The Wild Reed: Out and About

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Out and About - February 2008

Above: Standing (at right) with Cletus Wessels, O.P., of St Albert the Great Catholic Church in Minneapolis. I was at St. Albert’s with my friends Jeri and Kathleen for one of the parish’s famous Lenten Fish Suppers - Friday, February 8, 2008.

As well as being a much-loved pastor at St. Albert’s, Cletus is also a theologian and author. When I was visiting with him and his community, he generously gifted me with copies of his two books, Jesus in the New Universe Story and The Holy Web: Church and the New Universe Story.

Above: Spoken word artist and folk singer/songwriter Evalyn Parry flanked by my friends Daniel and John. Evalyn performed Saturday, February 16, at a national gathering of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Quakers. My friend John (right) was a key organizer of this event - one that saw LGBT Quakers from across the U.S. and Canada gather at Camp Courage in rural Minnesota for a three-day retreat.

Above: Local theologian William Hunt, along with Call to Action Minnesota representative, Connie Aligada, were guests at the February 19 meeting of The Progressive Catholic Voice editorial team.

Back row, from left: Paula Ruddy, Bill Hunt, and Rick Notch. Front row: Mary Beckfeld, Mary Lynn Murphy, Connie Aligada, and David McCaffrey.

As well as continuing to publish it’s online journal, the PCV editoral team is also working with representatives from the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities, Call to Action Minnesota, Pax Christi, and Dignity Twin Cities to organize the Second Annual Prayer Breakfast for Hope and Justice. Scheduled for Saturday, May 3, this year’s Prayer Breakfast will feature award-winning journalist and author, Robert McClory, whose latest book is As It Was In the Beginning: The Coming Democratization of the Catholic Church.

For commentary and photos of last year’s inaugural Prayer Breakfast for Hope and Justice (featuring Bishop Thomas Gumbleton), click here.

Above: Mel While (center), director of the Nonviolent Peaceforce, with Darlene and Tom White - Thursday, June 21, 2008.

Above: Standing (at left) with Minnesota Monthly writer, Tim Gihring; Catholic Rainbow Parents co-founder, Mary Beckfeld; and CORPUS co-founder, Terry Dosh - Friday, February 22, 2008.

Above: Joining me to watch the February 24 telecast of the 80th Annual Academy Awards were my friends (from left) Rick, Paul, Mike, and Kathleen.

For my “five Oscar highlights,” click here.

To read about a not-so-very-pleasant experience I had later that night, click here.