“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation”… careers and family obligations result in many men leading an isolated life with limited and superficial friendships. The pressures and temptations for men are great. We want to make it easy for guys to form deep friendships, and to equip men to be the men that God has designed us to be.
Most chapters meet every other week. A weekly meeting usually features a speaker or one of “our guys” telling their story–our best speakers are guys who share their faith journey, and the teachable events in their lives. We ask guys to be transparent and vulnerable, to demonstrate to all of the men that they are not alone in living a life that is not perfect.
A lot of people who look happy, successful, and fulfilled and in reality, things aren’t always as they appear. We strive to create an atmosphere where guys can make friends, discuss challenges, and encourage each other to be better men.
We encourage regular attendees to join an Energy Group, which is a group of four to six guys who meet together throughout the year. Every other week we meet after the speaker talks for 30 minutes, and we encourage the guys to get together for a meal once a month in a more relaxed setting. We have found that strong friendship takes the investment of time, but the return on that investment is terrific. As one of our speakers said, “if guys spent more time in friendship with each other and could discuss their temptations, they would need to spend less time asking for the forgiveness of their sins.”
We believe in creating an environment where all men are welcome, no matter what they do for a living, or what mistakes they have made in their lives. We believe that grace is critical to our community. In addition, we want to encourage men to be better husbands, sons, fathers, friends, co-workers and servants, and we help men to set goals to achieve this objective.
All of our speakers are followers of Jesus, but attendees need not have any specific faith view. We regularly refer to scripture, and we encourage men to learn more about Jesus’ life and teachings. Men are attracted to transformational stories, and we have been blessed with many wonderful speakers who have inspired and encouraged us.
We invite you to come check us out. You will find a community of men who are committed to each other, who laugh together (we don’t take ourselves too seriously) and walk with each other through life’s challenges.
About the New Canaan Society
Over 25,000 men are part of the National NCS movement across 60 chapters. Each chapter meets weekly or bi-weekly has its own flavor and is directed locally.
Every year men gather together in larger groups at either the National retreat weekend or at several regional retreats across the country. More information on regional or National events can be found on our website at www.newcanaansociety.org