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The Wild Reed

Thoughts and reflections from a progressive, gay, Catholic perspective.

Friday, August 11, 2006

The Bayly Family (Part II)








NEXT: The Bayly Family (Part III)


See also the Wild Reed posts:
Gunnedah (Part I)
Gunnedah (Part II)
Gunnedah (Part III)
One of These Boys . . .
A Lesson from Play School
Catholic Rainbow (Australian) Parents
The Bayly Family - July 2006 (Part I)
The Bayly Family - July 2006 (Part II)
The Bayly Family - July 2006 (Part III)
My Brother, the Drummer
Like Father, Like Daughter
A Rabbit’s Tale
Remembering Nanna Smith


Posted by Michael J. Bayly at 8:16 AM
Labels: Bayly Family

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About Me

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Michael J. Bayly
Born and raised in Australia, I now reside in the U.S. where I currently serve as executive coordinator of Catholics for Marriage Equality MN, an initiative of the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM). I am also editor of The Progressive Catholic Voice and co-chair of the Minnesota-based Catholic Coalition for Church Reform. I established The Wild Reed as a sign of solidarity with all who are dedicated to living lives of integrity – though, in particular, with gay people seeking to be true to both the gift of their sexuality and their Catholic faith. The Wild Reed simply invites people to observe and reflect upon one man’s progressive, gay, Catholic perspective on faith, sexuality, politics, and culture.
View my complete profile


Creating Safe Environments for LGBT Students: A Catholic Schools Perspective by Michael J. Bayly (Haworth Press, 2007).

(For reviews, click here, here, and here.)


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  • Even though reeds can symbolize frailty, they may also represent the strength found in flexibility. Popular wisdom says that the green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm. Tall green reeds
    are associated with water, fertility, abundance, wealth, and rebirth. The sound of a reed pipe
    is often considered the voice of a soul
    pining for God or a lost love.
    - Source

    .

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  • Lowell Erdahl on "Unlearning the Things That Used to Be Obvious"
  • A Christian Case for Same-Sex Marriage
  • Steve Chapman: Time is On the Side of Gay Marriage
  • John Corvino on the "Always and Everywhere" Argument
  • Patrick Ryan on the "Defense of Traditional Marriage" Argument
  • Nathanial Frank on the "Natural Law" Argument
  • Dr. Erik Steele and the "Naked Truth of Same-Sex Marriage"
  • Dale Carpenter on the "Win-Win" Reality of Gay Marriage
  • The Same Premise
  • Same-Sex Marriage: Still Very Much on the Archbishop's Mind
  • Archbishop Nienstedt Calls (Again) for a Marriage Amendment to Minnesota's Constitution
  • Is Anyone in the Least Bit Surprised By This?
  • The Same People
  • What Straights Can Learn from Gay Marriage
  • Love is Love
  • The Changing Face of "Traditional Marriage"
  • Naming and Confronting Bigotry
  • The Real Gay Agenda
  • Civil Unions and Christian Tradition
  • New Studies: Gay Couples as Committed as Straight Couples
  • Competent Parenting Doesn't Require "Traditional Marriage"
  • Just Love
  • This "Militant Secularist" Wants to Marry a Man
  • Getting the Word Out
  • Reactions to Prop 8 Defeat


  • The Rainbow Spirit Interviews
  • Kathy Itzin
  • Chuck Lofy
  • DĂ©adra Aalgaard
  • Mary Bednarowski
  • Simon Rosser
  • Daniel Helminiak
  • Carol Curoe


  • Catholic Scholars, Theologians, and Commentators
  • Daniel Maguire
  • Joan Timmerman
  • Daniel Helminiak
  • Mary Hunt
  • James Alison
  • Edward Schillebeeckx
  • Hans KĂ¼ng
  • Elizabeth Johnson
  • James Carroll
  • Richard Gaillardetz
  • Joan Chittister
  • Robert McClory
  • Uta Ranke-Heinemann
  • Garry Wills
  • Terrence W. Tilley
  • Rosemary Radford Ruether
  • Paul Collins and Marilyn Hatton
  • Thomas Gumbleton
  • Rita Larivee
  • Roger Haight
  • Robert Caruso


  • In the Garden of Spirituality
  • Zainab Salbi
  • Daniel Helminiak
  • Rod Cameron
  • Paul Collins
  • Joan Chittister
  • Toby Johnson
  • Joan Timmerman
  • Uta Ranke-Heinemann
  • Caroline Jones
  • Ron Rolheiser
  • James C. Howell
  • Paulo Coelho
  • Doris Lessing
  • Michael Morwood
  • Kenneth Stokes
  • Dody Donnelly
  • Adrian Smith
  • Henri Nouwen
  • Patrick Carroll
  • Jesse Lava
  • Geoffrey Robinson
  • Joyce Rupp
  • Debbie Blue
  • Rosanne Cash
  • Elizabeth Johnson
  • Eckhart Tolle
  • James B. Nelson
  • Jeanette Blonigen Clancy
  • Mark Hathaway
  • Parker Palmer
  • Karen Armstrong
  • Alan Lurie
  • Paul Wapner
  • Pamela Greenberg


  • In the Footsteps of Spring
  • Introduction
  • The Light Within
  • Shards of Summer
  • Intimate Soliloquies
  • Coming Out
  • No Stranger Am I


  • The Journal of James Curtis
  • A "Bells and Smells" Kind of Guy
  • A Quiet Visit and an Exhausting Conversation
  • A Journey Begins
  • Carlos
  • My Lunch with a "Medicine Bearer"
  • Father Brandon
  • The Note
  • A Swimmer's First Time
  • Feeling Both Hopeful and Sad


  • The Sufi Path
  • In the Garden of Spirituality: Doris Lessing
  • The Sufi Way
  • Oh, Yeah!
  • A Living Twenty-First Century Tradition
  • Bismillah
  • It Happens All the Time in Heaven
  • Clarity, Hope and Courage
  • As the Last Walls Dissolve . . . Everything is Possible




  • Politics
  • The Time is Now
  • An Unholy Alliance in Iraq
  • San Franciscophobia
  • The Exception to the Rulers
  • Taking on Friedman
  • In Search of a "Global Ethic"
  • When Terror is the Foil
  • More Propaganda Than Plot?
  • R.I.P. Neoclassical Economics
  • Capitalism on Trial
  • Let's Also Honor the "Expendables"
  • John le CarrĂ©'s "Dark Suspicions"
  • A Reign of Ignorance and Fear in the U.S.
  • What the Republican Leadership and the Catholic Hierarchy Have in Common
  • Tariq Ali Discusses Rudyard Kipling
  • The Gay Old Party Comes Out
  • A Voice of Reason
  • Introspection: The Remedy for Hypocrisy
  • A Rich Laugh Fit for a Dame
  • The Legacy of Pinochet
  • A Simple Yet Radical Act
  • John Pilger on Resisting Empire
  • The Tragedy of Homophobia
  • The Real Fascist Threat in Europe
  • Saying "No" to Torture and the Republican Agenda
  • Marching on the RNC
  • Progressives and Obama (Part 1)
  • Progressives and Obama (Part 2)
  • Progressives and Obama (Part 3)
  • Progressives and Obama (Part 4)
  • Progressives and Obama (Part 5)
  • Thoughts on Tomorrow's Presidential Election
  • "Change Has Come to America"
  • The Challenge for Progressives with an Obama Presidency
  • Progressives and Obama (Part 6)
  • President Barack Obama
  • In a Blow to Democracy, U.S. Supreme Court Affirms Corporate Personhood


  • Film
  • Where Milk Gets It Wrong
  • Pan's Labyrinth: Critiquing the Cult of Unquestioning Obedience
  • Reflections on the Overlooked Children of Men
  • Reflections on Babel and the "Borders Within"
  • The Golden Compass: Pointing Beyond Authoritarianism
  • Revisiting a Groovy Jesus (and a Dysfunctional Theology)
  • Thoughts on The Da Vinci Code
  • Reflections on The Da Vinci Code Controversy
  • What the Vatican Can Learn From the X-Men
  • The New Superman: Not Necessarily Gay, But Definitely Queer
  • Christian Draz's Critique of Brokeback Mountain
  • Frank D. Myers' "Long Hard Look" at Brokeback Mountain
  • Colin Covert on Biutiful: "A Work of Extraordinary Vitality"
  • Casanova-inspired Reflections on Papal Power at 30,000 Ft.
  • "This Light Breeze that Loves Me"
  • Alexander's Great Love
  • Dew[y]-Kissed
  • The Road to Love
  • Memoirs of a Survivor: As the Last Walls Dissolve . . . Everything is Possible
  • Solar Brother: Franco Zeffirelli's Brother Sun, Sister Moon
  • Adam Sandel on the Queer Appeal of Harry Potter
  • Dirk Bogarde
  • Hans Matheson
  • George Maharis
  • Ian McKellen
  • Deborah Kerr
  • Heath Ledger
  • Neil Patrick Harris
  • Natasha Richardson
  • Lynn Redgrave
  • Zachary Quinto


  • Music
  • Kate Bush
  • The Cruel Sea
  • Loreena McKennitt
  • Foo Fighters
  • Rosanne Cash
  • Scissor Sisters
  • Shirley Bassey
  • Maria Callas
  • Loretta Lynn and Jack White
  • Jenny Morris
  • Fleetwood Mac's "Seven Wonders": My Theme Song for 1987
  • Rufus Wainwright
  • The Man I Love
  • Engelbert Humperdinck: Not That Easy to Forget
  • Classic Engelbert
  • Classic Engelbert II
  • Classic Engelbert III
  • Suede
  • Wet Wet Wet
  • Darren Hayes
  • Tee Set
  • Joan Baez
  • Maxwell
  • Mavis Staples
  • 1927
  • Buffy Sainte-Marie
  • Wendy Matthews
  • Judith Durham
  • Kate Ceberano
  • Pink Floyd
  • Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy
  • Wall of Voodoo
  • Pet Shop Boys
  • The Church
  • Cass Elliot
  • PJ and Duncan
  • Australian Crawl
  • Helen Reddy
  • Enrique Iglesias
  • Nat King Cole
  • Stephen Gately
  • Propellerheads
  • Don Henley
  • Marty Rhone
  • Lenny Kravitz
  • Yvonne Elliman
  • Enigma
  • Jane Clifton
  • Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson
  • Ivri Lider
  • Terence Uphoff
  • Emmylou Harris
  • Gil Scott-Heron
  • Sam Sparro
  • Jon Stevens
  • Dionne Warwick


  • Dusty
  • Soul Deep
  • Classic Dusty
  • Classic Dusty II
  • Classic Dusty III
  • Classic Dusty IV
  • Classic Dusty V
  • The Sound of Two Decades Colliding
  • Yeah, Baby, Yeah!
  • Remembering a Great Soul Singer
  • Shelby Lynne Celebrates Dusty Springfield
  • Time and the River
  • Something In Your Eyes
  • Remembering Dusty
  • The Other "Born This Way"
  • Dusty Springfield: "Wasn't Born to Follow"
  • Wishing Him Love
  • Heat Wave
  • Dusty Springfield: Queer Icon


  • Culture (Pop and Otherwise)
  • What the Vatican Can Learn From the X-Men
  • The New Superman: Not Necessarily Gay, But Definitely Queer
  • Blast from the Past: The Return of Doctor Who's Sarah Jane Smith
  • What Sarah Jane Did Next
  • She's So Lovely
  • Impossible! . . . It Can't Be!
  • She's Back!
  • Too Good to Miss
  • The Adventures Continue
  • Remembering Elisabeth Sladen
  • Mourning Lis, Farewelling Sarah Jane
  • A Fresh Take on Masculinity
  • Ian Thorpe's "Difficult Decision"
  • What a Man!
  • London Calling
  • The Gay World Cup
  • At Swim, Two Boys: A Beautiful Novel
  • Don Gorton on the Significance of Maurice
  • E.M. Forster's "Elusive Ideal"
  • Those Europeans are at it Again!
  • Simple Yet Powerful
  • If the Jeans Fit . . .
  • Blood, Sex, Magic: Welcome to the World of True Blood
  • This Bites!
  • Remembering Stephen Gately, Gay Pop Pioneer
  • Halloween Thoughts
  • Halloween Hijinks
  • Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake
  • The Dancer and the Dance


  • Comic Relief
  • "How Very Dare You!" - A Humorous Look at Internalized Homophobia
  • Did Ya Hear About Our John?
  • One Out of Ten
  • A Beer Ad with a Difference
  • A Car Ad with a Difference
  • Oops!
  • A Simple Matter of Logic, Really
  • Let's Hear a Big 'Woo' for The Saturday Show
  • Why Gay Marriage is Wrong
  • Now Here's a Canny Idea . . .


  • Poetry
  • The Oak and the Reed
  • "Charis" by Nicola Slee
  • "Cherish" by Rosie Miles
  • "Grounded Angel" by Naomi Young
  • "And Love is Lord of All"
  • "Lover Of Us All" by Chris Glaser
  • "Just Now and Then" by Helene McLeod
  • "The Light Within" by Michael J. Bayly
  • "Shards of Summer" by Michael J. Bayly
  • "Intimate Soliloquies" by Michael J. Bayly
  • Remembering Wilfred Owen
  • One Fearless Kiss
  • The Holy Pleasure of Intimacy
  • "So Here We Are" by Rosie Miles
  • "The Catholic Thing" by Kilian McDonnell
  • "Bedecked" by Victoria Redel
  • "It Happens All the Time in Heaven" by Hafiz




  • Goin' Back (2006)
  • Australia Bound
  • A Solitary Ramble
  • Coastal Views
  • Bago Bluff
  • Travelin' North
  • The Bayly Family - July 2006
  • A Lesson from Play School
  • Travelin' South
  • Goulburn Revisited
  • Remnants of a Life Past
  • A Spring Swim
  • The Frog Tree
  • One of These Boys is Not Like the Others
  • Goulburn Landmarks
  • Goulburn Reunion
  • Return to Wagga
  • Gunnedah
  • Update from the Great South Land
  • Boorganna
  • Remembering Nanna Smith (1919-2005)
  • Flynns Beach
  • A Summer Afternoon
  • This Time Last Year
  • An Australian Christmas
  • Ellenborough Falls
  • Everglades Exhibition
  • Sunnataram Forest Monastery
  • Southern Highlands
  • Billabong Koala Park
  • Last Days in Australia


  • Out and About (2007-2008)
  • Back in the USA
  • It Sure Was Cold!
  • An Energizing and Spirited Weekend
  • April 2007
  • OutFront Minnesota's 2007 Lobby Day
  • Fasting, Praying, and Walking for Immigration Reform
  • May 2007
  • June 2007
  • July 2007
  • August 2007
  • September 2007
  • October 2007
  • November 2007
  • 300+ People Vigil at the Cathedral in Solidarity with LGBT Catholics
  • December 2007
  • CPCSM's Year in Review
  • January 2008
  • February 2008
  • March 2008
  • April 2008
  • Chicago
  • May 2008
  • June 2008
  • July 2008
  • August 2008
  • Road Trip to St. Louis
  • September 2008
  • October 2008
  • November 2008
  • CPCSM's Year in Review


  • Goin' Back (2008-2009)
  • Out and About - November 2008
  • Advent: Renewing Our Connection to the Sacred
  • The Empty Beach
  • Port Macquarie
  • Newtown
  • "Harbour City" Sights
  • Exeter
  • North Brother Mountain
  • Return to Ellenborough Falls
  • Starfish
  • An Evening Stroll (and Theological Musings)
  • Strathfield
  • The White Rooster
  • Beach Cricket
  • My "Bone Country"
  • The Painted Forest
  • The Bayly Family - January 2009


  • Out and About (2009)
  • Back!
  • February-March 2009
  • April 2009
  • May 2009
  • June 2009
  • July 2009
  • August 2009
  • September 2009
  • October 2009
  • November 2009
  • CPCSM's Year in Review
  • The Wild Reed's Year in Review


  • Goin' Back (2009-2010)
  • Australia Bound
  • Swallows' Ledge
  • On the Rocks . . .
  • A Bush Christmas
  • New Year's Eve at Telegraph Point
  • A Visit from the Hometown Relatives
  • Lighthouse Beach
  • Tacking Point Lighthouse
  • Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast
  • Flynns Beach
  • The Bayly Family - January 2010
  • An Afternoon at the Gunnedah Convent of Mercy
  • A Day Roving the Mid North Coast
  • Town Beach
  • This Corner of the Earth . . .


  • Out and About (2010)
  • February 2010
  • March 2010
  • April 2010
  • May 2010
  • June 2010
  • July 2010
  • Wisconsin Adventure
  • August 2010
  • September 2010




  • The Sensual World
  • Full Bloom
  • Garden Gate
  • Afternoon
  • Pacific Skies
  • Rocky Beach
  • Spring in Minnesota (2007)
  • A Snowy December
  • Northwoods
  • "Jubilation is my Name": Spring in Minnesota (2008)
  • Summer Blooms (2008)
  • Climbing Barn Bluff
  • Down By the River
  • Rainy October Afternoon
  • Spring Garden
  • A Perfect Day
  • Summer Blooms (2009)
  • Helianthus annuus
  • River Walk
  • September Garden
  • Trempealeau
  • A Snowy October Day
  • Winter Arrives
  • Mississippi Adventure
  • Spring Blooms
  • Summer Rain



  • All original content
    © Michael J. Bayly
    2006-2010



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