So I was at a bar in Soho NYC last night and was reading a publishing contract for my next book and sitting beside me was a teacher who was also an editor and...a priest....and drinking Lemon Drop martinis! Unheard of in Ireland. We got to chatting - mostly as we had the bartender and a love of Lemon Drop Martinis in common but she had also spotted what I was reading.
I was intrigued that she had a serious boyfriend, was drinking in a bar, was young, witty, chatty and sound...and a priest! I hadn't experienced much of that before. In the past I typically kept my religious preferences to myself - my first book details various religions and their funeral rites. I am an Irish born Catholic but I often find myself questioning the church and its decisions, choices, limitations and people.
The conversation that developed with this young woman intrigued me so much I almost considered joining priesthood! If you asked any of my friends they would probably laugh...hard at this. But when she explained how it was very popular for event planners to turn to the type of priesthood she spoke of and what her day to day entailed - I was genuinely enthralled. Much of what I have tried to do while under the guise of Farewell Funeral Planners and now The Glam Reaper is to ask people to celebrate theirs and others lives, to LIVE their life to the fullest, to tell their loved ones how much they love them, and to consider their own mortality, accept it and move on with LIFE. Apparently that's what this woman does every day - she organises gatherings where they talk about life and death, she throws parties where people can come for open discussions, give thanks, pray for each other and get inspired.
How many meetings, conferences and exhibitions have I gone to as a start up business where I have paid a great deal of money to hear someone INSPIRE me to 'go get 'em', and this woman seems to do this on a daily basis in the form of religion. VERY interesting for me.
Jennifer Muldowney
Author
Jennifer Muldowney
Author