“I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
– John 16:33

Our theme for this conference is Fearless. In the keynote address for Saturday night, Rachel Leininger let us know that, in this world, we will never be able to abandon every fear. We know God can handle any fear we have. In fact, we know that He has already won the war over fear. But, we are not God. We are bound by our humanity. We inherited a fallen nature from Adam and Eve when they committed the first sin in the Garden of Eden. Thus, we have fear.  We have troubles. We have pain and suffering. In the verse quoted above, Jesus even tells us that in this world we will have trouble. However, He also told us that He has conquered the world.

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How does a family form us? How do we experience God’s grace at home? Home should be a safe haven, but sometimes it is the most difficult place to be. So, how do we encounter God in the midst of that? These questions set the context for the second workshop of the afternoon, presented by Fr. Chris Martin.

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For the first afternoon workshop, David Calavitta had a clear message – we are all part of the family of God. Each and every one of us was made by God, and we are therefore God’s children. As God’s children, we have intrinsic value and worth. We didn’t do anything to earn it. There is nothing we could ever do that would rid us of that value. God is the Creator and Father of all.

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What is masculinity? What does it mean to be a man? These are questions that David Calavitta helped the men at the conference explore during his talk this afternoon. When we dig into the etymology of the word masculinity, we discover it refers to something that is worthy of a man. The word itself points to the way in which men were created to exist; it tells us there is a worthy life that can be lived – one that aligns with the way a man was created.

“Your masculinity, as designed by God, given to you by God, is not bad. It is nothing you ever need to apologize for. It is a gift that God has given you and given the world through you.”

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