It has been a wonderful four months since the Elderhood workshop and our Alumni Gathering. The Winter Spirit Camp was a real high for those fortunate enough to attend. Our new apprenticeship program is really happening, with over 20 men who have shown interest in being able to help others through the Men’s Leadership Alliance. These men are all taking on new challenges of leadership. If you have not explored the website in depth, I encourage you to do so now. It is a wonderful statement of what MLA is becoming.

I have found myself spending more time than ever before in thinking about and helping to shape MLA. Indeed, the entire Guide Council has been equally busy, but we have not paid as much attention as we should to the mundane issue of “balancing the checkbook. We have fallen into the delightful trap of building for the future, but have belatedly realized that some of our focus must be devoted to asking you to help with a donation at this time. None of MLA’s dreams can be realized without significant financial support from our alumni and dedicated friends. I am personally committed. Each member of the Guide Council is committed. We ask that you too commit to helping us keep the juice, by putting some skin of your own in the game.

This time of year big changes are in the air. The weather never quite seems to be quite right. The stock market reminds me of the roller coaster rides I enjoyed at Coney Island as a NYC kid—scary and exciting at the same time. The election campaigns swing between extremes. To top it off, it’s hard to believe how Governor Spitzer in NY could expect not to have been found out. So what does this mean for MLA? It is quite simple: MLA—our “band of brothers”—is also going through incredible growing pains. You are no doubt aware that Keith turned over his role as Executive Director to John Dandurand in early February. We are both excited by the experience John brings to us and challenged by his questions and thoughts about what MLA has meant to all of us and what it might become in the future. He is hard at work implementing our events and seeking new avenues of support for MLA but he can’t do it without your current support.

There are lots of ways you can give—a donation via the internet, a check in the mail, or a visit to the office and a chance to meet with John (he’d love the opportunity to talk with you face-to-face)—are three obvious answers. Any one of us would welcome your questions. John would be especially excited to hear from you directly.

This year we are offering 14 programs. Some are new and some are repeats of the tried and true. We are off to Nashville for the Soul Camp at Redfern in May—very exciting how this is being put together locally. This event is going to be a “10” and you might want to seriously consider signing up. Todd Smiedendorf who worked here in the MLA office back in 2005 into 2007 has developed a new program for Christian-oriented men, Crossroads in the Wilderness, that promises to break new ground as we discover new ways to express and experience our faith and how it shapes our lives. It has been very exciting to work with him in exploring how we might do this in the MLA way. In October, MLA will come to New England and offer yet another totally new program, Deepening Our Soul Work, led by Jeffrey, Keith and Tom as we dive deep into the depths of soul and manhood. This takes MLA’s work to a new level and is aimed at men who have done prior soul work. The three of them are working hard to develop new tools that will allow us to image ourselves in a new way.

Don’t be a stranger. Please help us to make all of this happen by supporting MLA now.

Blessing Be!
Gay Mayer