The Soul Men’s Retreat is an experience for men of all ages that provides an opportunity to build a bridge between inner spiritual knowing and outward action.  Participants are invited to reflect on and discuss how a healthy and honest appraisal of their faith, warts and all, reveals the authentic soul of a man and inevitably sends him forth to "set the world on fire." 

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The process gives permission for men to examine their spirituality in terms that make sense to them.  The approach we take is honest and earthy.  It is faithful to the Gospel and the Tradition of the Church but does not rely on overly "churchy" language.

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The retreat, which is led by a team of 5 male volunteers under the direction and mentorship of Fred Mercadante, takes place over 4 or 5 days.  It is carefully designed to take into account widely agreed-upon understandings of male spirituality and initiation.

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​There are multiple options for this retreat:

• East Coast Venue of Rowlesburg, WV in June.  Incorporated into this option is a day of service as a pre-cursor to the Appalachia Help Weeks, a hike up Canon Hill and rafting the Cheat River.

• West Coast Venue of the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, AZ.  Incorporated into this option is a day of service in Phoenix and a day on a lake with possible overnight camping.

• Intergenerational Experiences (individual registratrants 18 & up)

• College-Age Only (for campus ministry groups)

• Young-Adult Only (for either individual registrants or young adult ministry groups)

 

Soul Men originated at The University of Scranton with local rental properties serving as the venue.  Although these retreats have been highly successful over the years, the vision of hosting it in WV or AZ enables us to create an atmosphere and implement an agenda unattainable elsewhere.  Furthermore, as with all ministerial programming, the structure of the retreat continues to be developed and polished up based on the recognition of "best practices" as well as trial & error.

  

Goals:

• To provide an opportunity for men to examine how they uniquely come to God.

• To invite participants into “a way of seeing” that will empower (and in many ways depower) them to become men of substance. 

• To guide men on how to be in right relationship and how to partner with others, especially with women.

• To build community and comradery among the participants.

• To foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each participant.

 

As a result of participating in Soul Men, the retreatants:

1. Discover and/or rediscover a spirituality that meets them where they are.

2. Learn how to reflect on where their inner soul is nourished by their outer world experiences.

3. Acknowledge and name the mentors in their lives whose convincing example have shown them that there is something greater than themselves.

4. Are better equipped to enter the "certain place" that Jesus, the prophets and the mystics were in, and once there, identify what is really important in life.

5. Receive the sign of Jonah:  the revelation that we must release ourselves into a belly of darkness in order to fully grasp our purpose or mission.