This program is part of the 3 Occasions: Open Walls series honoring the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. This retreat explores our relationships to vulnerability, intimacy, patriarchy, embodiment, and spirituality. We will use Sukkot as the backdrop to root us in the earth’s teachings of ecological harmony and relationship, and weave in ushpizin (our ancestral tradition) as an incredible resource to sustain and inspire us in this work.

Timing of Weekend:

Friday, Sept. 24, 2021 | 6:30P - 9:00P
Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021 | 9:00A - 5:00P
Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021 | 10:00A - 3:00P
* Registration includes full weekend participation

Location:

**INDOOR LOCATION: MaTovu — 4200 Blaine Avenue 63110
**OUTDOOR LOCATION: Pavilion at a local St Louis City Park (to be determined)
(** location determinations will be made in close monitoring of COVID safety guidelines, see below for those guidelines)

Full details: www.matovustl.org/mens-immersion

This event is organized by “A Center for the Great Turning” in conjunction with MaTovu. During this weekend, we will dive deep into many realms of the male experience as we explore our relationships to vulnerability, intimacy, patriarchy, embodiment, and spirituality. This retreat will have a particular emphasis on how patriarchy and white supremacy are interwoven; our content will be shaped around the perspectives of those most impacted by the harms of intersecting supremacies, following the voices and visions of women, non-binary folx, Black and Indigenous thought leaders, and people of color. Ultimately, our hope is that this retreat will be in service of our collective liberation.  We will look squarely at the ways that oppression is channeled through us and learn to relate to the power we each have to shift and counter the violence we consciously or unconsciously uphold.

We are creating an experience for male-presenting (cis-men, trans-men, & non-binary) folx in the St. Louis area to come together in service of the following objectives: 

• Build a safe, embodied, earth-centered, space for male-presenting folx to be vulnerable and authentic with one another

• Facilitate resourcing and healing opportunities for participants 

• Explore personal journeys of conditioning and socialization of masculinity

• Engage in reflection and dialogue around how masculinity shows up at home, work, school and among peers and loved ones

• Participants will leave with a plan of action for how to integrate this weekend into their lives

• Begin to create an accountability network of male-presenting folx in the STL Area