Ian Morgan Cron

Check Out My Interview at Internet Monk

Michael Spenser at Internet Monk just posted an interview with me about my book Chasing Francis and about my church in Connecticut. He usually has some cool things up on his site so it's worth checking out.

I'm off now to see Ellen Burstyn in The Little Flower of East Orange (directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman) at the Public Theater with my friend Gareth Higgins who is staying with me for a few days. More to come...

Poet Micheal O'Siadhail Reads at Trinity Church

The Irish poet Micheal O'Siadhail spoke at Trinity Church a few Sundays ago and the whole experience was remarkable (sublime, actually). Micheal is one of Europe's most celebrated poets and it was a coup to get him to come to our church to read selections from his new book, Globe. He read two poems at our morning service and people were transfixed. Later in the service I put Micheal on the spot and asked him to give the benediction. He took a moment during the last song to compose it. At the dismissal he came to the microphone and said this blessing over us,

"Bless us all, in our work for the world, for one another, for the outsider, for the sufferer, the lonely, the bereaved, so that the God of Abraham, the giver of jazz, of improvisation, of surprise might shape our lives."

His words rang with such authority that we didn't quite know what to do when he finished! You could have heard a pin drop.

Later that night more than 100 Trinity people and their friends jammed into the Arcadia Coffeehouse to listen to Micheal read for more than an hour. Many of us wept as he read poems about his wife of 35 years as well as about the Holocaust.
   It's been a lifelong dream to be part of a church that sponsors and values this kind of event. Micheal emailed me several times later in the week to say that he would cherish the memory of his time with us for many years to come. We're commissioning Rob Mathes and to compose and perform an orchestral work based on a cycle of Micheal's poem. Rob is traveling to Dublin in July to begin the work.

St Francis of Assisi Leads Gorbachev into the Life of Faith

A friend of mine sent me this article yesterday about Gorbachev and St Francis of Assisi. It's remarkable that an 800 year-old saint still has the power to lead people into a life transforming encounter with Jesus. Even the former leader of the Soviet Union found him to be a doorway into the heart of God. This confirms what I have believed for many years--St Francis of Assisi is the prophetic voice and exemplar uniquely capable of showing us how to be the Church and followers of Jesus in the 21st c. This is what inspired me to write Chasing Francis and why I continue to meditate on Francis' life on a daily basis.

Travelogue

   I’ve gone on some cool adventures over the last few months. Forgive the long post but I’ve been a pathetically bad blogger.
   Back in December my friend Rob Mathes invited me to come to London and hang with him at Abbey Road Studios where he was recording horns for the new Panic at the Disco CD. I was surprised at how moving it was to walk around Studio One and Studio Two. Studio Two is where all the great Beatle records were recorded (not to mention records by Pink Floyd, U2, The Hollies, and countless other legends). It was moving touching the grand piano in the middle of the room. This is the place where the soundtrack to my childhood was recorded! Down the hall is Studio One, which is the largest purpose-built recording room in the world. Some of the greatest symphonic recordings and soundtracks known to humankind were recorded in that room. While there Rob introduced me to a guy playing on the Panic session who played French horn on all 22 James Bond Soundtracks and on the Beatles’ Sgt Peppers record. May his tribe increase.
   Two days later I was in another famous albeit very different room. I attended a dinner at Lambeth Palace, the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The meal was served in the Guard Room where Sir Thomas More refused to sign the Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry VIII as the head of the Church in England in 1535. The Archbishop’s wife gave a humorous talk about some of the paintings that adorn the walls. The Archbishop along with Bishop Tom Wright joined us for dessert and gave a beautiful benediction. Needless to say, it was a very stirring evening.
   After being in these remarkable spaces I realized that Thomas Merton was on to something when he wrote about the ‘spirituality of place.’ Merton believed that sacred spaces where important events had taken place retained a magnetic, numinous quality. I guess this explains why the feelings I experienced at Abbey Road weren’t all that different from the ones I felt in Lambeth Palace. It was sheer awe and gratitude.
  I also spent some great time in London with Ian Mobsby who was kind enough to see me despite having the flu and with Maggi Dawn in Cambridge. These are two wonderful people doing remarkably innovative things for the Kingdom. I’m hoping Ian will come to Trinity in June to speak to our staff and leadership.
   One week after returning from London I attended a conference for peace builders in Kampala, Uganda. One hundred peacemakers from all over the “genocide belt” (Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Congo) were in attendance. There were Anglican priests and bishops, Catholic priests, Mennonites, World Vision staff, folks from ALARM, as well as staff and faculty from Duke Divinity School's Center for Reconciliation, the sponsors of the event. The worship was very moving. Every night representatives of a different country led singing and prayer. The stories people told were both inspiring and heart wrenching. It was a privilege to be in the presence of such a cloud of witnesses.
   Coming home I spent a great few days at home with Mike King from Youthfront. Mike is quickly becoming a great friend. We’re hoping to attend an Enneagram retreat led by Richard Rohr in Assisi this June. I’d be grateful to spend time in Francis’ old haunting grounds again.   
   Keep a lookout for a blog interview I’m doing with Michael Spencer on Internet Monk next week! I’ll be talking about my book Chasing Francis and my church in Connecticut.

Join Me on a Live Webcast Interview on Shapevine.Com!

   I want to invite everyone to join me this coming Thursday December 6th at 4pm EST as I do a live webcam interview with Lance Ford on Shapevine.com to talk about my book Chasing Francis. The book has gotten a lot of coverage lately (I've done around 15 radio interviews in the past 4 weeks and its getting more and more reviews in the press and on blogs) for which I am very grateful!
   I continue to believe that Francis is the follower of Jesus we all want to believe its possible to become. His rejection of hyper-consumerism, his compassionate identification with the poor and marginalized, his emphasis on peacemaking as a way of life (especially with Muslims!), his use of the arts (poetry and street art) as a focal point of his ministry, his revolutionary vision of the created order and environmentalism, and so much more, make him an exemplar the postmodern church would be wise to revisit.
   I was listening to a CD of Fr. Ronald Rolheiser teaching at a conference alongside Fr Richard Rohr yesterday. When an audience member asked Rolheiser what the Church needed today to restore people's confidence in the message of Jesus Rolheiser replied that more than anything we need another St. Francis--someone who is both a saint and a holy romantic to inspire cynics and restore credibility to the gospel. 
   So let's talk about it! Log on to Shapevine.com (cool site) on Thursday December 6th at 4pm EST for the interview.

Mako Fujimura and the International Arts Movement

I went into Manhattan today to hang out with my friend Mako Fujimura. Mako is a magnificent abstract artist as well as the founder of the International Arts Movement. IAM just rented space at 38 W. 39th Street to house its growing ministry among artists and I wanted to see it. We're celebrating a Christmas vesper service there on December 16th and I'm happy to report that it's a perfect space for it.
   Even if you're not an artist you should check out the International Arts Movement's Encounter that happens every year in New York City (this year its February 28-March 2nd). Hundreds of artists from around the world converge on Greenwich Village to converse about faith and art at a very high level. I never miss it.  I've asked the Irish poet Michael O'Siadhail to come out to Trinity Church for a reading of his work on the Sunday night following the conclusion of the conference.  Can't wait for our friends to hear his  work.   

Ooze Conference in the Bahamas

I just arrived home from The Ooze Conference in the Bahamas a few hours ago and it far exceeded my expectations. At times it felt like someone had shoved a fire hose in my mouth and blasted one rich spiritual insight after another into my soul for seven days straight. A huge plus was making some cool new friends....Gareth Higgins, Mike Morrell, Mark Scandrette, Terry Wog,and many others made my time at the gathering a great joy.

There were too many highlights to enumerate in detail but here's a sample.

--A workshop with Rita Brock where she helped us explore those moments in our lives when we felt a profound sense of personal well-being and how we might create rituals around them.
--Meeting Fr. Richard Rohr for the first time and telling him how grateful I was for the endorsement he gave my book, Chasing Francis.
--Reconnecting with Brennan Manning again.
--Listening to NT Wright unpack the book of Acts.
--Laughing so hard with Gareth Higgins that I thought I'd need medical intervention.
--Getting the chance to hang out with my publisher Caleb Seeling and his wonderful wife Angela.
--Spending 1.5 days after the official close of the conference with a small group on retreat with Richard Rohr. He led us through a half day teaching on the contemplative life and practices and then a full day on the enneagram. Phenomenal.
--Hanging out with the Irishman Terry Wog whose gentle spirit was life-giving.
--Lots of good food, great weather (until the tropical depression arrived)...pretty much an overall 10.
--Getting the chance to lead a workshop on Chasing Francis.

I'm glad to be home but this gathering was great. To be one of only 120 people hanging out with NT Wright, Richard Rohr, Rita Brock, and numerous other authors and emergent thinkers was amazing. Hats off to Spenser Burke and his crew!

Thomas Merton Strikes Again...this time in Texas

I'm reading excerpts from Thomas Merton's New Seeds of Contemplation in the Austin Airport...waiting to head home to NYC. I just came across these two remarkable statements:

"Many poets are not poets for the same reason that many religious men are not saints: they never succeed in being themselves. They never get round to being the particular poet or particular monk that they are intended to be by God."

"In order to become myself I must cease to be what I always thought I wanted to be."

These are haunting words which I'll have to return to later as my flight is boarding.

Galway Kinnell in the Hollow

Near our home in Vermont there is a three mile walk around a windy hollow surrounded by high, sloping hills. Its the odd day during our summer break that I don't take my dog Hobbes and trek the loop at least once, if not twice. The sound of the wind blowing through the tops of the maples and the ceaseless churring of insects is mesmerizing to me.    This past August I decided that I would use my walking times to memorize some poetry. I'm a believer that beautiful language has a way of insinuating itself into your blood and muscle and ennobles you even if you're not sure how. In fact, I think that describes what liturgy is intended to do.    Galway Kinnell is one of the poets whose work I memorized and pondered. (I also spent time reading Levertov and Milosz but I'll come back to them some other time). I came across this Kinnell poem a few hours ago and found myself deeply moved by it. Why Regret? by Galway Kinnell
Didn't you like the way the ants help the peony globes open by eating the glue off? Weren't you cheered to see the ironworkers sitting on an I-beam dangling from a cable, in a row, like starlings, eating lunch, maybe baloney on white with fluorescent mustard? Wasn't it a revelation to waggle from the estuary all the way up the river, the kill, the pirle, the run, the rent, the beck, the sike barely trickling, to the shock of a spring? Didn't you almost shiver, hearing book lice clicking their sexual dissonance inside an old Webster's New International, perhaps having just eaten out of it izle, xyster, and thalassacon? What did you imagine lies in wait anyway at the end of a world whose sub-substance is glaim, gleet, birdlime, slime, mucus, muck? Forget about becoming emaciated. Think of the wren and how little flesh is needed to make a song. Didn't it seem somehow familiar when the nymph split open and the mayfly struggled free and flew and perched and then its own back broke open and the imago, the true adult, somersaulted out and took flight, seeking the swarm, mouth-parts vestigial, alimentary canal come to a stop, a day or hour left to find the desired one? Or when Casanova took up the platter of linguine in squid's ink and slid the stuff out the window, telling his startled companion, "The perfected lover does not eat." As a child, didn't you find it calming to imagine pinworms as some kind of tiny batons giving cadence to the squeezes and releases around the downward march of debris? Didn't you glimpse in the monarchs what seemed your own inner blazonry flapping and gliding, in desire, in the middle air? Weren't you reassured to think these flimsy hinged beings, and then their offspring, and then their offspring's offspring, could navigate, working in shifts, all the way to Mexico, to the exact plot, perhaps the very tree, by tracing the flair of the bodies of ancestors who fell in this same migration a year ago? Doesn't it outdo the pleasures of the brilliant concert to wake in the night and find ourselves holding hands in our sleep?

NavPress Relaunching Chasing Francis September 15th

I'm psyched that NavPress is relaunching my book Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale on September 15th under their new Deliberate imprint. Chasing Francis originally came out (last August) the very week NavPress lost around 10 of their key sales people, marketing and editorial staff. Needless to say, in all their organizational chaos the book didn't get the marketing attention it needed. Despite the absence of marketing, the book ended up surpassing sales projections and the went into a second printing. I'm praying Chasing Francis will get more buzz and traction this time around. PLEASE let folks know about the book! Word of Mouth is what makes it happen!