Out and About - May 2010

Above, right, and below: The 36th annual In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre’s MayDay Parade in South Minneapolis - Sunday, May 2, 2010.

This year's parade theme was “Uproar!: A Call to Be Fully Present to the Uncertainties of These Shifting Times.” As always, it was an incredibly creative, inspiring, and, yes, spiritual experience.

For more images and commentary, click here and here.




Above: On Friday, May 7, my friend Jairo (center) invited me to join him and friends Chuck and John to see Bernadette Peters in concert at Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis. Before the concert, Jairo and John prepared a wonderful dinner for us all.

I must admit that while I can certainly appreciate the type of music that Broadway legend Bernadette Peters is famous for, it's not really my cup of tea. I guess I'm not a "show tunes" kind of gay man! Still, I'm very grateful for Jairo's thoughtfulness and generosity in inviting me to be his guest at this concert.



Above: A view of downtown Minneapolis in the early hours of Saturday, May 8, 2010.

For another image, click here.



Above: My young friend Joey (front row center, and sporting one of my ties!) is the son of my good friend Kathleen. On the evening of Monday, May 10, he made his Confirmation at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. In the picture above, he stands with the other young people from his parish who were also confirmed.

Auxiliary Bishop Lee Piché (back row center) presided at the Mass - one which saw hundreds of young people from parishes throughout the St. Paul/Minneapolis Archdiocese make their Confirmation.



Above: Joey's mum and my dear friend Kathleen with our mutual friend Greg, who was Joey's Confirmation sponsor - May 10, 2010.



Above: Friends Jackie, Phil, and John - Saturday, May 22, 2010.


Left: With Sonja, one of two dogs that live with my good friend Phil and his family.


Right: Phil and Sonja.







Above: Phil and his parents Noelle and John with Quinn and Sonja - Saturday, May 22, 2009.

Sonja was a very old dog, and, in recent months, not at all in the best of health. She died on Thursday, May 27, and I felt honored to be invited by Phil and his parents to be present at her passing. She had been part of the family for fourteen years, and she'll be greatly missed. As Noelle later shared with me: "Pets teach us unconditional love, life and death. With Sonja's passing a page of our life has turned. We will not forget her."




Above: A beautiful spring bloom - May 27, 2010.

For more spring images, see here and here.



Above: Members of the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform's Work Study Group on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity meeting at my home on Sunday, September 23, 2010.

I serve as the facilitator of this particular work/study group - one of ten groups regularly meeting in the local church in preparation for the Coalition's 2010 Synod of the Baptized: "Claiming Our Place at the Table," scheduled for September 18.

For my most recent report on the preparations for the Synod, click here.