Blessed be God.
My name is Fr. John Ignatius and I am glad to be sharing Patriarch with you.
In 2006, after moving to Denver I observed many individual husbands and fathers seeking to grow further in their lives of faith. While they were capable of spiritual friendship and fraternity, the men lacked resources and opportunities to share prayer and fellowship with other men.
I created Patriarch in 2007 to provide that opportunity for spiritual fraternity for a small group of dads. Patriarch was piloted a few more times before becoming an established weekly Men’s Group in 2009. Since 2009, Patriarch Men’s Groups have been established in Minnesota, California, Illinois, Tennessee, Nebraska, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana and Canada as well as nine additional groups in Colorado. In addition to weekly Men’s Groups, an annual Patriarch Men’s Weekend Retreat has been hosted in Colorado, Nebraska, Tennessee, Florida and Minnesota and an annual Men's Spiritual Exercises Weekend is hosted annually in Colorado.
I have been happy to see the fruits that grow out of Patriarch Men’s Groups. It is a great joy to see these men become stronger, more devoted, more prayerful, and more confident husbands and fathers. As men enter into the scripture and learn new ways to pray and incorporate the word of God into their families’ daily lives, wonderful fruitfulness is quickly evident.
Patriarch Men's Groups are intentionally designed to be self-run. This is because they are meant to move men from passive receptivity to active engagement with the Word of God. At every session, men are expected to pray the Word at the beginning, to discuss the Word in the middle, and apply the Word at the end. The intention in Patriarch is to bring together a group of men and help them, by their own ingenuity and creativity, develop into better formed, stronger praying, and more passionately loving fatherly leaders.
For these reasons Patriarch Groups are often smaller than other men’s ministries you may have attended. In fact we have found that Patriarch is most effective with a smaller, committed, and accountable group. Because of this, when there is interest in Patriarch we encourage men to start a new group rather than introduce more members into an already established group. Starting a group sounds intimidating to most men, but you will find that the most challenging part will simply be working up the courage to extend an invitation to other men to join you.
The hope is that by providing men with the resources and training from Patriarch Men’s Groups, the men involved will raise their children up to be a strong, virtuous, and convicted next generation. The men will also have a greater positive impact on their local parish and community.
If you are interested in starting a Patriarch Men's Group, the Patriarch Genesis 1 Pilot Session contains thorough directions on how to successfully implement Patriarch. The following information will help your group understand the format, direction and intention of Patriarch Men's Groups.
