Making Healthy Sexual Choices II
Presenter: Aaron Stuart & Ron Barnes
When: Wed. Aug. 4 7-9 pm
Open to men and women.

This session will focus on making healthy sexual choices that reduce risk factors of getting or passing on HIV or other STDs. The leaders will discuss risk factors, how to spread or prevent getting STDs and how to negotiate condom use.

Aaron Stuart and Ron Barnes are both certified Red Cross HIV/STD instructors and work for The Urban League in HIV/STD education.

Men's Rights in Divorce
Presenter: Jim Gerharter
When: Wed. Aug. 14, 7-9 pm
Open to Men & Women
Jim will focus this presentation on men's rights and responsibilities in domestic relationships and pre-divorce actions which can help or hinder men in protecting their rights.

Jim Gerharter is a Minneapolis attorney practicing in the Uptown area. He represents primarily men in domestic cases. He is a longtime member of the Men's Center and has made numerous presentations at the Center.

Keeping Attorney's Fees Under Control in Divorce
Presenter: Jack Mazzitelli
When: Wed. Aug. 21, 7-9 pm
Open to Men & Women
Jack will talk about litigation procedures, how to fight and keep attorney's fees under control. There will be ample time for discussion.

Jack Mazzitelli graduated from William-Mitchell Law School in 1970. He has practiced law since then with an emphasis on litigation.

If I Could Press a Button and be Straight, Would I Do it?
- Non-Straight Men in Heterosexual Marriages
Presenter: Allen Finkel
When: Aug. 28, 7-9 pm
The conflicts that arise in non-straight men who are married to women can seem overwhelming. These men value living with integrity through caring for themselves and the people in their lives, yet being in a marriage can present obstacles to upholding this value. The question often asked is,

"How can I be who I am without betraying my wife and family?" While challenging, finding contentment within this situation is possible, and many men have accomplished this by embracing who they are, and making choices to be caring to themselves and the people they love.

Allen Finkel, L.I.C.S.W. is a psychotherapist who recently moved to Minneapolis from New York City. He has been in practice since 1990, and started as a family therapist. In recent years he has worked with a wide range of adults, couples, and groups, with a particular focus on GLBT issues. He has been the leader of a therapy group for non-straight men in heterosexual marriages since 1998.

Emotions By Design
Presenter: Rick Rudd
When: Wed. Sept. 4, 7-9 pm
Open to Men & Women
We all know that our individual histories and personal coping strategies have embedded "programs" or unique ways of reacting to our environments. These actions and emotions often chain together to form a behavior strategy that can lead to depression, anger, or a host of other emotions. These strategies influence everything that we do and everyone that we interact with. Only by identifying the chain of emotions and determining what triggers the strategy, can we break it and then learn new behaviors.

This fun, lively and interactive program will create awareness, responsibility and initiative to change. Participants will discover the types and purpose of individual emotions (the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly). We will discuss the sub-modalities to actually change the emotion.

Participants will discuss Personality Styles, Representational Systems, and Sorting Strategies. After discovering our personal Styles, Systems and Strategies, we will learn how they can be managed and how to effectively work with others.

Rick Rudd is a counselor for Dynamics of Growth, Inc., a counseling and training center located in Vadnais Heights, MN. He has a M.A. in Clinical Pastoral Counseling, a B.S. in Psychology and a Masters Certification in Theosynergistic Neuro-Transformation. He specializes in counseling individuals with traumatic anxiety disorders, phobias, anger management and men's issues. Rick also delivers seminars, workshops and teaches on a variety of topics.

A Divorced Father's Love
Presenter: Rich Cheney
When: Wed. Sep. 11, 7-9 pm
Open to Men & Women
We'll see a video of "A Divorced Father's Love" which is a poem and a song written by Rich, the author, for his own children. Rich will be giving some of his own personal experiences about parenting after divorce and answering questions in an open discussion.

Rich is a father of four children and eight grandchildren. Rich now resides in the Twin Cities area and works as a record producer and has a record and publishing company.

A Search for a Personal Spirituality
Presenter: Hank Bruns
When: Wed. Sept. 18, 7-9 pm
All men and women welcome
It has been said, "A Universal Theology is impossible, but a universal experience is not only possible, but necessary". Therein lies a (hidden) lifelong search within each of us for a very personal sense of spirituality.

What is it? Where does it come from? When does it start? When is it complete?

Join us in an interactive conversation, and see where it leads you. You will find that it is not possible, for each of us present, to not find some answers to some of these questions, and very likely many more.This should be a very interesting journey.

Henry (Hank) Bruns is a long time member of TMC, sometimes board member, and always a facilitator for drop-in support groups and anger management classes. A retired Registered Professional Electrical Engineer, he also became a Certified Psychotherapist in private practice. He has been a Reiki Master for the past ten years. Searcher, Cynic, Enthusiast, Student, Teacher, and again Student. If you think heÕll teach you something, he may, and be assured you will teach him, too.

Restorative Justice: Repairing the Harm of Crime
Presenter: Mike Rollin
When: Wed., Sept. 25, 7-9 pm
Open to Men and Women
Restorative justice is a way of resolving crime or conflict that focuses on repairing the harm caused to the real people affected. In contrast to a strictly punitive model of justice, restorative justice aims to mend what was broken and add value to the community through social accountability, opportunities to make amends, and strengthened relationships. Mike and community participants from the CCNP Restorative Justice Program will lead an interactive discussion on the philosophy of restorative justice and share their experience as community members addressing street crime in Minneapolis using restorative practices.

Mike Rollin is a Community Organizer for the CCNP Restorative Justice Program in central Minneapolis.

Angelic - Voodoo Art Ritual: Overcoming Political Powerlessness
Presenter: Michael Gardos-Reid
When: Wed. Oct. 2, 7-9 pm
Open to Men & Women
In this presentation Michael will help you to connect with the world you want or the world you fear through junk art, sculpture and collage. Move the energy of the ethers with your own ritual song and dance.

Michael Gardos-Reid has 10,000 ideas on how to make a dancing world available to everyone. For more info contact Michael at gardosreid@aol.com. His business is Listening to the Body; creative body therapies.