Men of Promise - San Gabriel Mission Parish

    One of the best decisions I ever made was to go to the first meeting of the San Gabriel Mission Men of Promise. It has been 10 years +, and I’m still going. And as long as I live in this area, I’ll keep going. The discussions with the guys are
challenging in that they make me reach down inside myself and make me think about who I really am and what I stand for.   Every meeting is a reality check, you come as you really are, no false pretensions can exist there.

   We learn about Christ and his message and how we, as men, can live his message---there is so much to learn this way and this is not even Bible Study.

   This journey has opened the way for me to more fully live my faith. I have been active in the Small Faith Community, the RCIA team for a couple of years, and am currently a volunteer at Juvenile Hall. I have taken several Bible Study courses at San Gabriel Mission. They have played a huge role in helping me understand the role of Jesus’ love and teachings in my life. I’m not sure I would have done any of these things without the experience of Men of Promise.

   I started in MOP without ever taking Scripture 101; it’s not needed. I hope this Newsletter, which I am so thankful to Dan for starting again, will reach men who have never taken Bible Study and they will want to give this “coffee and donuts” ministry a try. When I started, I was divorced and remarried outside the church. I know people in that situation feel shut out of the church. I want to pray that men in that situation will consider dropping in on a Men of Promise get together.

Charlie Daues