Local layman, David Renshaw, was recently featured in the national catholic journal for his work with Real Catholic Mens Ministry [5]. His summer mens conference drew 300 attendees. Here is an excerpt from Our Sunday Visitor article [6] on David Renshaw:
“David Renshaw is executive director of Real Catholic Men, which puts on an annual men’s conference and retreats for men in the Portland, Ore., area. He first suggested the idea to Catholic evangelist and preacher Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, who responded, “If you plan it, I’ll be your first speaker.” Hence, the apostolate was born. His most recent conference was held last summer, and drew a capacity crowd of 300. “There’s a great need in the Pacific Northwest,” Renshaw told OSV. “The Faith is not strong here. I like to say we’re still mission territory.”
When organizing his conferences, Renshaw seeks out nationally known Catholic speakers who address topics related to male spirituality. The speakers he seeks are unapologetically Catholic, he said, who are direct and “speak the truth with honesty and love.”
In addition to the conferences, he organizes men’s retreats and purity marches, in which a group of a few dozen men pray the Rosary in front of abortion clinics and strip clubs.
“We want to put a face on what men should be in society, such as good leaders, fathers and husbands. It’s a role we’ve been abdicating since the time of Adam and Eve,” he said.
Participants come away from conferences profoundly changed, Renshaw said: “They come away with changed lives and spirituality.”
Click here [6] to see the full article