Young mens rites of Passage
06.08. — 10.08.2025 14:00— 14:00 Stacija spiritual practice center, Ventspils region Lūžņas village, www.stacija.lv"You know after any truly initiating experience that you are part of a much bigger whole. Life is not about you henceforward, but you are about life."— Richard Rohr, Adam’s Return: The Five Promises of Male Initiation
The Young Men’s Rites of Passage (YMROP) is an experience that awakens younger men to the adventure and mystery of their own belovedness, their masculinity, their deep spirituality, their potential for living a meaningful life, and the process of transformation. The clear invitation is to ready themselves for a mature adult conversation with everything.
The YMROP welcomes all men regardless of faith tradition, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, socio-economic status or any other artificial divisions present in our society.
You’ll meet men from all over Europe, and some who come from other countries. You will meet men from all manner of families, from all manner of spiritual and faith traditions. In short, you’ll find an amazing cross section of society, all drawn by a desire for something more, to go deeper and further.
The YMROP draws a diverse group of men, who are united in our desire to be more authentic, more alive, and more connected.
Over the course of 5 days of soulful experiences, you will move through classic steps of male initiation, through simple and moving rituals and through teachings in the large group. You’ll have plenty of time alone to wander and experience nature. You’ll have time to process your experiences and feelings with a small group of brothers.
The YMROP is not about religion. It’s about using age-old traditions and perennial wisdom that guide us into manhood. It’s about coming to trust that there is something much greater at work in our lives than the small circle around my own body.
The YMROP is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, but it embraces all wisdom and includes a variety of perspectives found in all the major religious traditions. The YMROP draws upon poetry, stories, and wisdom teachings from cultures and faith traditions from all over the world. We access practices many cultures have used for thousands of years to prepare men to become better fathers, sons, elders, brothers, and lovers.
The Young Men’s Rites of Passage are especially appropriate for those who are ready to move into a more mature and healthy adulthood. Acceptance to the YMROP is based on perceived desire and readiness for a deep encounter with self, others and Transcendent Mystery as you perceive it.
We ask you to come with a willingness to participate from beginning to end. The invitation is to trust this process and the vetted elders who hold the container. Thousands of men have made their way through rites designed to help you broaden and deepen your understanding of yourself, who you are called to be, and what is yours to do as a mature, spiritually grounded, loving, nurturing and generative man.
We warmly invite you to consider joining this journey with us. We know we need each other because none of us can do this journey alone.
THE YMROP IS ...
- A personal discovery about the masculine journey, especially designed for those who are already in or entering the first half of life
- A time to experience and savor the awesome healing power of nature.
- A process to identify, process, and address issues of loss, grief, and brokenness in a loving and supportive environment.
- An opportunity to examine life’s priorities and muster the courage to ask questions about your next steps.
- An invitation to listen to the quiet voice of God, by whatever name you know the transcendent mystery of the universe.
- A chance to return to your life in the world with a renewed energy and commitment to sharing your gifts.
- Open to all men.
THE YMROP IS NOT...
- A traditional, lecture-based retreat.
- An informational workshop about men’s spirituality.
- A place where you’ll be asked to buy a bill of goods or change your beliefs.
- A threatening process that requires participants to engage in anything unsafe, strange, secret, etc.
- A test of physical stamina.
Elements of the YMROP require a basic mobility and level of health that will allow you to move around and hike on uneven, even mountainous terrain. There is a period of fasting for those who can. However, we will work with you.
Though friends and family do come together sometimes, it is preferable if you approach this experience as a lone seeker. You may come with friends but expect to be grouped separately to start together from zero with your group. (You will actually find this to be an advantage.)
OBSERVATIONS FROM YMROP PARTICIPANTS
“The YMROP blew me away. It was so much more than I could have imagined it would be, and it prepared me to face a major trauma, which hit me soon after my trip, putting me in a far better place than I would have otherwise been. Years later I’m still so grateful for the indelible mark this trip had on my life. My spouse and my kids are all glad that I went...
“I went on a Young Men’s Rites of Passage with a few friends. I didn’t really need to be “initiated,” so I thought. But after the initial obligatory moments of “what in the world am I doing here” and “what have I gotten myself into,” I quickly put away my note pad and realized that this was not just something to observe and take notes on, but something to jump into with my whole self. The deep inner work that began in me that week was not initiated by lecture or words, but by silence in the wilderness and my own struggling to hear more clearly what true new things were longing to be birthed within me. It was an incredible five days that in many ways are still “living” within me.
BACKGROUND
Almost 20 years ago, Father Richard Rohr, Stephen Gambill, and several others created a retreat experience in the wilderness that came to be known as the Men’s Rites of Passage (MROP). Tapping deeply into universal truths and practices, the MROP is now regularly offered in Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Latvia, The Czech Republic, all over the United States, and new countries are being added. The Young Men’s Rites of Passage builds on two decades of wisdom and experience in working with men.
This initiation experience uses images and ritual from a variety of religious traditions. While the Rites were developed from the Judeo-Christian heritage, the universal nature of initiation continually demonstrates that when something is true, it is true universally. The impact of this experience resonates in human hearts, literally all across the world.
Primal societies have demonstrated that cultural survival is dependent on their ability to move boys into the mature masculine. Unfortunately, the tradition of leading young males on this journey has been lost to the West for a thousand years. As Richard Rohr puts it, "if men are not led through an inner journey of powerlessness, they will inevitably misunderstand and abuse power."
Pastor Jim Taylor, the developer and Weaver of this YMROP, has worked closely with Richard Rohr for almost two decades as a Weaver of the MROP and as a Wisdom Elder in the men's organization, Illuman, that grew out of Richard's vision. Jim, builds upon Richard's work with the MROP, while utilizing his own experience in Weaving over 40 men's rites of passage over a span of 15 years, leading to these rites, which target younger men with their specific need to move across the threshold from boyhood to manhood. Jim began to develop this YMROP in 2013 and was fortunate to have Stephen Gambill work with him on ritual. These rites for younger men have been implemented in the U.K., Germany, Austria, Australia, Latvia, and parts of the U.S. In developing this YMROP, Jim has continued to implement the vision Richard conveyed to him and other men to initiate our boys to help them cross the threshold into a mature and healthy adulthood.
Testimonials FROM YMROP PARTICIPANTS
Target audience: men aged 19 - 29
Course leaders: Jim Taylor and Steve Conroy
Venue: Stacija spiritual practice center, Ventspils region Lūžņas village, www.stacija.lv.
Course fee: 550 EUR (including VAT) if you stay overnight in your own tent; 620 EUR (including VAT) if you stay overnight in the Stacija spiritual practice center tent with a comfortable mattress.
If you want to stay overnight in the Stacija spiritual practice center tent, please write to , he will send an additional invoice.
The price includes 10 meals.
Course agenda:
Start
14.00
End
14.00
Norises vieta: Stacija spiritual practice center, Ventspils region Lūžņas village, www.stacija.lv