WelCom October 2024
Michael Beamish
About 35 men from around Wellington and as far away as Palmerston North gathered at Our Lady’s Home of Compassion, Wellington, for a one-day retreat on Saturday 17 August.
Organised by Joshua Wellington, the retreat began praise and worship and a brief introduction of the retreat leader, Brendan Woodnutt, who delivered three talks throughout the day.
Brendan, who completed in 2020 a Masters in Catechesis and Evangelisation from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, USA, is currently the Evangelisation Co-ordinator at Christ the Redeemer parish in Christchurch.
The retreat theme was ‘Hear then what God is asking you. Only this…’ (Micah 6:8).
Brendan touched on what God was asking of us as Catholic men – ‘to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly’. Whatever we do, needs to be founded in God. The world is full of people following a different vision.
His first session spoke about ‘God’s justice in the world’ and the second asked, ‘How do I show mercy?’ in both words and actions. There was an opportunity for participants to share in five smaller groups after these two sessions.
The after-lunch talk covered ‘understanding humility in scripture’ using the example of Moses, ‘The humblest man on earth’ (Numbers 12: 3). Brendan then led us through a time of prayer ministry with the support of three teams. There was also time for private reconciliation and quiet reflection.
In the last session, Fr Dyson Tharakan gave a short talk on ‘The Eucharist’ before a time of Adoration leading into the Vigil Mass concelebrated by Fr Peter Ewart and Fr Dyson.
Written feedback from participants indicated the men enjoyed the day very much and appreciated meeting new faces and renewing old friendships. One special comment was: ‘One of the best retreats I have ever attended’.
Joshua Fellowship is a Catholic men’s fellowship open to all men and its vision is to encourage, support and strengthen men in their Christian calling.
The next Men’s Retreat of this kind is likely to be organised by Joshua in Palmerston North for later in 2025.
Regular Joshua Catholic Men’s Fellowship meetings are held in Wellington on the third Thursday of each month from February to November and in Palmerston North on the third Tuesday of each month from February to December. Details can be found in the orange-background advertisement each month in WelCom.
Visit joshua.org.nz for more information.
Michael Beamish is Secretary Joshua Catholic Men’s Fellowship Wellington branch.