Ministry Caters To Men

One of the essential working principles of emotional therapy is safety. That’s especially true for men’s-group work.

And for most men’s groups, safety can be found only when women leave the room. Only then can many men allow themselves to be vulnerable.

However, this need for safety can sometimes be taken too far.

For example, the Rev. Edmond Locklear Jr, of Pembroke, N.C., has founded “The Church Just for Men.”

“We need to preach to men to honor that Life Spirit, to not desecrate it in whoremongering and gay sex,” he said in a recent press release. “We need to preach plainly, such as being brave enough to go ahead and preach Galatians 5:19-21 and Romans 1:32. And you can’t do that well if there are ladies present.”

Not to mention gay men, of course.

For nonscholars, Locklear is referring to the Bible’s denunciation of such practices as licentiousness, idolatry, drunkenness, carousings “and suchlike.”

By the way, if you’re interested, services are held at Locklear’s home, “at 506 N. Jones St., behind Bo’s Supermarket, in Pembroke.”

A worthy substitute: Sheryl Swoopes-Jackson may have canceled out as the keynote speaker for the March 27 YWCA Benefit Breakfast, but another top woman athlete has agreed to take her place.

Evelyn Ashford, a four-time Olympian and winner of four gold medals - including one for the 1984 100-meter dash - will speak during the 7:30 a.m. event.

An annual fund-raiser, the breakfast features an admission price of $100 (suggested donation). Call 326-1190, ext. 133.

Women in faith: Emilie Townes, an African-American theologian, is scheduled to deliver a pair of public lectures this week as Gonzaga University observes Women’s Studies Month.

Townes, an associate professor of Christian social ethics at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo., will give a speech titled “To Heal the Spirit: Healing and Hope in Communities of the Dispossessed” at 7 p.m. Tuesday in GU’s Jepson Center Auditorium.

Townes also will lead a brown-bag lunch discussion at noon on Wednesday in the Washington-California Room of GU’s COG. The talk, which is titled “Experiences of an African American Female Theologian,” is open to the public (free lunches will be provided to the first 40 attendees).

For further information, call 328-4220, ext. 6398.

, DataTimes