On a recent Sunday morning I joined Richard Rohr, our founder, and Stephen Picha, our executive director, for a walking tour of Red Mesa, the 280-acre parcel of land located some 90 minutes west of Albuquerque that the CAC acquired in 2007. It was my first trip to the site. I had often heard Richard and Stephen talk about how prominently Red Mesa figured into the CAC’s future as a natural setting for connecting deeply with the Divine, an untamed place in which opportunities for transformative experience seemed boundless. Needless to say, I was extremely curious to see it with my own eyes.

Red Mesa did not disappoint! How many times have those of us who have been numbed by the constant negotiation of sound and movement in the city, reawakened to the great stillness of nature when we return to its open embrace? How many times have we forgotten, then remembered, as we step out of our car and into a place with no walls and no ceiling, that sensation of standing in awe of the immense scale of mountains, valleys, sky and fade-away horizon?

Red Mesa provided just that kind of inspiration for me as we moved out across its sacred ground that morning. Inspiring things are under way out there for our men’s work. The vision of Men As Learners and Elders (M.A.L.Es.) is to re-establish a tradition of spiritual initiation of men through experiential journeying into the True Self, bringing this about within five generations. The CAC, together with a wide-ranging group of donors, volunteers, and other friends throughout the M.A.L.Es. community, is taking exciting steps to create the conditions at Red Mesa for men to continue this journey. Visit our new Red Mesa section to learn more. Upcoming events include a special day of wilderness wandering and a sunset service at the top of the mesa on July 14 as part of our upcoming summer conference Creation as the Body of God. Register today for the conference!

We invite you to continue your own spiritual journey, wherever you are. The Drumbeat is distributed near the end of each month to remind and inspire each of us to dedicate the 30th to prayer, fasting, service, connection with other men, and other actions that move us farther along our path and into deeper relationship with Creation and Creator.

Peace and Fire,

Matt