Our Mission
We are a center for experiential education, rooted in the Gospels, encouraging the transformation of human consciousness through contemplation, and equipping people to be instruments of peaceful change in the world.
Letter from Matt Sholler | October 2011
Dear Brothers,
We continue apace with our thematic focus on the release of Fr. Richard's newest book, Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the 12 Steps. Don't forget to join us for our upcoming webcast on November 5th featuring Fr. Richard as he addresses the topic of emotional sobriety.
In this issue of The Drumbeat, Fr. Richard speaks to us about the connection between emotional sobriety and contemplative practice. We can all benefit from a contemplative practice, though the form that works best sometimes varies for each us. For those of you interested in exploring options for this and other kinds of "inner work," you can download a copy of the Inner Work guidebook for the MALEs Journey of Illumination. A special thanks to our elders Joe Hebert, Bill McElroy and Jim Clarke for putting this excellent resource together.
In "A Letter to Steve," Drumbeat reader Keith Kahle blesses us with his own reflection on "breathing under water" and the recent passing of innovator Steve Jobs of Apple Computer. Our October issue also features a special announcement about the CAC Board of Directors' recent approval of a mission alignment study for our Red Mesa property.
We welcome the recently initiated men of the West Virginia Men's Rites of Passage! For info on MROPs and other MALEs regional events happening this year and next, please continue referring to our On the Horizon page.
Finally, remember that The Drumbeat considers submissions from ALL of our readers. If you have a short essay, poem, song, movie review or other expression of your spiritual journeying, email it to menswork [at] cacradicalgrace.org!
Peace and Fire,
Dear Brothers,
We extend a special welcome to the men who recently completed the Men’s Rites of Passages in the United Kingdom and Australia. Combined with the MROPs held elsewhere in the US and internationally earlier this year, we are close to surpassing 5,000 Initiated Men worldwide! The MROP remains a cornerstone of the Men As Learners and Elders program and we encourage all men who may be interested to consider applying to upcoming MROPs in New York (this September!) and Texas (November). Spaces are still available!
As the summer begins transitioning to fall, the CAC has a couple of important announcements which are also of interest to the MALEs community. First, we are saying good-bye to Stephen Picha, former CAC executive director. The CAC and the MALEs community extend their deep gratitude to Stephen for all of his expansive contributions over the last ten years. You can read the full announcement here.
Second, we are thrilled to announce the release of Fr. Richard’s latest book, Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps. Check out our Featured Resource section to read Richard’s reflection on the book’s message and sign up for our upcoming webcast.
Finally, I urge you to continue looking for our Men in Profile section in each Drumbeat. In it we feature a short interview with men who are serving the MALEs mission in different parts of the world. This month’s profile is on Mike Bennett, one of our newly-appointed members of the MALEs Council of Elders.
