NEW Queer Men's Intergenerational Mentoring Team @ UCC (Pittsfield, MA)

In this group we acknowlege that every member of the group will grow and be most creative and practical when we take turns being a mentee (sharing our vision & listening to the experience & ideas of our peers, and being a mentor (sharing only our own experience, knowledge, & connections, and avoiding giving advice or evaluations), and when we divide up the time we have so each person gets about equal time mentoring and being mentored by the whole group. No one's age determines their qualifications to be a mentor or mentee. We all share our visions and we all share our relevant experience. knowledge, & connections that might be helpful.

This intergenerational peer support team is founded on the principle that everyone has visions for how they want their life to unfold, and and everyone has experience, knowlege, & connections that could help someone else move toward their vision, and that by sharing those as equals who want to help one another with our experiene and not our advice, we all get to grow beyond our narrow circle of people who tend to be our age and to think a lot like we do. On the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays, 6:30-8 pm, we invite you to help the group refine its format, topics, core values, & ways of supporting one another in between sessions. In this group we will learn how to practice:
1) Being Vulnerable,
2) Asking for Help,
3) Sharing only our own experience & not giving advice,
4) Confidentiality,
5) Listening with curiosity & empathy,
6) building & being part of a team.
Some of the visions you can bring up include --

• Relationships: what is your vision of an ideal mix of relationships: family, chosen family, friends, lovers
• Health (cooking & eating well, exercise & movement, dealing with loss of muscle mass, increase in belly fat, slowing of metabolism, chronic pain, chronic illness, loss of hearing & sight, etc)
• Housing (what is your vision of your ideal home, how can you move toward it? being able to afford to stay in your house & keep up with the maintenance, mobility in your house, downsizing, etc)
• Financial Resources & Risks: what is your vision for financial abundance & what concrete steps will move you toward that? How can you increase your income while doing more of the kind or work you want? How can your reduce spending on things that don't bring you joy and sustainabiity? How can you spend more on things that fulfill you
• Work/Service: What is you vision of work (or service) you would enjoy AND that would pay you well, and that would help you make the kind of difference you want? How can you explore that work or service?
• Spirituality: what spiritual practices, teachers, or communities inspire you, and how could you take steps to learn more about them & incorporate those practices into you daily live?
  DIRECTIONS & FINDING THE PARLOR

If you are going south on South Street (Rte 7), turn right on Church Street and then make the first left into the large parking lot behind the UCC Pittsfield Church. Only park in spaces reserved for the South Congregational Church (the old name of UCC Pittsfield). After parking find the South entrance door of the church, which is right across from the loading zone of the Masonic Temple. If your arrive more than 10 mins late, please text Bart at 503-734-6508 so he can send someone to open the door. You will then come up 2 flights of stairs and turn right to find the big Parlor, which is at the front of the church.

If you are going north on South Street, right after passing the Colonial Theater, turn left on Church Street & follow the directions above to park & find the Parlor in the Church

This is an old church with quite a maze of hallways & levels. It is and adventure for anyone trying to find the Parlor, but it can be fun, especially when we provide you with a guide.

DIFFERENTLY-ABLED ACCESS: If you need elevator, let us know and we'll show you how to find it when you enter through the South Entrance door. This is an old church with quite a maze of hallways & levels, but it is wheel-chair accessible after we help you figure out the maze. It is and adventure for anyone trying to find the Parlor, but it can be fun, especially when we provide you with a guide.

C0-FACILITATORS

• Bart Church, is Q-MoB's Executive Director, a Certified Therapeutic Yoga Instructor, a
  Zen Shiatsu Practioner, and a Certified Wilderness First Responder. He has been organizing & facilitating queer educational and peer support groups for more than 25 years and believe intergenerational collaboration is the most important queer super-power that we all need to practice to become resilient and creative in the face of massive change.
• Dane Shiner, 29, born & raised in Pittsfield, has a degree in Environmental Science and works as an community education specialist at Berkshire Museum, and serves on the Q-MoB Board of Directors helping coordinate our Intergenerational Collaboration Activities

CARPOOLING/RIDE-SHARE: If you need a ride or are open to carpooling, please indicate that when you are registering, & our ride coordinator will try to match you with people nearby who are interested in carpooling or offering rides. We encourage carpooling because it is a great way to make new friends, save money on gas, reduce your carbon footprint, and have a designated driver should you want to drink and not drive.

OR : Please donate $10-$20 to help assure Q-MoB can continue to offer more than 25 activities & multiple resources & services to rural queer men all over the region. If you attend 2 or more Q-MoB events/month, please consider becoming a monthly sustaining donor member. By donating $25, $50, $75, or $100/month you can help to sustain the incredible variety of activities, services, and resources Q-MoB provides and assure all of these activities are accessible to men regardless of their age, income, or ability, and best of all you can avoid having to donate at each and every event you attend. Monthly Sustaining Members pay only once a month and then can attend all our activities with no further donation.

REACHING US THE DAY OF THE EVENT: If the day of the event you cannot join us, have trouble finding the group, or will be late, please text one of the Co-Hosts: Bart at 503-734-6508 or Dane @ 413-479-9251

Host or Publisher Q-MoB (Queer Men of the Berkshires)