God Squad ushering in a new springtime

Sean Lynn said he did not have a clear idea of how many men would attend God Squad Canada’s 25th anniversary conference in Calgary on March 18-19. But whatever the turnout, the founder of this organization is just happy to return to face-to-face fellowship for the first time since 2019.

“There is a lot of excitement,” he said. “We’re not exactly sure what to expect and who might turn up, but we’re prepared to celebrate with whoever comes our way.”

The theme of the event, “Change on the Rise; Ushering in the New Springtime,” suggests a desire to turn the page on the two-year COVID-19 pandemic and focus on the future of inspiring men to be witnesses of Christ. 

The theme combines John Paul II’s call for a new springtime of Christian life that he made in a 2000 apostolic letter, with the Avi Kaplan 2019 song title “Change on the Rise.”

“The song is a very powerful anthem,” said Lynn. “There is a line in there that says, ‘what good’s a man who lost his soul, can’t take a stand when his flame’s gone cold.’ We want to ignite the flame and get men across Canada involved in moving our Church forward.”

Calgary Bishop William McGrattan opens the celebration with Mass at St. Michael Catholic Community church on Friday night.

Brett Powell, a long-time evangelist for Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO) who now serves as Archbishop Michael Miller’s Delegate for Development and Ministries in the Archdiocese of Vancouver, will deliver his first of two talks. He will speak about leaders of this new springtime and being sons of The Father.

Jeff Cavins, the creator of the Great Adventure Catholic Bible series and partner of Fr. Mike Schmitz on the popular Bible in a Year podcast, will deliver talks about how men are called to be disciples and preach the Gospel. Cavins is a close friend of Lynn. In 2016, they completed a 6,500-km motorcycle trip together.

“I have known Jeff for over 25 years and he always delivers a powerful message. This is our first time working with Brett Powell. We’re so happy to have a homegrown speaker who is going to challenge the men.”

The conference at St. Michael will also feature open discussions that will encourage attendees to share their take on how to build leaders within the Church and how men can participate in the Synod on Synodality.   

God Squad Canada has a few initiatives in the works to foster a return to in-person fellowship in addition to the conference. They are planning a series of disc golf events to bring men and families together and they intend to host a live concert version of its Litany to St. Joseph musical project.

Lynn is also involved in the Catholic Men’s Leadership Alliance (CMLA) that is present throughout North America. The group seeks to empower men to experience Christ in every Catholic diocese. Lynn is responsible to realize this mandate in Canada.

“We are going to see if we can light the spark in Calgary and get that going again,” said Lynn. “With the pandemic, a lot of our programs have been on life support. Let’s see if we can re-ignite hearts here in Canada.”

Lynn sees potential on the horizon as participation in online prayer sessions organized by God Squad Canada has continued trending upward.