In need of both some good news and the good news, I returned to St. Paul Catholic Church today and was once again glad I did.

Father Steve Jarrell -- who wowed us all a few years ago when he got his assignment and told us Greencastle was the last place he wanted to be -- offered what he termed a welcome relief from the news of elections and Iraq in the form of a story he shared:

which also was in the news..., see link:

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=5384647

But here is the story:

Bride-to-be Kyle Paxman, 29, of San Diego, was planning a big wedding in her home town in Vermont when she discovered just weeks before the Sept. 9 ceremony that her fiance had been cheating on her. So she got disengaged and cancelled the wedding, but because her family had already invited 180 guests and booked hotel rooms, etc., she and her mom decided to turn the event into a charity fund-raiser.

The impetus was two-fold. "Be brave, be strong and be proud," her mom had always told her. Secoondly, Kyle saw a CARE spot on TV focused on impoverished women in Asia and Africa. The women were shown declaring, "I am powerful, I am powerful, I am powerful."

Kyle and her mom picked the Vermont Children's Aid Society to benefit from the Sept. 9 dinner she held. A total of 125 women attended.

She said she never thinks about her ex-fiancee anymore.

I know, it's corny, but sometimes, even true stories are.

Speaking of which, Father Jarell is now very pleased to be in Greencastle.

comments: ruth@ruthholladay.com