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MIKE INTRODUCES YOU TO CATHERINE:
First, she's the one on the left. Next, the most important thing to know about Cat is that she used to be a big Willie McGee fan, yes the famed Cardinals star was one of her favorites growing up. She knows how to pick 'em. Seriously, Catherine is a holy soul. She is the fifth of six children born to Greg and Pat Gehred. All six of them are ND grads, as is their dad (mom passed up scholarships to Harvard, Yale and Holy Cross College). Catherine graduated ND in '98 and used her theology degree right away to serve the poor. She joined the staff of Andre House, a place of hospitality for the homeless of Phoenix, AZ. She gave 2 years of her life there, then went traveling a bit to discern her path. She thought about becoming a sister, even visited some communities. Yea, just like the Sound of Music (not really). On one trip she took her sister Teresa, and she joined! During this time Cat decided to follow a call she had to learn Spanish and serve folks who had crossed the border at great risk, seeking a better life. So she went to Guatemala, learned el espanol, and joined the biggest Catholic Worker House of Hospitality in the country: Casa Juan Diego in Houston. Again, two years she served there (uh, I hope she gives me longer than a two year stint!). While in Houston she lived with many women seeking refuge, and with them built a beautiful and bountiful garden, no easy task in Houston. It was at the end of her time there that she and I decided to give us a go...

CATHERINE INTRODUCES YOU TO MIKE:
First, here he is in Ghana pounding foo foo, a staple of many meals there. A good omen for his work in the kitchen!

On February 12, 1971, Peg and Gene Griffin welcomed their 8th, and what would prove to be most challenging, child. Yes, in the coming years they would enjoy antics from their youngest such as locking himself in the car (with the car keys) when he was angry, and then proceeding to lay on the horn. His energy and innovation has not abated. After graduating from ND (he was a PLS guy) way back in '93, he jumped right into the thick of Catholicism and the U.S., working for a year at the Council of Catholic Bishops. He then entered back into Holy Cross education, this time as a teacher, not a student. For the next 4 yrs he subverted, I mean converted young minds and hearts teaching the Gospel to high schoolers outside D.C. Loving and living the mission of Holy Cross, he decided to plunge in more fully and entered their seminary, though this meant leaving the job he loved, not to mention his illustrious career as the freshman baseball coach. :) The next 5 yrs were spent in the community, mostly in school at ND but also in Colorado (where we met) and at Andre House, a Catholic Worker in Phoenix. Finally discerning that his vocation lay elsewhere, he left the seminary (and was not lured out by me, as he's fond of saying). He finished his M.Div. at ND, then moved across the street to begin teaching Theology at Holy Cross College, as well as fearlessly lead its students across oceans and borders to places like Ghana and Peru. For the past several years he's also been living and working at the local Catholic Worker and is an integral part of the Catholic Peace Fellowship, particularly in his role as Managin' Editor of the truly fantastic journal The Sign of Peace.

See the heights to which our relationship has gone: atop a rope bridge in the treetops of the African Rainforest!

And now, how we met...This is good. Back in 2000 (or, as the hip people say, Y2K) Nate Wills, one of Mike's classmates at the novitiate (part of seminary training), became good frieds with Catherine when he served for a bit at Andre House in early 2000. That summer, Catherine and some others from AH came to visit the novitiate. And we "met" in the chapel there when Mike, walking in 3 minutes late for Mass, saw Catherine standing across the chapel. Quite a moment (for Mike at least, Cat only recalls paying attention to the holy liturgy). On that visit we talked some, but this was the novitiate after all, not Chuck Woolery's Love Connection. Still, over the next few years, as Mike continued in the seminary and Catherine served the poor and discerned her path, the friendship continued. But the cool thing is that each of us respected the other's place and we could discern our own paths first. Not until 2004 (Mike had left the sem in 2003 and almost waited too long to make the move; in fact the very night Cat was ready to say, to heck with this, the phone rang. Excellent call, Griff. We began to talk more frequently, and Cat decided to come from Houston for a retreat at ND in April. The retreat was magical. Fr. Charlie McCarthy, an eastern rite priest with 13 children gave the retreat, on practicing the nonviolence of Jesus in a warmaking world. As the weekend progressed, both of us knew. Both of us knew. That Sunday, April 4, we began dating. That summer Catherine moved to South Bend, where we both became staff members of the newly formed Catholic Worker House. Mike also began teaching at Holy Cross College. In 2005 Cat also began an accelerated program to get a second bachelor degree, this time in nursing. Now Catherine is a full-fledged nurse, working at Our Lady of Peace Hospital, affiliated with St. Joe's here in South Bend.

The Accommodations

Now to the info people are wanting right now. You may have heard: folks have to stay in dorm rooms! Well, its a little better than it sounds.

Here are several pictures of the student apartment building where all the guests will stay. Note that each suite has three rooms: 2 bedrooms each with two single beds and a full bath, then a middle room where kids can sleep since couches and furniture will be moved out. Fridges will be usable, but not stoves. Cost is only $20 a night, and we think that is just for adults who have beds. Also, for those with kids bring sleeping bags. And for all driving, Holy Cross suggests bringing your own pillow. We can order them, but the person in charge said often they are not great pillows and people may prefer to have their own.

Also note the beautiful grounds. All the weekend events will take place right on campus. Very cool.