For the past 23 years, a group of men from Castlemaine has been running rites of passage weekends out in the local bushland.
The weekends are a place for men to support men in a safe and welcoming environment. They include programs for fathers and their teenage sons, another for individual men, and since its inception last year, a women and girls rites of passage program.
Participants are challenged in different ways while spending time connecting with men, the natural environment and themselves, while being supported to be present with the challenges and joys of transitioning into manhood.
John Terry, a Castlemaine local, was one of the first men to participate in the local program and is now involved as a leader. He had previously been involved in a local men’s circle where he heard of a rite of passage program running in South Australia.
“Initially I started going by myself and later, when my son got older, I took him,” John said.
“Everyone’s experience is different, but for me, I found a connection with my deeper self and each time I attend a group I learn something new.”
Since 2010, the Castlemaine Rites of Passage group has had more than 200 men and boys participating in the weekends away.
According to John, rites of passage are intrinsic to many cultures around the world, as a way to acknowledge the significant transition of boys reaching puberty and to acknowledge each young person’s uniqueness.
“There is ample evidence that young men could well find their own ways, often involving risk-taking behaviour, if adults in their community don’t provide rites of passage experiences for them,” John said.
“Arne Rubinstein an Australian GP who has developed rites for young men, notes that many boys do not relate to images of being a man commonly portrayed in media and on the internet, which can leave them feeling unseen and trying to play out roles that are not authentic to themselves.”
The Castlemaine Rites of Passage group is having an information night about events for teenage boys and adult men on Wednesday, August 2 at 7pm at the Campbells Creek Community Centre. For more information visit the website Castlemainerop.org
