In 2007, Padraig Gallagher, a resident priest at St. Teresa’s, challenged men of the parish to create a Men’s Group to focus on spirituality associated with their gender in order to support their life and faith growth.
In 2009, under the leadership of Dan Anderson and Tom Kosnik, St. Teresa of Avila Men’s Group was launched. The group meets at 6:15 a.m. twice a month and consistently has 12 – 15 at each gathering. We are a cross-section of the parish, young adults, retirees, business owners, teachers, and from life-long Catholics to the newly arrived. It’s been a wonderful journey.
We are continually enriched by what makes our Catholic faith attractive: Rituals, community, service; and, we also discuss the challenges we face as Catholics such as ordination of women, marriage of priests, rules of the church, etc.
Our conversations are robust. Topics have included Catholic prayer forms such as the rosary, Lectio Divina and centering prayer; and, being a cafeteria Catholic, symbolism, the impact of Pope Francis on our lives, etc. Outside of the morning meetings, we’ve performed service projects, such as at the Inspiration Cafe serving meals to the homeless in a restaurant-style setting. The group has also been known to gather at local pubs to watch some of Chicago’s sports playoff games!
