The Kiama Men's Table Entree

Monday 21st June 2021

The Kiama Men's Table Entree is an introduction to The Men’s Table through open sharing, and guidance from founders and men at existing Men’s Tables. The entree event is about helping you decide if you would like to be a part of a newly forming Men’s Table group.

It will lead to the launch of a new Men's Table in Kiama for those men who choose to participate.

What is the Men’s Table?

The Men’s Table is all about men serving men. The first Men's Table (MT1) began in 2011 with 12 men who have met once a month for dinner and ever since. It is now growing to become a national charity.

The Men’s Table creates a unique environment for men to share openly about their lives, their challenges, their highs and lows with a group of men who they learn to know, like and trust.

It's healthy to show emotions and share feelings, and it's time we freed men from outdated masculine norms. There's never been a better time to be part of building community.

The Men’s Table creates a sense of belonging, community, peer support and camaraderie that is lacking for many men, even for some who already have a group of mates. Belonging to a Men’s Table contributes to mental, emotional and social wellbeing whilst being a powerful support to individual members journeys through life. Each Men’s Table is a distinct expression of the needs and personalities of its members, guided by the fundamentals from MT1, and supported by TheMensTable.org www.themenstable.org

What can you expect from a typical Men’s Table evening?

Men gain a great deal from sharing and hearing other men’s experiences of life. Each Men's Table group will have its own approach which can change over time. A typical evening often includes:

Chatting, catching up as people arrive.
At 7pm, A brief check in.
As men feel ready, a man shares what is happening for him. This can be anything from moments of joy, happiness pride, challenges and or obstacles, how things are in relationships, work and friendships, the past, future, sadness, grief. The topics are as wide and varied as men’s life experiences. A persons sharing might be around 10 minutes. Confidentiality is important and it is up to a man if he shares that evening.
As men share they are listened to and accepted, questions are generally not asked, unless the man would like input at the end.
'Fixing' of other men after they've shared about their lives is actively discouraged, even though most men want to jump in and offer advice
Men share from their direct experience, speaking for themselves. We avoid prophesising and generalisation.

You will get a great overview of how it works at the entree event. The entree is an opportunity to meet other men who are thinking of joining and to see if the Men’s Table is for you.

Here is a link to the website to find out more. https://themenstable.org

The Men's Table is a registered charity. There is no membership fee to be part of a Table; it's a grass roots activity driven by men in the local community

If you're interested in being a part of The Men's Table but can't make this date and would like to be kept abreast of future gatherings, let us know by emailing us at hello@themenstable.org

For more information, contact:

Locally

Michael Collins; 0450 612 358

or, In the Kitchen

David Pointon; 0412 199 648

Ben Hughes; 0424 99 33 66