Press release of the day: The Rake Angel

by Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet • 10/22/08 • A Chaska church rakes in the cash. When I was growing up in Catholic school, our fundraisers didn't have marketing campaigns—the administrators just used whatever sticks and carrots were at their disposal to motivate and/or shame us into raising marathon pledges, or selling candy bars or calendars or lightbulbs. When I was in high school at St. Agnes, each class would elect a "princess," and the class selling the most candy bars per capita would see its princess elevated to Homecoming Queen.

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But since then, God (or Al Gore, or Whomever) has given us the Internet. This morning, between press releases from Heiruspecs and Minnesota Film Arts, I found a note from Paul Jarvis at Chaska's Guardian Angels Church and School, "one of our county's most respectable institutions." The e-mail informed me, and presumably other members of the local press corps, that a black-clad, white-winged angel has been spotted raking leaves across Chaska. For evidence, Jarvis offered the above photo and a series of videos on a site I had not previously encountered, GodTube. (Among today's viewer recommendations: "Satan's Take on the Economy...ROFL!!!") "Word has it," explains Jarvis, "that if—no, when!—Guardian Angels School’s Rake-a-Thon fundraiser makes its ambitious $50,000 goal, both Fr. Paul Jarvis and G.A. School’s principal, Mrs. Nancy Ronhovde, will be sporting wings after the results are in this Friday, October 24th." It gets even better: "If we make our stretchiest of stretch goals—$60,000—our very own mayor of Chaska, Mayor Gary Van Eyll, has promised to wear angel wings." All credit to the enterprising Fr. Jarvis. If I had a yard, I would totally hire one of your students to rake it. But a word of advice: Don't look like you're having so much fun!