After surgery

At the beginning of last week I had some pretty serious surgery. The procedure was not at the top of the risk chart but the results could have been. The 'mass' was benign! Whew. Lots of thoughts go through your mind when you think you are facing the beginning of the end. Besides saying good by to all those I love dearly, letting go of dreams and projects there was one thought that nagged me....the funeral, who would celebrate my funeral? I decided, it had to be a woman. The service could be in one of our local Christian churches since the Catholic Church, which I served for over 50 years, would not welcome my remains to be prayed over by a holy woman. But the congregation would be primarily Catholic, and I knew that I would be praying beyond the casket that each and every mourner would walk away saying, "That celebrant was great. We need women celebrants in the Catholic Church. We need to tell our friends and bombard the bishops with our demands. Ordain women, NOW." Ahh yes, I am glad I can postpone my funeral but I need to firm up those plans.

Your insights are encouraged!

I am thrilled to have some company on this blog. It really is an interesting adventure. I want to encourage you to get involved but just know that you do not have to post comments if you don't want to. Just make some time to read up on our latest book and what others are saying.

The Radical Peasant by Gerald Cox

Our next book is about an amazing priest who worked right here in Santa Rosa. THE RADICAL PEASANT is about Charles Philipps who was a rural social action leader for 30 years in California, specifically in Sonoma County. On the book cover it describes him as "sometimes irreverent spokesman remembered for his humorous and gutsy comments on social justice, agribusiness, and the Catholic Church. As a man of both the cloth and the soil, he was a true radical for our times."

We will meet in August to discuss this book with the author no less. Gerald Cox lives in the Anderson Valley and will join us to share his insights and to answer questions.

I have copies of the book for sale.

Cindy