'Fierce women of the Old Testament' to be topic of charity luncheon to benefit Utah Food Bank

Friday, Mar. 03, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY — Modern lessons drawn from the stories of the women in the Old Testament will be the focus of the 2017 Salt Lake Deanery Spring Luncheon.

Dorothy Simpson, a certified lay ecclesial minister who has spent 30 years as a catechist in the Diocese of Salt Lake City, will present “Women of the Old Testament.”

“She’s very well-read, very well-educated in Catholic theology, and she loves Bible study,” said Margaret Cragin-Masarone of Simpson, whom she has known for 25 years. “She’s very funny, very humorous, but she’s very thought-provoking. She’s got those little gems of knowledge that are fascinating, and you want to go out and do more research after she talks.” 

Cragin-Masarone is the Salt Lake Deanery president, and also president of Saints Peter and Paul Parish’s Council of Catholic Women. She had heard Simpson do a presentation to the CCW at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Magna, she said, and “I wanted her to do something on the Old Testament women because we need these role models now more than ever – women who have lived through very, very tough times, persecuted for their faith. We need to see what they did, how they reacted, how they handled themselves. It’s important that we remind ourselves that we have these role models. These women have been here before us. They’ve been in these situations that we’re in now, and they’re going to guide us through these situations we’re in now.”

During the luncheon, Simpson will present the stories of 15 Biblical women. “She calls them ‘fierce women of the Old Testament,’” Cragin-Masarone said.

Some of the stories she will tell are allegorical, some are historical and some are songs, said Simpson said, who has studied Scripture for the last 20 years. For the luncheon, she said she plans to present information about the 15 women in the Old Testament she finds the most interesting, and say, “This is this person, this is where she is written in Scripture, and this is what takes place.”

Then, she said, she will ask those at the luncheon, “What is this telling us today?’ … It’s interesting how we haven’t changed. … I want to have the group contemplate, meditate on what I’m reading.” 

In addition to the talk, she will distribute a bibliography so that those who are interested can do further reading, she said. 

The luncheon is an annual fundraiser that benefits charity, Cragin-Masarone said. This year, the recipient will be the Utah Food Bank’s BackPack Program, which provides meals to schoolchildren that they can take home in a backpack for the weekend.

“When people are living on a minimum wage salary here in Utah, they’re having trouble paying the rent, keeping a roof over their heads and feeding their families,” Cragin-Masarone said. 

WHAT: Salt Lake Deanery Spring Luncheon

Guest speaker Dorothy Simpson will present “Women of the Old Testament.”

WHEN: Saturday, March 18, 11 a.m. social, noon lunch

WHERE: Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 3650 South 3560 West, West Valley

COST: $10 per person; $15 at the door. 

For information, contact Margaret Cragin-Masarone, 801-554-3863.