ManKind Project Staff Training Weekend held in Sharon Township

Participants of a ManKind Project Staff Training One (ST-1) weekend held at the beginning of March at the Emerald Temple in Sharon Township. Photo courtesy of Eric Cooper.

by Sara Swanson

Twenty-four men gathered two weekends ago at the Emerald Temple, located in Sharon Township, for a ManKind Project Staff Training One (ST-1) weekend led by two certified Full Leaders. Participants traveled from California, Maine, Texas, and Florida for the training.

Eric Cooper, who built and runs the temple, and hosted the weekend event explained, “ST-1 further prepares men to serve on the organization’s signature New Warrior Training Adventure (NWTA)… The ManKind Project holds that men today rarely have access to healthy initiation, and the NWTA exists to fill that gap — honoring each man in his work to become the man he wants to be.”

ManKind Project describes itself as a global brotherhood of nonprofit/charitable organizations that conduct challenging and highly rewarding programs for men at every stage of life. Its website states that the ManKind Project supports over 1,000 peer-facilitated men’s groups. It adds that it is not affiliated with any religious practice or political party and that it strives to be increasingly inclusive and affirming of cultural differences, especially with respect to color, class, sexual orientation, faith, age, ability, ethnicity, and nationality. For more information visit visit mkp.org.

Cooper wants readers to know that he is active in the ManKind Project and is happy to speak with any man interested in learning more. Call him at (734-657-4373). In addition, he will be staffing an upcoming NWTA near Holly, Michigan on April 17–19, 2026.

He stated, “Birthing men into their wholeness is the greatest need of our time.”

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.