Catholic Daughters to host annual book review and tea
<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press The Catholic Daughters will host a book review Feb. 25 of Mitch Albom's "Have a Little Faith" during an event a 1 p.m. at the St. Thomas Center. Photographed from left are, Bonnie McDowell, Kitty Bassett, Sandra Gardner, Therese Gold and Beth Franz.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Bonnie McDowell still recalls going to the Catholic Daughters annual Book Review and Tea when she was a girl.
She and her mother would dress up for an educational and social afternoon.
"I remember the spring flowers they had on the table," she said.
The Coeur d'Alene woman today looks back on those events with a smile and warm heart.
"Lots of good memories," she said.
And there are more to come.
The Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Our Lady of the Lake Court 1447, will have its 63rd annual Book Review and Tea at 1 p.m. Feb. 25.
The book, "Have a Little Faith" by Mitch Albom will be reviewed by Kitty Bassett.
His other books include "Tuesdays with Maurie," and "Five People You Meet in Heaven."
Members are hoping to sell 200 tickets for the event that will be at the St. Thomas Center, 10th and Indiana.
McDowell said they selected the Albom book in part because it's a fast read with a moral lesson, too.
"We always like something that's going to encourage you to live your faith," she said.
The book focuses on two men, one a rabbi and the other an African American pastor.
Bassett said a young man is asked to do a eulogy for the rabbi.
"He feels unworthy, but decides he'll take it as long as he can get to know this gentlemen on a deeper basis," she said. "In the process of getting to know him, it opens a world to him he has not seen before."
Along the way, he meets a black American pastor who used to be a drug dealer, she said.
The two pastors are from different worlds, but have one thing in common, "which is their faith."
McDowell, chuckling, notes that neither of the pastors in the book is a Catholic.
"So that wasn't on the criteria" for picking the book for its review, she said.
Bassett, a teacher at North Idaho Christian School, will speak for about 45 minutes. She believes the book delivers an encouraging, uplifting, message.
"Everybody needs some faith. Especially during these hard economic times and the changes that are going on in our world today," she said.
There will also be sandwiches, cookies and teas for the event generally attended by moms and daughters, but men are welcome, too.
Proceeds go to the Catholic Daughter's education contest. Last year, they gave out nearly $250. The local winner can go on to a state competition, she said. Jamie Crain was a winner at the national level.
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• The Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Our Lady of the Lake Court 1447 63rd annual Book Review and Tea is scheduled 1 p.m. Feb. 25 at the St. Thomas Center, 10th and Indiana. The book, "Have a Little Faith" by Mitch Albom will be reviewed by Kitty Bassett. Tickets are $7 in advance, $8 at the door. Info: 664-4888