Since 1977, J.S.S. has been working for social change in Australia through a combination of delivering services to marginalized groups, like refugees and prisoners, and in-depth research and advocacy on their behalf.

As part of the agency's 40th anniversary, Julie Edwards, the group's chief executive officer, asked the organization to "sniff the wind," as she put it, to reflect on what they were seeing on the ground and consider what new efforts might be needed today.

"And what people kept coming back to," says Michael Livingstone, executive director of The Men's Project, which came out of that year of discernment, "was that the issues of boys and men persist.

They're overwhelmingly the people we see in our criminal justice programs and the perpetrators of family violence; they're also a higher percentage for other issues around mental health, risk-taking and drinking."

As former deputy commissioner of a state commission looking into family violence, Ms. Faulkner was intimately familiar with these problems and also the broader human web within which they exist.

"It's not just a matter of an individual," she told the group. "Society has to change."

The problem of Christian masculinity

The Catholic Church in the United States has long promoted notions of Catholic masculinity and offered groups and movements for men.

Recent decades have also seen the rise of an entire industry of Christian men's self-help books, with titles like Act Like Men: 40 Days to Biblical Manhood, Manual to Manhood and Catholic Manhood Today. Many are bestsellers. John Eldredge's Wild at Heart (2001) remains No. 1 on Amazon's list of titles about Christian men's issues 17 years after its publication.

From the #MeToo movement to the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, from remembering the kindness of the children's television pioneer Mr. Rogers to examining the leadership of Pope Francis, the last year has witnessed the rise of an extraordinary international conversation around gender and power even as it has inspired an at-times vituperative pushback from some.

In this watershed moment, when it is so clear that thinking about men and masculinity is evolving, where is the church?

And how can it help? Continue reading

They were attending attended MAX2018NZ, a Joshua Men's Fellowship event.

The Theme was based on the word ‘'UNLESS''. Unless we act to make changes and make it happen things will stay the same.

Look to scripture John 12.24 and try to discover the ‘'UNLESS'' in our lives. Without the death of the Lord Jesus, burial, and resurrection there would be no salvation.

Paul Mulvany reports that: "Throughout the weekend we listened to good, diverse presenters & speakers.

The food in the cafeteria was great; both for the soul & what was edible in abundance."

On Saturday there was a choice of five workshops to attend.

The workshops were followed by the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Silence, Prayer and Recreation.

"Response time/Ministry/Prayer teams were inspirational & for those who read what our leader wrote applied to me similarly to be prayed upon for spiritual healing and more prayers for anyone with needs.," said Mulvaney

"For the latter, the opportunity presented itself for in my case it was of a family nature and suffice to tell you there are prayers already being answered."

On Saturday & Sunday at noon participants attended Mass in the school's church.

"We thank Bishop Emeritus Denis Browne for his loyal service & welcome the new National Joshua Chaplain Bishop Emeritus Colin Campbell."

Supplied Paul Mulvaney

This decidedly masculine rosary apparently was commissioned by the U.S. government and distributed upon request to soldiers, sailors and Marines during World War I. Read more