I was about to post photos of Sunday's first winter storm here in Minnesota when I realized I still had this "Out and About – Autumn 2012" post saved as a draft!
I first began my "Out and About" series in
April 2007 as a way of documenting my life as an “out” gay Catholic man, seeking to be all “about” the Spirit-inspired work of embodying God’s justice and compassion in the Church and the world.
And so it continues . . .
Above: With my dear friend Joan in early October. We'd just enjoyed a wonderful "jazz brunch" at the
Aster Cafe after attending liturgy at
Spirit of St. Stephen's Catholic Community.
Above: "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille!" On September 24 I was the guest on Suzanne Linton's
SCCTV program
Our World Today. I was on the show speaking as the executive coordinator of
Catholics for Marriage Equality – Minnesota (C4ME-MN). During the course of the hour-long broadcast, four of the five 'vignettes' of C4ME-MN's
Catholics for Marriage Equality video series were shown and discussed.
For more about my work with C4ME-MN this past fall,
click here.
To watch my interview on
Our World Today,
click here.
As important as the work of C4ME-MN is, it doesn't pay enough to live on. Hence my
other job . . . as a part-time coordinator with a local meals-on-wheels program. That's what I'm pictured working at
above.
The thing I like most about my work with meals-on-wheels is that at the end of every day I know I've making a difference in people's lives. I mean, as meaningful as the work of C4ME-MN is, we rarely see positive social change around marriage equality happening immediately. It's coming, to be sure; and of course what we're doing is important as, in many ways, we're 'planting seeds' for the future reality of full equality for LGBT people. But it's very much
future-oriented work. With my work with meal-on-wheels, however, I experience the satisfaction of knowing that every day –
here and now – our work is making a very real difference in people's lives. These two very different types of work make for a good balance in my life. And for that I'm very grateful.
Above and left: The autumn equinox wedding of Eve and Daniel.
Right: With friends Joan (the mother of the bride) and Nick.
Yes, it's true: you know you're getting old when you're closer in age to the mother of the bride than to the bride!
Above: Autumn in Minnesota! For more images of the beautiful fall colors this year, see
here,
here and
here.
Above: Friends Mark, Walter and Raul. We were out with others at the
Loring Kitchen and Bar on the evening of October 6, farewelling Raul who was leaving Minnesota to return to Mexico.
Above: Mark, Dan, Miss Daisy, Raul, Walter and Barry.
Right: Sitting (at right) with Dan, Miss Daisy and Raul.
Above: At the October 10 celebration for my dear friends Rita and Brigid's birthdays. Rita had recently turned 90 and Brigid 80!
Above: The famous
McDonald Sisters: Brigid, Jane, Kate and Rita – October 10, 2012.
Above: Friends Tom and Darlene White, who feature in the C4ME-MN produced DVD
Catholics for Marriage Equality.
Part of my work with Catholics for Marriage Equality MN during the autumn involved distributing our '
Another Catholic Voting No' yard signs, bumper stickers and buttons. In the picture
above, five members of a local Catholic family, despite being too young to vote, happily display the buttons they requested their mother get for them! She had originally come just for a yard sign.
Left: What I called a "tree of living flame in the eye of the storm"! To read what I mean by this,
click here.
Above: Jay Michaelson, author of
God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality, speaking at the annual Call to Action MN conference, October 20, 2012.
Above: Many of the 100+ people who attended the October 23
Vigil for All Minnesotan Families at the Cathedral of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Right: October 23 was also my 47th birthday! Close enough to
Halloween, I guess, to get this specially-wrapped present!
I celebrated my birthday with a number of friends at Fabulous Ferns in St. Paul, including from left
above, Kathleen, Paula, Tim and Paul.
Left: Brent, Marguerite, Rita and Cheryl.
Above: Brigid, Sue Ann, Kathleen, Joey and Kate,
Right: Lisa, Eileen, Bernie and Sue Ann.
Above: Later in the week I celebrated my birthday with friends Liana, Curtis, John and Noelle. (And little
Charlie, of course!)
Left: Friends Joan and George also took me out one night for my birthday. We had a delicious meal at the
Corner Table restaurant in Minneapolis.
Above: With my friend Curtis and our four-legged friends Charlie and Eddie – October 2012.
Right: With Quinn.
Above and below: Celebrating my friend Noelle's birthday – October 28, 2012.
Above: Standing with fellow Catholics at a special prayer vigil in St. Cloud, MN. The purpose of the vigil was to pray for peace, justice, hope, and healing around the divisive '
marriage amendment.'
For more images and commentary on this event,
click here.
Above: Celebrating with friends Mary Kay, Brent and Lisa the
historic advances for marriage equality that resulted from the November 6 U.S. elections. One of these advances involved the
defeat of the anti-gay 'marriage amendment' in Minnesota.
Above: Mary Kay Orman (left), the director of C4ME-MN's
Catholics for Marriage Equality DVD, stands with some of the Catholics who feature in the DVD by sharing their "stories of faith family and marriage." Pictured are
Brent and Lisa,
Grace, and
Bob.
Above: Friends Cheryl and Kathleen with
Jacob Sustaita, Music Director of the
Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra – Sunday, November 11, 2012.
Above: Singer/songwriter
David Rovics performing at Occupy Live! – November 13, 2012. Sponsored by the
Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers and held at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Cathedral, Occupy Live! provided an opportunity to "learn more about what is happening within the local
Occupy Movement, and to determine how each one of us can make a difference." Presentations were made by members of
Occupy Homes MN,
Occupy Minneapolis, and the
Whealthy Human Village.
For my friend Mary Lynn's reflections on Occupy Minneapolis, see
here and
here.
Above: My friend Bernie Rodel, co-chair of the
Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (CCCR), welcomes attendees to the group's November 15 event calling for accountability and transparency in archdiocesan finances.
For
Minnesota Public Radio's report on this event,
click here.
Above: My friend and housemate Tim with one of the two squirrels we've caught in and around our home! Here in Minnesota at around this time of year there's often a movement of critters such as squirrels, mice and birds into human habitations. Understandably, they're trying to escape the cold and scarcity of food that the approaching winter brings.
Above: Standing by one of the beautiful bur oak trees near Coldwater Spring – Sunday, November 18, 2012. For more images and commentary on this beautiful part of Minneapolis,
click here.
Above: I love this photo of Eddie and I – even if Eddie does look like he has the eyes of a
hellhound!
Above and left: The first fire of the season . . . at the always welcoming home of my friends John and Noelle.
Liana, Curtis, Kim and Mike (
above) and John and Noelle (
left) – Thanksgiving 2012. I'm certainly thankful for these beautiful friends in my life!
Above: My friend Mike and I with Eddie and Charlie.
Right: Putting up my Christmas tree – Monday, November 26, 2012.
For more images and a bit about the history of Christmas trees,
click here.
Above: Standing at left with Catholic marriage equality leaders from Maine, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington. Pictured next to me from left: Anne Underwood, co-founder of
Catholics for Marriage Equality – Maine; Ryan Sattler, primary Catholic lay organizer for the
Maryland Marriage Equality Campaign; Joseph Palacios, co-founder of Catholics for Equality; Cynthia Beliveau of
Catholics for Marriage Equality – Maine; Jim Smith of
Catholics for Marriage Equality – Minnesota; Barbara Guzzo, co-founder of
Catholics for Marriage Equality – Washington; Jeannine Gramick, co-founder of
New Ways Ministry; Marianne Duddy-Burke, president of
DignityUSA; Francis DeBernardo, executive director of
New Ways Ministry; and Chris Pumpelly of
Catholics United.
We gathered with pro-marriage equality faith leaders from Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Washington and North Carolina on December 3-4 at the Washington, DC headquarters of the
Human Rights Campaign. Together we celebrated recent advances in marriage equality in our respective states, and strategized and planned for further nationwide advances in the journey toward full equality for LGBT individuals, couples and families. Our gathering was called "Triumphs of Faith," and was, without doubt, a very inspiring event. As executive coordinator of C4ME-MN I was honored to be part of it. (For more photos and commentary,
click here.)
Left: While in Washington, D.C. I visited the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.
For more photos and commentary,
click here.
Above: Back in Minneapolis and out for dinner with friends (from left) Brian, Larry, John and Rick – Saturday, December 8, 2012.
Above: Autumn 2012 came to an end on Sunday, December 9, when
Winter Storm Caesar dumped over 10 inches of snow over the Twin Cities metro area. More images of the winter wonderland that ensued
coming soon!
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Out and About – Winter 2012
Out and About – Spring 2012 (Part 1)
Out and About – Spring 2012 (Part 2)
Out and About – Spring 2012 (Part 3)
Out and About – Summer 2012
