiles

Here is an introduction to our guest speakers:

Simon Smale

Simon is 42, lives in Bridlington in the East Riding.

Simon has been part of XY Lads Church there since its formation in Autumn 2008. XY is a forum which is open to men from 18 to 40 (ish). It meets weekly every Sunday night in the local Wetherspoons pub at which meetings one aspect of the previous week's news is considered from a moral, social and faith viewpoint. Currently a regular group of around 10 people meet each week, with around 30 others on the fringes which drop by from time to time.

All are welcome, those who profess a faith and those who do not.

Simon is a full time chartered accountant and partner in a local practice, as
well as being a part time ordinand in the Church of England! In whatever
spare time available Simon likes to socialise with friends, watch endless
repeats of Top Gear on Dave (proper bloke!) and walk his dog on the beach!!


Christian Selvaratnam

Christian is an NSM Ordained Pioneer Minister and the leader of a cafe-style Fresh Expression of Church in York called G2 (g2york.org).

He works for Alpha International, supporting Alpha courses in the North of England, and is married to Amanda and has 3 children.

Christian meets up once a month with two other men for prayer,
accountability and a bonfire!




Rev Jonathan Pryke

Jonathan is the executive minister at Jesmond Parish Church in Newcastle upon Tyne, which has Sunday attendances of one thousand, over forty percent of whom are men. He has been on the staff there since 1988, and is now responsible for the day-to-day leadership of the staff team.

Before his ordination he was a civil engineer specialising in putting right the foundations of buildings that had gone wrong. He has been married to Vivienne since 1981 and they have three adult children. His son is currently also on the staff team of Jesmond Parish Church working with internationals.

He enjoys running (slowly), rowing (mainly indoors) and growing vegetables (on their
allotment).

See Jonathan in action here

Lent

As it is the start of Lent why not use this time to consider the nature of God and forgiveness. To assist with this you can join the gang who are considering this online using "The Shack" at: http://stfrancisandtheshack.blogspot.com/

Looking at the way men are being engaged in other areas, here's one example from Canada: Cambridge Vineyard Men's Fellowship

If you know of other examples let us know by responding to this post or email church4men@googlemail.com

The Church Times

In the last issue of the Church Times there was in interesting article about men and church. To read it follow this link: http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=87391

In response Paul Dominiak the Curate at St France's penned the following letter which was published in the Church Times in January's issue:

Fresh expressions for macho stereotypes?

From the Revd Paul Dominiak

Sir, — I commend the thrust of Dave Hopwood’s article that the Church needs to diversify its mission to men of all walks of life (Features, 15 January). I question, however, some of his generalisations. First, Mr Hopwood portrays Jesus as a tough guy who gave his fol­lowers jobs and nicknames and told them stories about “men and work­ers” and “violence, revenge, danger, and justice”. While partly true, that is only half the story.

Mr Hopwood too briefly writes that Jesus “made himself vulnerable”. Jesus more deeply reveals what it means to be a man than Mr Hop­wood allows: Jesus weeps, he shares tenderness, and he fears death. He reveals that to be a man means showing gentleness, care, and weak­ness, as much as verve, risk, and power.

Second, Mr Hopwood under­mines the eucharist as “a ‘feast’ which only offers a morsel of bread”. The eucharist offers more than a “mor­sel” in the imaginations of the men I know: it offers us the pleni­tude of God.

Third, Mr Hopwood grudgingly lists the kinds of things he would want to see “if we must meet together on a Sunday morning”: namely, “language that was not churchy”; songs that refrain from describing “some kind of romance with God”; and short sermons that “draw on current films, television, sport, and technology”.

It seems as if the writer believes that most men can relate to worship only when it revolves around machismo. Yet worship transcends gender. Worship prepares us all for eternity and empowers us to go out in mission to love and serve the Lord. Being a man does not preclude seeing oneself as loved by, and in love with, God.

Finally, Mr Hopwood claims that “for many men, going to a Sunday morning meeting . . . is never going to hit the spot,” since the men he meets find church and worship in sport, eating together, the pub, and creation.

The Church is indeed wherever Christians are, but Mr Hopwood is wrong implicitly to dismiss communal worship as either for women or for men who don’t quite fit the macho bill. Jesus prayed alone, but he also went to synagogue. When we participate in communal worship, God draws us out of our identities — including maleness — and draws us into the wider Body of Christ, into fellowship with men and women from all walks of life.

We are the richer, and more Christ-like, for it.

PAUL DOMINIAK


I think we will see similar debate on the 13th of March and should be very interesting

The Event

Initial Informaton

You will be able to find information on the upcoming event: A Few Good Men.

For starters it will take place on the 13th March 2010, 1:30 to 5pm.

We have great speakers and the opportunity to meet others who are interested in attracting men to faith and the church.