Men's Conference: Allow space for God

By DAWN PROSSER
Director of Communications
 
About 120 men gathered in Le Mars at St. Joseph Church, All Saints Parish April 5 for the annual Men’s Conference to be inspired and grow in holiness in their roles as husbands, fathers and men of faith.
 
The conference was co-sponsored by the Diocese of Sioux City and the Le Mars All Saints Parish Men’s Ministry. Bishop Walker Nickless was present for the conference and presided at the Mass.

 Steve AngrisanoSinger, songwriter and speaker Steve Angrisano served as the keynote speaker for the event with breakout speakers Father Travis Crotty, Father Brian Feller, Deacon David Penton and Deacon Rick Roder.
 
“It was great to see so many men together who want to be strengthened in their faith and encouraged in their journey,” noted Delores Huemiller, a coordinator for the diocesan Faith Formation Office who assisted with the event. “Also, it was wonderful to have Bishop Nickless there and Steve Angrisano gave two great keynotes that were both funny and inspiring.”
 
Retiring after May 1, Bishop Nickless noted in his homily that it was his last Men’s Conference as bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City.
 
“Each year, I look forward to this event. I thank you for your prayers and support and your desire to grow in holiness,” the bishop said. “I trust in whatever God has in store for me and I hope the same for you.”
 
God at the center
As April 5 was the feast day for St. Vincent Ferrer, the bishop noted that the saint was “a great preacher and defender of the faith.”
 
“His motto was, ‘Think not of yourself but of God,’” Bishop Nickless said. “He should be the center of our lives.”
 Bishop Nickless and Deacon Dan GoebelHe stressed that the focus of the faithful should not be so much on our worries and our fears but with God. The 40 days of Lent are a good time for the men to focus on God and their faith as all are called to fast, pray and “care for others.” 

Referencing the Gospel passage for the day from John 7:40-53, the bishop stressed that the chief priests and Pharisees hated Jesus and wanted him to be put to death. However, Jesus’ words resonated with the guards.
 
“The guards who arrested Jesus listened to him. Never before had someone spoken like this man. Nicodemus came to his defense. He wanted to spend time with him. Why did his words have such power? We should ask what does he want from us today? How does he want us to grow in holiness today?” Bishop Nickless said.
 
Keynote speaker Angrisano also stressed that God should be at the center of life, pointing out that the men should be seeking God and “allowing space for God in our hearts.”
 
He shared a story that he turned to Scripture when My Soul is Thirsting, based on Psalm 63, which he sang and then invited the participants to join in singing the refrain, “My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord.”
 
Angrisano pointed out the season of Lent offers a time to repent and orient thoughts and actions to God.
 
He related the Lenten season to the Greek word metanoia which means to experience a change of heart or “to choose a different road, a different way,” in life.
 
“Particularly as men, sometimes we don’t see that the small decisions we make every day can orient and right an entire ship of people in a certain direction,” the speaker said. “Sometimes being a husband or father deacon, a priest or spiritual father, we underestimate the importance of not just knowing the right thing, saying the right thing or being the right thing.”
 
Angrisano shared a story about his visit to St. Meinrad Benedictine Abbey when he met who he thought was a gardener who paused his landscaping work to help him find his way around the campus. The gardener turned about to be the abbott.
 
“It struck me how powerful it was not to tell me he as a monk, the abbott,” he said. “What humility. They treat all like visitors of Christ.”
 
The Abbott’s actions were an example of how the faithful can go about everyday tasks and still keep God centered in our life.
 
“How do we live an ordinary life and treat each other with the love that God wants us to?” Angrisano asked.
 He challenged the men to receive Christ in the Mass that day and in turn to let Christ consume them and fill the space left for him in their hearts. He acknowledged that difficulties in life are often due to filling that space with other things like hobbies, sports or even addictions, but when God fills the space, “that’s everything.” 
As men, Angrisano said each can ask themselves how they can spend ordinary days of work and other responsibilities in a manner that honors God, especially in their daily interactions with their wives and children.
 
“The goal today is to walk out a little different,” he said. “All of us men, all of us are called to put God in the center … it changes the world around us.”
 
Breakout sessions 
One of the breakout speakers, Father Brian Feller, administrator of Our Lady of the Plains Parish based out of Lake City, presented Men of Brave Heart: Protecting and Promoting your Children’s Freedom.
 
He talked about providing children and grandchildren with the tools they need to navigate life’s challenges, especially in their formative years. He said it was important to offer guidance to help the youth grow in confidence to make good decisions on their own.

Father Brian FellerFather Feller explained as fathers and grandfathers the men can serve as role models in their everyday lives from how they treat their spouse and children and modeling right from wrong. Parents and grandparents can also help protect youth with proper controls of smartphones and limiting potential threats including access to pornography or online predators.
 
Deacon David Penton, diocesan formation coordinator for the Office of the Diaconate, presented on Living Out your Baptism as Priest, Prophet and King. He stressed that the church was “at war” with secularism.
 
The deacon pointed out that in a recent Pew Research survey, of those who self-identified as Catholic, 80% of the men admitted that their spouse was the driving force to ensure the family attended Masses.
 
“Men – where are we?” Deacon Penton asked, noting husbands and fathers should have a larger role in living out their faith at home and serve as role models.
 
If the faithful are to practice their faith as priest, prophet and king, all are called to bring people to God, including their family. The deacon also reminded the men that royalty had a responsibility to protect and provide for those in their care.
 
Father Travis Crotty, director of vocations, spoke on living out the Jubilee Year of Hope. Deacon Rick Roder of All Saints Parish spoke on What Every Man Needs to Know about Spiritual Warfare.
 
Participants were able to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation at the conference. Local pork producers provided a hearty pork chop meal following the Mass. Angrisano closed the conference by singing the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
 
Don Miller, participant from Mallard said he was pleased that the conference provided an opportunity for men in the diocese to gather in faith. Acknowledging other events in the state were held at the same time, he said he wished more men would have been able to attend.
 
Le Mars-based organizers Joe Kessenich and Matt Rosener said they felt the event went well. They both found Angrisano to be an engaging speaker and musician and they enjoyed the breakout sessions. They also enjoyed the fellowship opportunities with the other men at the event.
 
“It was a good day with good conversations. I saw a lot of familiar faces,” Kessenich said.
 
The next Men’s Conference is scheduled for March 21, 2026.

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