Hello Everyone,

My name is Tim Shipe, I am very active in promoting the Church Social Doctrine- perhaps I should say evangelizing. I am so serious about taking the complete Social Doctrine set of 'womb to tomb' moral principles into the larger American society, that I am starting to run for public office. I originally tried to get on the ballot for the 15th Congressional District in Florida, but I could not get the 5000 petitions signed in time. I am now about to announce a run for the 31st State Rep. District, as a pro-life, pro-social justice Democrat. You can assess my credentials at www.timshipe.com.

I am an adult Catholic convert, and a big push for me was the social encyclicals. I have always been politically engaged- started when I was 13, with no inspiration from parents or teachers- it came from within. I was always an underdog supporter- when I watched Cowboy and "Indian" movies as a kid, I rooted for the Indians. Today I find this instinct developed in it's fullest reach through the Catholic social teachings. I enjoy reading osjspm.org, zenit.org, godspy.com, and my favorite read of the past year has been the Compendium of the Church Social Doctrine.