The local Carmelite retreat house has an annual BBQ that is outstanding! Blessed beef is heavenly. I’d gladly repay the meals by having the fathers over for a cook-out. Most of the ones I know are great guys.
I’ve been in drinking with Jesuits before. If you thought they could argue before, you ought to see what they’re capable of with a little single-malt down their pipes.
Meh, sure. Could be interesting. One of the most interesting conversations I had was with two divinity students. I don’t recall why they were at the chemistry dept. happy hour, but I enjoyed the conversation enough not to begrudge them stealing beer from our keg.
Now granted, they were women, hot, and knew Latin, Ancient Greek, and Aramaic:eek:. A priest is not likely to have all three of these qualities.
For some reason I find the Aramaic thing to be quite enticing.
I grew up Catholic. We had the priest over for dinner one time, and it was really weird (I was pretty young at the time). There can be an element of cult of personality surrounding the parish priest, especially since my brothers and I were in grade school at the Catholic school.
We also all went on to go to a Jesuit high school (not at once - age differences are 2 then 4), and again there were a few priestly dinners. Still weird, because not only are you having a priest over for dinner, but you’re having your English teacher over for dinner.
Then we all went to a Catholic university, where the place is just lousy with priests. Some of my best friends were priests - I wouldn’t bat an eye heading over to the dining hall with the rector, or someone from the seminary, or the deacon down the hall.
Nowadays, I’m no longer Catholic, but I wouldn’t have any problem with it.
My family had clergy as guests a handful of times over the years. One guest was a nun we knew. She taught theater at a Catholic girls’ HS, and she was very outgoing and a lot of fun. This was the early 60s, so she still wore a full traditional habit. After my parents died, when I was going through their papers, I came across a very nice thank-you note from her.
Sure, that sounds neat. I’d do it.
We used to be friends with the local rabbi, and we had him and his family over a few times, or got together at other homes. They moved away, though. 
Of course. Most of the priests I’ve known have been fun people (I’m Episcopalian).
Preachers, OTOH, are a bit different. Some are alright and some are too dang uptight.
I grew up Presbyterian and my parents were always good friends with the pastor - always had him over for dinner. Now they have two, husband and wife, and I’ve gone out to eat with them even though I haven’t been a member of their religion for decades. I’ve never met one closely that I didn’t like.
The reverse – I remember going to a friend’s house for dinner and his father was a minister. When we said grace before eating, I remember it felt really weird not making the Sign of the Cross. I ended up doing so out of habit at the end of the prayer, and actually apologized. (His father just laughed)
THAT was weird. I had grown up around nuns and priests and eating with a minister just felt strange.
My brother is super liberal and agnostic-leaning-athiest and he loves eating dinner with his in-laws’ friend, The Bishop. He says the guy is really smart and a wine-and-cigars sort of upper-class. Says he’s a “William F. Buckley Republican” which, to him, means a verbose and intellectual Republican. Someone you can have a real political debate with not just the arm flailers and tooth gnashers we have today.
His in-laws are devout Catholics too, and I enjoy religious and political discourse with them as well. They are very intelligent and very caring. I’ve never hung with a priest tho.
I’ve dined with about every religion on the planet but the only cleric was a priest. Very well read and a good conversationalist. Nuns are usually a fun lot too. I’m not up on all the dietary needs of every religion but generally it’s easy to cover the basics. International office parties are mostly chicken, fish and lamb.
No.
I don’t hang out with people I wouldn’t be able to resist mocking.
Though I did once overhear part of a luncheon discussion among Al Gore, a Roman Catholic Bishop, and the Dalai Lama. And I succeeded in not mocking them, because I would have been fired.
Sure. I’ve known lots of nice priests.
Usually my priest invites me to the rectory for dinner with him, his wife, and a handful of other parishoners. The most recent time was April of this year.
Since the child abuse scandal broke, the word “rectory” seems to have taken on a new meaning in my brain.
Only if he has a split hoof and chews his cud.
I would have Judas Priest to dinner.
And, oh WTH, Jason Priestly can come along, and isn’t there some other Priestly out there too?
Is your name Mrs Lovett by any chance?
(Sweeny Todd) The trouble with poet is how do you know it’s deceased? Try the priest!(Sweeny Todd)
A lot of my friends are (buddhist) priests and monks, so I would have no trouble inviting them over. Sometimes it can be tough threading the etiquette thing, though. Case in point, a lot of Tibetan monks are not allowed to explicitly ask for specific kinds of food or for seconds, they have to accept what they’re offered. I knew someone who volunteered room and board for a group of monks while they were in town lecturing- she said that they eventually worked out a kind of code for meals. If she asked what they wanted for dinner, they would all shake their heads and say “Whatever you make will be fine,” and so instead she used to casually mention that she was going shopping, and if they wanted anything one of the monks would say something like “Do you think they will have any lamb at the store today?”, and she’d take the hint. 
Sure, have in the past, will have in the future. Priests, preachers, pastors, rabbis, etc have all dined at my table at one time or another. They’re people like everyone else, and if I distanced myself from everyone whose opinion differed from my own, I’d be more of a hermit than I am now.
Okay, so what’s the punchline? Surely there’s a joke in there–it’s too similar to preacher, rabbi, and priest jokes.