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Men’s healing group meeting weekly in Rankin Inlet

Through music, sharing and prayer, a healing group in Rankin Inlet is providing a safe place for men to work through their lives together.
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Participants of the men’s healing group gather for a photo Thursday, Nov. 25. From left to right are John Taipana, Andy Aliyak, Simeonie Ammaq, Jared Osborn, John Arualak and Larry Gibbons. Photo courtesy of Jared Osborn ᐃᓚᐅᖃᑕᐅᓲᑦ ᐊᖑᑎᑦ ᒪᑭᒋᐊᕐᓂᖏᑦᑕ ᑲᑎᒪᔨᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᑲᑎᖦᖢᑎᒃ ᐊᔾᔨᓕᐅᖅᑕᐅᔪᑦ ᓯᑕᒻᒥᕐᒥ, ᓄᕕᐱᕆ 25-ᒥ. ᓴᐅᒥᖅᖠᕐᒥ ᑕᓕᖅᐱᕐᒧᑦ ᔮᓐ ᑕᐃᐸᓈᖅ, ᐋᓐᑎ ᐊᓕᔭᖅ, ᓯᒥᐅᓂ ᐊᒫᖅ, ᔨᐅᕆᑦ ᐋᔅᐳᐊᓐ, ᔮᓐ ᐋᕈᐊᓛᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓕᐊᕆ ᒋᐸᓐᔅ.

Through music, sharing and prayer, a healing group in Rankin Inlet is providing a safe place for men to work through their lives together.

“What we focus mainly on is just getting together as men and having a time of sharing,” said Jared Osborn, who started the group in June this year.

The group meets Thursday evenings at the Anglican Church, with about 10 people joining each week on average.

It’s informal and there are no requirements on participants: all men are welcome to drop by, share if they’d like or just enjoy some music and camaraderie.

“That’s part of our spiel,” said Osborn. “We say that everyone’s welcome to share, but nobody has to share anything. If they just want to come and observe and don’t feel that they have anything to share or that they’re ready to share, that’s totally fine too.”

He started the group because of the amount of challenges the Rankin Inlet community has faced this year and the need for people to have a safe, confidential place to gather and support each other. The group hopes to incorporate activities, like hunting or boating, in the future.

“What I hear from a lot of people is it helps to get things out in the open,” said Osborn. “We make sure that we hear each other out and we encourage each other. It helps just to be able to get those things off your chest and have somebody to listen so that we don’t feel alone.”

Participants are invited to share about anything, whether it’s a heavy subject or not. Osborn said sometimes the things people share are intense, and other times there’s open discussion about how to be a better husband and father.

Men of all ages are welcome to drop by and see if it’s for them. The group meets at 7 p.m. Thursdays at the Anglican Church.

“We’re not a bunch of guys who think that we’re super great or anything. We’re just ordinary people trying to help each other out and help each other work towards healing,” said Osborn.