A GATHERING OF MEN

About the Book

A Gathering of Men-The Story of Creating a Men's Group to Address Perennial Male Issues, closely explains the beginning steps and formation of an existing men's group. Eleven years ago a few men in suburban Philadelphia, PA recognized and acknowledged their similar interests in exploring ideas and questions, which impacted their lives. These individuals in the fifties and sixties age brackets had known each other through family or schooling or geographic or business connections for a number of years. Extended friendships of these few core individuals were explored. Soon there were eight to ten men interested in gathering together for forthright and far-reaching rough and ready conversations. A barn room, empty and inviting, with a pot-bellied stove at one man's home provided a convenient meeting place. Thus, the Barn Men were given their name and the individuals began to share a common path on their individual journeys. The ebb and flow of membership, depending on new members replacing those who die, grow disinterested or move away, is endlessly enhanced by new ideas introduced by new participants. A Barn Men evening is always about shared friendships, honest dialog and rewarding personal growth.

About the Author

The three authors do share many similar elements in their backgrounds. All are university graduates. All have traveled widely. All were teachers in one form or another. Lew Mills was an active and outreaching pastor. Both Derek Stedman and Bob Wallis were teachers. Derek Stedman has taught from elementary school grades through graduate level teaching at Widener University. Bob Wallis worked in the Peace Corps after he graduated from college. Each author has especially wide associations with other people from many walks of life. Each has enjoyed first-hand experiences working collaboratively with varied people in varying circumstances. This delight and excitement of being with and talking with others created the incentives for writing this book together to aid and abet meaningful conversations, particularly among men and their families.

A love of the outdoors is a common thread among the authors. Hiking, camping, sailing, gardening and purposefully interacting with diverse acquaintances are among the shared enjoyments. Each author has belonged to varieties of groups of people through formal work groups serving a set purpose to committee efforts through community or religious affiliations. Each author married, divorced and re-married. Thus each has the special gift of sharing his life and work with his own children and those of his spouse. Each is a grandfather that, too, is special as each generation gets to know a wider and more diverse family group. All of these similarities give rise to the core question: what must we authors share with other men and their families in order for each person in a family of different generations to understand each other better?

What makes A Gathering of Men unique is that there is no other known book quite like it. The book takes the reader through the early stages eleven years ago to the Barn Men?s present status. We are now seven men, including two founders, who are all dedicated to thoughtfully replenishing membership with the addition of a few newcomers who are diverse in backgrounds yet who are ?committed to searching for wisdom and shared truths about life?. During part of 2005 and 2006 one of the founders of the Barn Men was being taken from his family, multitudes of friends and the Barn Men by cancer. It just did not seem appropriate for the other members of the Barn Men to spread their energies seeking new members while one so dear to each of us needed the efforts of the Barn Men to be focused on him and his family.