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If your ideal of women in the Bible is one of meek, subservient, second-class citizens, Dorothy Simpson begs to differ.

Indeed, the certified lay ecclesial minister and 30-year catechist for the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, had 15 examples of what she calls "fierce women of the Old Testament," according to the Intermountain Catholic.

Simpson will share those stories at the Deanery Spring Luncheon on March 18. The event, $10 in advance and $15 at the door of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 3560 W. 3650 South, in West Valley City, begins with a social hour at 11 a.m., followed by lunch.

Margaret Cragin-Masarone, president of the Salt Lake Deanery as well as the Saints Peter and Paul Parish's Council of Catholic Women, praised Simpson as "very well-read, very well-educated in Catholic theology, and she loves Bible study."

"She's very funny, very humorous, but she's very thought-provoking," Cragin-Masarone told the Catholic newspaper. "She's got those little gems of knowledge that are fascinating, and you want to go out and do more research after she talks."

The luncheon is an annual charitable fundraiser. This year, proceeds will go to the Utah Food Bank's BackPack Program, which provides meals for schoolchildren to take home for the weekend.

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

Bob Mims