The governor of Indiana, who is running for re-election this year, was going to speak at Saint Joseph's high school's commencement this year. He graduated from the school years ago and they would have been really proud to have him. But it seems the increasingly decrepit Roman Catholic bishop uninvited him upon finding that Governor Kernan made some remarks that could be interpreted as "pro-choice".

We were discussing this at Saint James Episcopal on Friday, during lunch. The Catholic bishop is an old tyrant past his time who has no respect for the people of his diocese but, as we said at Saint James with a sad shrug, "He can do that." In the Catholic Church this is the power of a bishop.

In some ways the Catholic Church grieves and Anglican in an especial way, because the two churches are so very close. But there is a reason we are not the same. There are several reasons, and these are the things that grieve us. Even as we sit there at lunch trying to puzzle out why our sister church of sorts harms itself the way it does, I feel that there is much more than can be done than us shaking our heads. Shaking our heads is not enough.

Till this day I don't know what one has to do with the other, but on graduation day at Notre Dame, Scared Heart, their church, is closed. So yesterday I went to the Unitarian Church. It was one of those "coming home experiences". I never knew I could have so many homes. I was surprised to already know someone in the congregation. She said, "This is the hippy church. It's different." Then, in the first part of the service, where the minister asked if anyone had any announcements to make, Kelly Ray stood up and told us she had a whole bag of pro-choice bumper stickers and buttons, so if we wanted to buy..."

Dena turns to me and says, "See... I told you so."

The people of God are everywhere. If only we would just see each other.