The Peacock 564

 "How did Father Griffin come to know them?" ask I

"St. James", says Matthew, "His parish church.  the way he told it anyway, Doug and Tristan were staying at a homeless shelter, where they met and became friends.  They used to attend St. James for Sunday mass, and would congregate with the faithful afterward for coffee and buns with marmalade in the church hall.  Apparently, Doug was already a controversial figure then, very charismatic, and seemed to be looked up to as a kind of de facto rebel lord.  The local poor and homeless would attend church with him, and afterward they would descend on the hall for the buns and coffee.  But Helen, the lady who coordinated the food and beverages, would have none of that.  She hated them and all the homeless people who came there, especially the men.  She was an old Ukrainian woman with a very rigid and set view of things and like so many old Ukrainians of her class and vintage, was also a terrible poor basher.  She thought they were all bums who refused to work for a living.  So, one Sunday, she tried to take the buns out of the reach of the local homeless and Doug intervened, grabbing the tray of buns from her hands and telling her, "They can have the buns you fucking bitch.  They are people who Jesus loves."  Well, Helen went straight to Father Griffin who told her in exactly those words to get over it.  She was never a problem again."

"I have some of my own memories about that woman", says Aaron.  "And yes, she was just deplorable.  We really locked horns over breakfast at the clergy house a couple of times.  She never spoke to me again.

"It seems to me", says Sarah, "that a couple of years ago she was inducted into the Anglican Hall of Fame, I think it's real name is the Order of New Westminster."

"Yeah", says Aaron, "it's the Anglican Order of Canada.  "I don't know what she did to earn their respect, but the archdiocese really doesn't know their head from their ass when it comes to anything that really matters.

"Hear hear!" says Carl.  "I'll drink to that", and he holds up his glass of ice tea...

"Oh, you'll drink to anything", says Aaron.

"