In its 10th year, E6 Catholic Men’s Conference continues to change hearts
Some 1,500 men taking part in the 10th annual E6 Catholic Men’s Conference on Feb. 22 at East Central High School in St. Leon listen to Father Jonathan Meyer preach during the event’s Mass. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)
By Sean Gallagher
ST. LEON—When Father Jonathan Meyer stepped onto the stage of the auditorium at East Center High School in
St. Leon on Feb. 22, 1,500 men were seated before him.
Most had come there on that cold February Saturday morning from across Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, with more making their way from as far away as Alabama, Michigan and Missouri.
They were there for the 10th annual E6 Catholic Men’s Conference sponsored by All Saints Parish in Dearborn County.
The “E6” in the conference title refers to the sixth chapter of St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians in which the Apostle calls believers to take up “the armor of God” in the spiritual fight against the devil (Eph 6:11).
When the first conference was held in 2016 in the same auditorium, the majority of its seats were empty, with 500 men in attendance. But the number of participants quickly grew. And during its 10 years, some 10,000 men have taken part in the annual gathering that features noted Catholic speakers, fellowship, Mass, eucharistic adoration, the rosary and the availability of the sacrament of penance.
Father Meyer, who has served in All Saints Parish since 2014, explained to his listeners how the conference got its start more than 10 years earlier when two parishioners asked him about the possibility of holding such an event.
The conference came to be, Father Meyer said, simply “because two men said ‘yes’ to God. And because of that, 10,000 men have been faithfully catechized, witnessed authentic worship, participated in fraternity [and] gone to confession. We are unbelievably blessed, unbelievably blessed.”
‘God works through our struggles’
Andrew Middendorf is open in confessing that his desire to do something good in helping to get the E6 conference started began with his own brokenness.
“My personal struggle since high school has been with sexual sin, like a lot of guys,” said Middendorf, who is 42, a husband and father of seven.
As a youth and young adult, he was drawn to pornography. He came to know its negative effects in his life through the years and became ultimately convinced that God could heal him through his Catholic faith.
After attending an inspiring Catholic men’s conference in Indianapolis in 2012, Middendorf helped get a Catholic men’s group started at All Saints Parish. It was a couple of years later that he and his friend Joe Yunger approached Father Meyer about the possibility of having a Catholic men’s conference in southeastern Indiana.
The support Middendorf received from other Catholic men in his battle with pornography and to become a good husband and father was something he wanted to share with other men.
“God works through our struggles, our wounds and our sins,” he said. “I just felt that the Holy Spirit was calling me to take this sin that I was battling and do some good with it. And, here we are, 10 years later.”
When Father Meyer first heard Middendorf and Yunger’s suggestion, he thought that a small conference could be held at one of All Saints’ four campuses.
But from the beginning, the two men had a different idea. They dreamed big, knowing that there was an auditorium nearby whose seating capacity far exceeded any facility of their parish.
Although Middendorf felt that God was calling him to have a daring vision for the conference, anxiety still plagued him.
“I experienced a lot of fear,” he said. “I had a voice inside of me that said, ‘You can’t do that. That’s too big for you.’ ”
Middendorf overcame those fears through the support of his wife Olivia.
“She was my number one fan,” he recalled. “She was the catalyst that lit the fire so I could do this. She felt that God was calling me to do this.”
Middendorf paused and continued, “I feel like my wife has a very intimate connection with our Lord. When she tells me things like that, I take [them] very seriously.”
‘You recognize that it’s something bigger than you’
The E6 conference grew quickly during its first five years. By 2020, the conference which had first drawn 500 men in 2016 now filled the 1,500-seat auditorium.
“You almost couldn’t believe what you were seeing,” Middendorf recalled.
It was further personal confirmation of just how much God can do through him not in spite of his brokenness, but because and through it.
“This was God working through sin, through a broken man,” said Middendorf. “You’re struggling with something. You think you’re broken and worthless, that God can’t do anything through you. But it was the complete opposite. He wants to work through that so he can heal you.”
And as the years went on, Middendorf and Yunger saw how God was healing many other men through the E6 conference, learning of conversions that had taken place in the lives of many men who attended.
“You recognize that it’s something bigger than you, your men’s group or your parish,” said Yunger, 46, a husband and father of seven. “To have the opportunity to do this really is a blessing. It gives you such a great feeling to see men take that step upward. To be part of that is humbling and beautiful. It’s a great joy and makes every second of the work that we do worth it.”
Through the years, the conference has hosted many great speakers like Scott Hahn, Marians of the Immaculate Father Donald Calloway and Chris Stefanik, who spoke this year. But both of the organizers are convinced that the prayer and the sacraments that happen at the event are at the heart of the changes that take place in men who attend.
“There’s something about hearing 1,500 men recite the rosary at the same time,” Yunger said. “You just close your eyes and listen to that. You have almost 500 men go to confession in a day. That’s powerful. That’s awesome.”
“There’s something powerful about hearing the men singing at Mass,” added Middendorf. “It’s the same thing with the rosary. Celebrating the sacraments with that many men is the most powerful of the experiences at the conferences.”
‘You never want to take things for granted’
The E6 conference sold out for the first time in 2020, filling the auditorium at East Central on Feb. 22 that year.
Three weeks later, such a gathering became impossible as the shutdown of society due to the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.
The future of the conference was thus clouded in doubt.
Thankfully, Middendorf, Yunger and their team at All Saints had the better part of a year to make plans for the next conference, which took place on Feb. 27, 2021.
The auditorium at East Central was still unavailable due to the pandemic. But, after working with local health officials, conference organizers were able to welcome 300 attendees for the event at St. Joseph Church in St. Leon.
“There was a lot of fear that we were going to lose our momentum and may never get it back,” Middendorf said. “But we never really had a discussion of not continuing it.”
During the pandemic, many in the Church, including All Saints Parish, shifted to livestreaming worship and other events online.
Yunger came to realize during that challenging time just how valuable gathering in-person with other people is, especially in the life of the Church.
“It made you think that you never want to take things for granted,” said Yunger of the pandemic. “The changes we had to make were difficult. But, at the end of the day, you can look back on that and really appreciate seeing people one-on-one in person.
“You can have the greatest talk on Catholicism ever made on YouTube. But it’s very different to view it on YouTube than to see it in person and being able to talk to other people. That’s where it gets to your heart. That’s where a fire is kindled.”
‘A movement that is changing lives’
After sharing with the 1,500 men who attended this year’s conference how it came about through the openness of two men, Father Meyer challenged his listeners.
“God is calling you to do something,” he said. “And God isn’t calling you always to do something small. We often say these things to make ourselves feel better, right? ‘God isn’t asking me to do anything great. God’s just asking me to do something small.’
“Well, no, actually God is calling a lot of you to do something really, really big. But we live in fear and we don’t want to think that that’s actually the case. I just want to say to all of you that this 10th conference exists because men said ‘yes.’ And men have continued to say ‘yes’ and invited each other and been a part of a movement that is changing lives.”
As planning is already underway at All Saints for the 11th annual E6 conference next year, Middendorf and Yunger are stepping away from being the event’s main organizers.
Both desire to spend more time with their families, especially in the weeks in January and February leading up to each year’s conference.
“There have been times when I was doing too much,” Middendorf said. “We should have reached out and gotten more men to fill those roles.
“So, we have to do this. We have to pass on the torch.”
Thankfully, there are many men at All Saints to fill the void.
“We have a great core group of guys with very specific roles that do make it easier,” Yunger said. “But anything you do at this big of a scale requires a lot of time and effort. And, as a father, that can be very difficult.”
In the end, both are convinced that the conference will be stronger by it being led by new people. It won’t depend just on the initial inspiration of its founders.
“There’s nothing special about me and Andrew,” Yunger said. “We just happened to be at a parish where a priest allowed us to do this and the Holy Spirit made it bigger and better each year.”
Yunger is also convinced that men in parishes across central and southern Indiana can also do daring things for Christ and the Church like he, Middendorf and others at All Saints have done.
“Anyone can do this,” he said. “This can happen anywhere. You just have to be able to trust the Holy Spirit and be willing to put the work in.”
(For more information on the E6 Catholic Men’s Conference, visit www.e6catholicmensconference.com.) †
