Ian Morgan Cron

Trinity Night with Peter Rollins and Tony Jones

Last night a group of 30 Trinity folks gathered for a dinner and salon conversation with Tony Jones  and Pete Rollins. It was an amazing night of rich dialogue and friend-making. I found myself moved a few times not only because of the things that Peter and Tony were saying but also because our people were so wired into it. I am not sure what is coming around the bend for me (I recently stepped aside as Trinity's Lead Pastor) but knowing that Trinity is struggling with the right questions and ideas, engaged in generative conversations with thoughtful people, is deeply gratifying. Hats off to Sean Witty for masterfully moderating the evening. Check out Tony Jones' Beliefnet blog for video excerpts of our time together. I am off now to hear Tony speak to 50 of our folks about spiritual practices. Tony preaches at Trinity on Sunday so if you are around come join us!

Back Home From Denver Seminary

I just arrived home after two great days of speaking at Denver Seminary's Spiritual Life Conference. I gave two talks on the contemplative life, what it means to really see, how the rational mind can only take us to the edge of the wilderness of God but can't take us in, that discursive prayer is conceptual like words printed on paper versus contemplative prayer which is pre-conceptual, more like the blank spaces between the words on the printed page.

I did another session on why liturgy matters and then celebrated a sung Eucharist. I wasn't sure how this last piece would be received but it turned out to be a rich time. I'm amazed how the conversation about contemplative spirituality is spreading...even at a Baptist seminary. Something is in the water. The tribe is increasing.

My talk on liturgy is on the Denver Seminary website. There is a long pause after the talk and the start of the actual sung liturgy so hang in if you want to hear the whole deal. My first talk on Learning to See is on the site as well. Thanks to my friend  Howard Baker (Campus Chaplain and Instructor of Spiritual Formation) and Denver Seminary for having me...very gracious hosts!

Words from a Friend in the UK

I was recently freaking about a decision I had to make. The way forward simply wasn't clear so I reached out to a friend in the UK for advice. Her reply was inspired.

"I always recommend to people that they follow the Ignatian principle.
Regardless of what is sensible, and regardless of what you think you
"ought" to do, which of the courses ahead of you makes you feel alive,
makes your heart open wider, makes you feel hopeful and as if the future is
opening up not closing down? That is the route you should go."

I think she came up with that off the top of her head! Pretty great. Everyone I have shared it with has made me email it to them. I wish someone had shaken me by the lapels and said that to me when I was 21! Anyway, decision made. All is well.

Denver Seminary Spiritual Life Conference September 8-9

I have been at my desk all morning getting ready to speak at Denver Seminary's Spiritual Life Conference which is two weeks away. I'm jazzed about weaving poetry and literary narrative into my two lectures on the contemplative life. This is the first time I will be using material I have been learning in my doctoral program at Fordham University (The Jesuit University of New York) and at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation. One of the poems I am using is by Pulitzer Prize Winner Mary Oliver.

Messenger

My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird —
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.

Amazing! I think Oliver describes one dimension of the contemplative's vocation. The contemplative “…wants to stand still and be astonished.”

The farther I go on the journey the more I believe that this is what its all about.

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.

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!