A CHN Report
Many years ago, due to a job opportunity, I left the warm, Gemutlichkeit culture of southern Ohio for the colder, somewhat banal flatlands of central Ohio. Fortunately there have been compensations - chiefly that of meeting my bride. There have also been a number of "bank error in my favor" geographical positives, such as this being the locus of one of the nation's greatest Irish festivals (in Dublin, Ohio), the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes and, of more recent vintage, the site of the Coming Home Network Conferences.
My parents and a niece had planned to come up this weekend, so my opportunities to hit the conference were limited but it seems I'd chosen well. (Although you can't know the good you have missed.) Msgr. Lane on Friday, Scott Hahn on Saturday, and the panel discussion on Sunday all were interesting and inspirational. Goosebumps attended one sentence from Scott Hahn that seemed, at the risk of sounding solipsistic, meant directly for me via the Holy Spirit.
It was painful to miss Joseph Pearce's talk but I'll order the tape. He radiates the sort of charm that one can call charismatic, which combined with his orthodoxy helps those of Irish descent recall that the English are not naturally perfidious but there is some good in them. During the panel discussion he told a little anecdote about proposing to his wife while kneeling before the altar at the oldest Marian shrine in England, an anecdote improved by his saying that that spot was chosen in part because he would already be on his knees and thus saved the embarrassment an Englishman naturally would feel in drawing attention to himself. Ha!
The place was packed for the talks I attended and it turned out to be much harder than expected to spot Rich Leonardi, an admirable defender of the faith (and occasional voice in the Cincinnati Enquirer). I'd seen a picture or two of Rich on his blog or maybe in the Enquirer and since the age of Conference attendees is skewed toward the more advanced in years, it seemed no problem to find someone my age. Wrong. The crowd was large and sold-out; so they're moving to a larger venue way out on the other side of town.
Via Rich's site I found this from Joanne Bogle, who I'd caught on the panel discussion.
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