Photos from Men's retreat!

Here are some pictures from the recent men's retreat, Nov 1-2 at Camp St. Croix. We had beautiful weather, some fantastic workshops, and more...




Hanging out...






Giving it up, "Outrageous Support" style!





Playing hacky sack on a beautiful 70 degree day Nov 2!




Grubbing out...







Calling the shot!

As far as upcoming events, we've got a poker night planned for Nov 20th, 7pm. Email Justin for more info.

I also hope that the conversations we started at the retreat will continue at church and beyond.

Finally, don't forget that every 3rd Wed, the Unity Men's Group meets at Church. Next meeting is Nov 19.

Register for Men's Retreat!

We're up and running with online registration. You can register here. The cost includes Saturday night lodging, and 6 meals. What a deal!

Nov 1-2, 2008, Unity Men's Retreat UPDATED

Hello Unity Men,

We've got another retreat lined up for Nov 1-2, at Camp St. Croix! We're anticipating some nice outside weather (I hope!) and we our planning accordingly. Brochures and registration forms are available in the Parish Hall.


Tentative Sat. Schedule, Nov 1:

8:30 – 9:00 Registration
9-10 – Continental Breakfast and Welcome/Announcements/Orientation
10:30- 12:00 Opening/Sharing of Talisman (bring a Talisman or relic from a deceased hero/person who has shaped you.)
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch
1:30 – 3:00 Workshops
Workshop A: Take a Risk 101/Outrageous Support
Workshop B: Getting to the Heart of Male Wellness

3:30 – 5:00 – Workshops
Workshop A: Men's Spiritual Lives
Workshop B: To Attend is to Love: Mindfulness and Daily Life

5:00 –6:00 Free time
6:00 – 7:00 Dinner
7:30 – 9:00 "Take a Risk Talent Show"
9:00 Bonfire, games, fun.

Tentative Sunday Schedule, Nov 2

7:00 – 8:00 spiritual practices
8-9 Breakfast
9 – 10 Worship, singing, celebration
10 – 12 Free time; Fun stuff, games, orienteering, volleyball.
10-12 Optional Programming: Covenant Group for Men
12- 1 Lunch
1:30 – 3:30 Workshops
Workshop A: Film Challenge/Projections of Masculinity
Workshop B: Men as Better Life Partners
5:30 – 6:15 Dinner
6 - 7:15 Closing

Neil Chethik -- Creating Happy, Healthy Husbands

Neal Chethik spoke at Unity Church last year in February. This web-based workshop may be of interest to some of you.


Dear Friend:

I'd like to invite you to join me in an experiment. I'm co-leading a
first-of-its-kind "telewebclass" -- a 3-part class on the topic, "What
Every Happily Married Man Knows." Both men and women are invited to
attend, which you can do on your telephone or computer. The mission: To
help involve men more deeply in their relationships, and to help couples
create relationships that last for the long run.

I'll be joined by two other experts on men and family: Dr. Scott
Haltzman (The Secrets of Happily Married Men) and Dr. John Curtis (The
Business of Love). The class meets for one hour on three successive
Thursdays, beginning Thursday, May 15, from 8:30-9:30 p.m. Eastern time.
The second and third classes are on May 22 and May 29, also at 8:30 p.m.
If you can't make them all, you'll be able to listen to the classes at
your convenience.

Note that the $33 price is about one-quarter the cost of a single
marriage-counseling session -- and we'll actually refund your money if
you're not satisfied. We recognize that this form of relationship
education may work wonderfully for some, and not so well for others. All
three of us are committed to helping men participate in and enjoy their
family lives, and we're committed to doing that with integrity.

I hope you'll join us for this first-of-its-kind web class. If you're
curious to learn more, or would like to register, click on this link:
http://www.husbandsmatter.com/Telewebcast.php

Best,
Neil

www.NeilChethik.com

Saints Game!

The results are in for the Saints Game! June 10 is the date that works best for folks...so:

WHEN: June 10, 7pm game against the Sioux City Explorers! Let's plan to meet around 5:30 p.m. for tailgating.

PLEASE RSVP TO JUSTIN: If we're a big enough group, I'll buy a block of tickets..otherwise, we can buy tickets at the gate.

FOOD: We'll need burgers, buns, condiments, beers, non-alcoholic beverages, napkins, etc. Please bring something!

GRILL: Does someone have a grill we could use?

Men's Retreat Reflection

If you attended the Men's Retreat in February, we're inviting you to attend one of two small group reflections. We'll take some time to reflect on the theme of transitions, of 'rising and falling and rising'. How has that changed for you? Have there been new transitions coming into your life?

You can attend either Saturday, April 19, 2 PM, or Tuesday, April 22, 7 PM, at Unity Church.

If you wrote a letter to yourself, you should have it now; it was mailed to you on Tuesday. You might want to bring it, and you can choose to share a few words or comment on the letter if you like.

We'll spend an hour on reflection, then take a short break. After the break, there is an optional second session where we explore the future of men's activities at Unity (both those currently planned or going, and those that might be possible). We'll spend an hour on this exploration.

If you have questions, call Matt at the church (651-228-1456) or email him: matt@unityunitarian.org

Spirit Play Church Building Corner

A Project for Unity Men

One the favorite activities of our preschool kids, especially boys, in our two Spirit Play classrooms, is using wooden blocks to build things. Our teachers encourage them to think about churches, and how they are built and set up, and to imagine the church of their dreams. We already have about 100 wooden blocks in each classroom, but we need more.

How We Can Help

There are several ways we can contribute both in time, talents and also our treasure:

1. Maintain the existing blocks

Many of the existing blocks could use a light sanding and oiling to help them last longer. This could be a great Saturday morning project for a couple of guys or a small group!

2. Purchase more 'unit blocks'

We'd need two more sets of blocks to round out our basic sets (one in each classroom). Jamie and Marion Seely-Kreisman at Beka, Inc. are willing to help us with these, getting them at cost, so we'd need to raise about $160 for these two sets. See bekainc.com for info on these.

3. Create images of churches

The kids use pictures of churches for inspiration. These could be photos from magazines or books, duplicated (we need two sets), or your own photos of churches. They need to be laminated to stand up to preschoolers. We estimate the lamination will cost about $60.

4. Purchase two storage carts

These are needed to organize the blocks. Again, Jamie and Marion Seely-Kreisman at Beka, Inc. are willing to help us with these, and our cost would be about $140.

5. Buy or make sets of 'architectural blocks'

These are sets of specialty blocks for specific kinds of architectures: Greek, Roman, Middle Eastern, etc. We'd need two of any set we buy, as each classroom needs the same setup. Cost of the two sets would be $60 to $80. Woodworkers among us may want to make specific pieces, maybe even Unity Church architectural elements.

Join us!

Please consider helping with one or more of these sub-projects. Any of these would be a great help to our preschool classroom, and help keep our boys engaged in church life. Contact Matt Alspaugh at the church (651-228-1456, matt@unityunitarian.org) or Nels Otto (651-484-4590) for more information.