The Boston Catholic Men’s Conference was this past Saturday and it was a great success. About 2,000 men of all ages and vocations were present and they were charged by the end of the day.
First, it was great to meet so many of you. Guys kept coming up to me all day to say they read the blog and how much they enjoy. You don’t know how much that means to me. It also reminds that the audience for this blog is a lot larger than the couple of dozen people who post on a regular basis, something that would be good for all of us to keep in mind.
As for the conference itself, the speakers were great and for a first event of this size, put together so quickly, it was very well organized. I’m not sure BC High School was such a great venue. For one thing we had to park next door at UMass/Boston, which wasn’t so bad Saturday when the weather was great, but would have been terrible if the weather had been bad, which it can be so often this year. Plus the hallways, especially where the various exhibitors were set up, were very cramped. Obviously, when they chose BC High they didn’t anticipate such a large crowd.
I was there as well and it was an inspiring event. It really renewed my commitment to spend more time in prayer, specifically praying the rosary. This was an event sorely needed. Over the last several years I have been lamenting the absence of men and specifically young men from the pews in my parish. Well, there are plenty of men in the area passionate about their faith. It was inspiring to see so many guys of all ages at this event.
Most of the speakers were first rate and they spoke of things that need to be addressed every week from the pulpit. Most priests could use a few pointers in homiletics from Fr. Richards. It was nice to hear someone speak so plainly about sensitive subjects. I brought a guy who was rather lukewarm about his faith. It jump-started him and I hope he continues to run with it.
I saw you at your booth Dom but didne was know in seminary), was inspiring and dynamic.
4. I thought the best suprise of all was Jo Tango, one of the organizers of the event. His call to pray, piety, and action was heartfelt. When he read from The Word, he (and I) were practically in tears.
5. I skipped the protestant mininster who is getting baptized to go to Confession and talk to my brother Knights, but I heard Tom Monaghan. I think his position in the line-up was unfair, having to follow Richards and Towey. I think if we had seen him alone… He would have been more impressive.
5. The Archbishop was terrific.
6. I was wearing my KofC shirt, and I have never been more proud of the order. The KofC donated $50,000 to the event, rather than have the organizers foot the bill themselves. They are also, along with several organizations, are putting on the Northeast Catholic Family Conference. This was last years KofC chaplain’s brainstorm, and has been embraced by the State Council.
Time to join, Dom… All…
Note: Go the the Mass State KofC website http://www.massachusettsstatekofc.org/ and send an email to State Deputy Dick Guerriero .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), and thank the order for making this conference possible, and urge him to do likewise with the “Proud 2B Catholic Concert”.
Joe
Booth? I don’t recall a CWN booth, Dom. There was an Envoy booth. Where were you?
The Globe coverage was better than I expected, given its biased, not to mention the egging one of the speakers gave them (“We’re right across the street from the Boston Globe! I’m not afraid … are you?”). Also it did not mention the tiny protest outside. From where I was—I was helping to direct parking—I couldn’t tell what they were protesting about. They left long before I left my position.
Jim Caviezel’s talk was great. For a public figure, that was a very Catholic speech. His impersonations of the Pope and Mel Gibson was hilarious, and his thunder at the end was earth-shaking.
I think this conference was a great achievement, considering the inexperience of the organizers. This was truly a moment for the laity: two laymen made a PowerPoint proposal to the Archbishop. A tiny group undertook all the logistics, the contact work, and even the financial risk for a conference that vastly exceeded expectations. Many of them were family men with small children, working tirelessly for months. Karl and Jo were not professional speakers, yet they witnessed to their faith admirably, bringing the men to their feet. I have nothing but admiration for these men of faith.
Interesting observations. I attended the Worcester Men’s Conference two years ago and came away with the same mixed emotions.
The speakers were great and the message was spot-on but the dreadful music and hand waving was too much for me.
The highlight was when Jesse Romero stated that Vatican II did not change one doctrine. That got a 5 minute standing ovation and I suspect it made the liberals extremely uncomfortable.
But, I was feeling like we should be on our knees praying, reciting litanys and begging for mercy from God not pumping fists in the air to rock n’ roll.
Ah well, not my cup of tea. I’ll stick to Tridentine Mass Conferences.
Everyone who attended the event should also take the time to go to BostonCatholicMen.org and click the link to fill out the post-conference survey. They have also posted a bunch of photos on their site.
Joe, you’re right about Jo Tango, the man works for a venture capital firm. He and the rest of the group of organizers obviously know how to achieve success both spiritually and materially. I’m excited to see what they come up with for the 100 small men’s groups, and especially for next year’s conference.
I have to wonder, if we’re going to pick on the Globe’s coverage of the event: where’s the Catholic press’ coverage?
What coverage? I’ll just say upfront that Cathollic World Report and Catholic World News don’t cover conferences. We’d do nothing else.
And while it was great for Boston, it’s not exactly national news. You’ll have to be satisfied with The Pilot.