We could write our usual YEAR IN REVIEW and list our many accomplishments.

But would you read it? 

We’d tell you about the 381 men who attended Awaken (our annual men’s gathering). 

But would you find that interesting?

We’d also share about the three domestic Men’s Rights of Passage (MROPs) with 133 men participating. 

Will you volunteer to help organize one? (We have six MROPs coming up next year.) We celebrate the thousands of volunteer hours men like you give each year. We need your continued help and support. 

This issue of the Drumbeat (December) is supposed to be memorable, a page-turner of sorts.

But will it help you through the five steps of Illuman’s journey of illumination? (Stop laughing!) Just as a refresher, these five steps are Centering, Gathering, Connecting, Releasing, and Serving. 

In 2023, we worked diligently on engaging more men but saw more need than we have the resources to meet. This is not surprising since we are offering men (and the world) something unique and transformational.

More men need to learn about Illuman because there are so many men that need what Illuman offers. 

Will you help recruit other brothers to our programs? Or will you be so generous as to dedicate a large grant, say from a family foundation or an estate-planned gift, to help cover the costs of our new outreach work? (We’ve created a new Director of Engagement and Outreach position to help us focus on this in the coming year.)

We struggle with the fact that too few men who have done MROP move into council. 

Will you start or return to regular council meetings in the New Year? Or could you reach out and invite a man to join council with you?  

We have at least nine regular Virtual Councils that meet monthly. Council creates a supportive community where we do our work. We also ran ten Passion Circles this year. Passion Circles focuses on shared personal issues to support one another through difficult life experiences or on collaborative study around topics of interest. 

We want even more men have access to this work. In 2023, we boosted Illuman fundraising with solid results, following Fr. Henri Nouwen (author of Spirituality of Fundraising), who encourages us to share the vision boldly and invite others into what Illuman is about. 

Our Development Committee believes that the heart of fundraising is to allow others to participate in something greater than us. 

“I give my time and financial support to make something important happen in the world. Supporting other men is my passion!  Illuman has made a difference in my life and has been key to my transformational journey.  I donate to Illuman so that something bigger to support men can happen, bigger than I can do alone.” Markku Kostamo, Illuman’s Development Director

For example, fifty Illuman’s leaders gathered at Oracle last April for deeper conversations and planning for our future. These men are giving their time, talent, and treasure to see more men transformed. Collectively, they are providing leadership to Illuman’s work. 

Will you join something new in the New Year?

We have twenty-five chapters throughout the US, and emerging groups are beginning to meet in Utah, North Carolina, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Tennessee. 

Will you join them for face-to-face community, or even offer your time and talents to help them organize and grow?

Illuman en Espanol has grown rapidly this year, hosting their first in-person retreat. We’ve also been working with men in South America to launch a Portuguese-language Illuman of Brazil.

Will you let your Spanish and Portuguese-speaking brothers know about this resource?

Many men have answered these questions in the affirmative. You can read their stories here. Perhaps read one story a day in your meditation time.  These men are our super volunteers, our donors; they are Illuman. 

Happy New Year. Feliz Año Nuevo.

You’re brothers on the Development Committee,

John French, Juan Hinojosa, Tom Reid, Markku Kostamo, Blair Anderson, Chris Cleghorn, Steve Hicken, Mike Clawson, Laurence Pagnoni, and Dan Harris