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What is MMG?
See images from recent event! The Organizing Committee (OC) plans and sustains the framework for the spring and fall weekends, but not the content. Each participant brings his piece, his truth into the framework to make the content rich. Whether we are offering a workshop, attending one, or just enjoying the beautiful country air, we are MMG. For ten years now, men have been using the wide-open format of the weekend to take chances and be good to themselves -- by leading a workshop, receiving applause during talent show, sleeping incredibly late, paddling alone on the water, hiking with a new-found friend, reciting a poem around a campfire, going back for a third helping of chow... Get registration form. The Participants We who gather for Massachusetts Men's Gathering are in some ways a very diverse group--we come from both urban and rural Massachusetts as well as from Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine and Canada. We are happily married husbands, widowers, men still smarting from divorce. We are gay couples and confirmed bachelors. We are physicians and engineers, carpenters and therapists, clergymen and students. We are retired, unemployed, thrilled with our jobs. History MMG is a spin-off of Mainely Men, a semi-annual men's gathering that couldn't accommodate all the out-of-staters who wished to attend. With Mainely Men seed money and format, we continue to grow and evolve in our own way. We're proud to have been able to follow the example of our Maine brothers by offering seed money and advice to help other men's events get started in New England. The first Mass Men's Gatherings were held at YMCA Camp Becket in the Berkshires, but since a change in camp policy made it necessary for MMG to find a new home MMG has been on the road trying out various facilities including one (Awosting) that was not in Massachusetts... but participants agree that MMG is not a physical location, so much as a welcoming spirit and state of mind. Attendance at early MMGs was deliberately capped at 100, although one time it reached 120... Currently, 50-60 men come to each event. What happens during the weekend retreats? Friday evening starts with registration and a light supper. During Opening Circle we get oriented and share a few words about who we are and why we came to MMG. Then we retire for a restful night's sleep. Saturday activities include three optional 90- minute workshop sessions — each of which offers 4 or more choices of participant-led workshops. There’s plenty of free time for boating, playing, exploring... whatever. After dinner, there’s a talent show where those who want to can entertain the group with singing, instrument-playing, or performing amazing feats of any kind. Drumming and dancing follow. At midnight, the Rookery, a poetry circle traditionally meets around a bonfire by the pond. Sunday begins with the fourth optional workshop session, followed by Closing Circle, lunch and camp clean-up. Departure is sometime around 2 pm. What about the sleeping facilities? MMG participants are guaranteed a quiet night's rest, with a large selection of heated, semi-private rooms.
Minimum Age is 18 |
