Why Project Minas?
MINAS stands for Masculinity Is Not A Sin. It isn't a slogan against anyone. It's a conviction I came to slowly, and then all at once.
Where it started
My wife and I lost seven children in the second and third trimesters. The last loss nearly took her too. I stood strong for her, and I carried my own grief in silence, because that's what men are taught to do.
Years later, when I co-led a ministry for couples who had lost a pregnancy or a baby, the men came to me quietly, one at a time, with questions they had never said out loud. How do I help my wife when I'm falling apart too? Why does nobody ask how I'm doing? Am I still a father?
That's when I understood my story wasn't only mine. Men are carrying a great deal, and almost no one thinks to ask. And on top of that, simply being a man, or walking in masculinity, is often considered toxic.
What Project MINAS believes
Masculinity isn't inherently toxic, it isn't a disorder to be treated, and it isn't a problem to be managed. Like every part of us, it can be wounded, and it can be redeemed. At its root it's good, even sacred, and worth honoring.Masculinity can be loud without demeaning anyone. It can be visible without oppressing anyone. It can even whisper and still be strong.
What you'll find here
A letter every week or two, always free. Stories, history, and data on what men are carrying, and why.
Sources for everything. When I give you a number, you get where it came from. When a number is soft, I say so.
A bridge. For the man who feels sidelined, for the people who love him, and for the curious and the skeptical, including those who advocate for women. Lifting men up has never required putting anyone down.
What you'll never find here
Contempt. Not for women, not for men, not for anyone.
Outrage for sale. No enemies list, no grift, nothing built on resentment.
Grievance. This is hopeful on purpose.
Who's writing
I'm Rev. Saeed Richardson (Rev. Saī here). I'm a minister, a technologist, a husband, and a father. I'm also writing a book, Masculinity Is Not a Sin, and these letters are where its ideas get tested first.
Faith and evidence, not outrage. Hope, not grievance. A bridge, not a battle.
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