Come Back Father Groppi

Religion was always a sore subject in my family as I was growing up on the farm.

My dad came from Irish Catholic stock. Dad was soured on religion at the age of 14 when his father succumbed to colon cancer. I never knew my grandfather. He was only 40 when he died. I never knew my paternal grandmother either but heard how she cared for my grandfather when he fell sick. As a Christian Scientist she did not believe in medical treatment and instead sought to bring about healing through prayer. As far as I can tell from stories passed down, dad forgave her after the cancer worked its will, but he never forgave her religion. He had no choice but to drop out of school in the eighth grade to run the farm and provide for his mother and three sisters. He wanted nothing to do with any church regardless of denomination from that point forward.

My mother was a devout Methodist. Mom wanted me and my siblings to have a church upbringing, but dad would have none of it. Religion was a constant source of…