2023 Workshops for Rowe Labor Day Men’s Retreats

Our Human Goodness

Albert Johnson-Mussad

Albert Johnson-Mussad has been a Rowie for 24 years and served as President of the Board of Trustees for 9 years. He is an educator who currently partners with teachers, principals, and other school leaders to strengthen practice and optimize student outcomes. The perspective of our inherent goodness has opened new paths to love, compassion and self-actualization for Albert for almost a decade.

Workshop: Our Human Goodness

We can reawaken awe by re-membering our fundamental gifts as human beings. Across time, space, and fields of human endeavor, people have arrived at the same truth: We are inherently and completely good. Participants will explore the nature of our goodness (e.g., drive for connection, flexible intelligence, creative impulse) and also explore why all of us sometimes behave in ways that contradict this goodness (e.g., stress, trauma, oppression). The ultimate goal is a shift in perspective toward ourselves and others, from What’s wrong with you? (Nothing!) to What happened to you?We will reawaken awe for ourselves and other people through reflection, writing, and talking.

Exploring Grief, Recovery and Renewal

Bob Tetirick

Bob Tetirick is a man who has been surviving – and thriving – after the loss of his husband, Howard, three years ago.  He sincerely hopes the workshop will present an opportunity for everyone to learn and grow through his own loss.  Now retired, Bob holds a Master’s degree in Russian Language and Literature from Northwestern University and spent most of his career as the Administrator of the Medical Department at Fenway Community Health, the LGBTQI health center in Boston, MA.

Workshop: Exploring Grief, Recovery and Renewal

Co-Presented with Richard Slade

This workshop is for men who have experienced the loss of a loved one and are moving through the complicated process of grieving that loss, experiencing a period of recovery, and exploring ways to renew their lives – and their relationships. The presenters, Richard and Bob, are both in the midst of recovering from the loss of their spouses in the past several years.
The presenters will lead a brief welcoming exercise that will help men share the experience of their loss with the group. Then, Richard will provide ways in which participants can use writing to turn their grieving into practical and artistic expression. We will all have an opportunity to write and share about aspects of our grief.
Bob will follow up with the idea of moving forward from grief to recovery and renewal. We will have an opportunity to share personal and practical ways we have all started to move on to a new life.

Exploring Grief, Recovery and Renewal

Richard Slade

Richard Slade, tenor, conductor, and voice teacher, has also been a chronicler of his adventures onstage throughout his career. He sent “Dispatches from the Gig Wars” emails to friends back in the ‘90s and moved onto Blogger in the ‘00s. He then discovered that his journaling practice had a whole new application when his wife became ill and he had to keep a wide range of people informed. The process of recording became the process of processing and transforming grief into creativity. As Carrie Fisher said, take your broken heart and turn it into art!

Workshop: Exploring Grief, Recovery and Renewal

Co-Presented with Bob Tetirick

This workshop is for men who have experienced the loss of a loved one and are moving through the complicated process of grieving that loss, experiencing a period of recovery, and exploring ways to renew their lives – and their relationships. The presenters, Richard and Bob, are both in the midst of recovering from the loss of their spouses in the past several years.
The presenters will lead a brief welcoming exercise that will help men share the experience of their loss with the group. Then, Richard will provide ways in which participants can use writing to turn their grieving into practical and artistic expression. We will all have an opportunity to write and share about aspects of our grief.
Bob will follow up with the idea of moving forward from grief to recovery and renewal. We will have an opportunity to share personal and practical ways we have all started to move on to a new life.

When Parents Age

John Avignone

John Avignone oversaw the care and finances of his aunt for 15 years and later both his parents. In addition to a 30 year career in fundraising for nonprofits, he also worked as a series 7/66 financial advisor.

Workshop: When Parents Age

Gay men often assume the responsibility of caring for their aging parents. This caregiver role comes with intense personal, professional, financial, and legal challenges.  We will have a discussion of our shared experiences and concerns as well as resources to address care,  legal issues, and family conflict.

Rumi in Our Midst

ChaseR

ChaseR – Is a seeker who loves sharing his passion for Rumi.

Workshop: Rumi in Our Midst

Participants will be invited to experience the poetry of Rumi by listening to his poetry read by fellow participants. You can share your own favorite Rumi poem or draw from a selection of poems that will be available. A handout will be provided with a brief biography of Rumi and a list of resources for those that may want to learn more. Emphasis will be on experiencing Rumi in his own words.

Life Drawing Experience

Dave Dietz

Dave Dietz is a photographer, art director and occasional life drawing model. He had been the official photographer at more than seventy retreats, including seven times at Rowe’s Labor Day Retreat for Men Who Love Men. His distinctive images have appeared in various print and online publications and real-world exhibits.

Workshop: Life Drawing Experience

This workshop will give you some experience and guidance in drawing the nude male figure from life — full figure, interesting details, or anything in-between. We will explore ways to capture what we see and feel.

Various drawing materials will be supplied. If you have your own drawing materials please bring them, along with your enthusiasm, openness and a willingness to try.

We’ll also need models (no experience necessary.) You can also do both if you like and draw for awhile and then take a turn modeling.

Infatuation - Oops, I Did It Again!

David Aurelio

David Aurelio has co-led Boston Living Soulfully for the past 12 years. For BLS, he has led two workshops and coordinated countless others. David helped to start the LGBT group at his previous employer and is on the steering committee for his current employer. For the past 22 years, he has taken gay-related workshops at the Easton Mountain Retreat Center, GAYLA, and the Rowe Conference Center. He is passionate about creating environments where gay men can express their spirit and share their gifts. David has a Ph.D. in Human-Machine Systems and teaches psychology and engineering design part-time at Tufts University.

Workshop: Infatuation – Oops, I Did It Again!

As gay men, we will explore the joys and sorrows of crushes, infatuations, searches for reciprocation, and how infatuation is different than love. What role did infatuations have when we were young, and what role do they have now? You will be invited to share in a safe place your first crushes on other boys or men. How did infatuations serve you earlier, and how do they serve you now? Emily Dickinson (1862) wrote, “The heart wants what it wants.” Are our desires really a mystery, or can we honor our feelings and tease out infatuations’ role?

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Our presenter David will lead us in a facilitated discussion on infatuations in large and small groups. Sharing our personal stories of emotional investment and seeking to understand their patterns in our lives, we will come to nourish our hearts by learning from the pain and embracing the joy. David wishes to thank workshop leader Thomas Long for the inspiration for this workshop.

Hug, Hold, Heal: A Conscious Hugging Workshop and Sit Down and Relax: A Chair Massage Workshop

Arnie Katz

Arnie Katz is a Boston-based massage therapist, bodyworker, professional coach, and workshop facilitator. He has been dedicated to serving the health and well-being of people through professional caring touch and facilitation for over 35 years through his private practice, and work at gyms, chiropractic offices, sporting events, companies, schools, and retreat centers. Teaching is a special calling and passion for him, especially exploring the healing power of touch, as touch is a primary language of communication for him. He recently came back from teaching his first international men’s retreat in Tuscany. As a facilitator, he thrives on in the moment inspiration, creativity, and spontaneity to create the best program possible. Arnie thrives on supporting and nurturing people on their journeys into greater aliveness, peace, and embodiment while having fun doing so.

Hug, Hold, Heal: A Conscious Hugging Workshop
Hugs are delicious!…yet many of us hug each other where we either give a good squeeze and then pull away, or a light pat and then pull away. In this workshop, we will learn and practice conscious hugging. In conscious hugging, we will start with grounding, centering, and learning how to approach the body mindfully. Once more grounded, we will slow down, take our time, hold each other, embrace, and hug in a more mindful way. We will practice staying engaged with your partner and connecting into a hug, explore how to be with the hug and each other with greater awareness and presence. Then, we will learn how to disengage consciously. By doing so, men have powerful experiences of connection that go beyond the typical hug. We will have multiple opportunities to practice this!
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Sit Down and Relax: A Chair Massage Workshop
Many of us have taken massage classes or workshops, only to find that perhaps we don’t practice it as often as we may want to, or maybe taking one’s clothes off and using oil is not a good option at times. So, in this workshop, we will explore the fine art of giving (and receiving) chair massage. Chair massage is a wonderful way to help relax the scalp, neck, shoulders, back, arms and hands. You will learn and get to practice a chair massage sequence in pairs. We will learn these techniques sitting in regular chairs so that you can learn how to adapt this for use at home.

Sound Journey

Nirmal Chandraratna

Nirmal Chandraratna is a New York City–based Kirtan artist and composer with a passion for nurturing connection— to spirit, to community, and to one’s deeper self— through music. Using the voice, the harmonium and the cello, he creates music for Kirtan and meditation, and works for communal performance. You can listen to music and media at NirmalC.com.

Workshop: Sound Journey

A Sound Journey is a musical experience drawing elements of ritual and sound healing together to create a dynamic, transformative environment. You are invited to connect with your intentions, both for yourself and for the world, and then let them take flight as the music begins. Layered textures of the voice, cello, and world percussion will weave a tapestry of melody and mantra. As we come together as a community, we can help each other to collectively align our lives with our vision for a better world.