ST. THOMAS -- About 600 men from across Southwestern Ontario were reminded here yesterday in prayer, rock music and motivational speeches to be better husbands and fathers.

Speakers at the regional conference of Promise Keepers Canada told the men they must remember God's word and Biblical values as they strive to build stronger families and better relationships with other men and practise spiritual, moral, ethical and sexual purity.

Kirk Giles of Paris, director of ministry advancement for Promise Keepers Canada, said he expects the organization will begin holding regional meetings on an annual basis in Southwestern Ontario.

Promise Keepers was founded in Colorado about 15 years ago and has been in Canada for a decade. The organization has no paid membership base, but Giles said there are 60,000 men in the Canadian operation's data base.

He said men, many already members of active evangelical and other ministries, look to Promise Keepers as an additional resource as they try to follow God's way in their busy lives.

The theme of the St. Thomas gathering was "The Awakening." The program noted "A lot of men have been lulled into a half-sleep by the ways of the world around us and quickly conditioned to accept lives of spiritual apathy."

- How to abandon life as "a lonely ranger . . . (for) a journey of discovering how to build friendships with other men and move . . . to a band of brothers who are walking through life together."

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