Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me

"When I first discovered the grainy picture in my mother's desk-me as a towheaded two year old sitting in what I remember was a salmon-orange-stained lifeboat-I was overwhelmed by the feeling that the boy in the boat was not waving and laughing at the person snapping the photo as much as he was frantically trying to get the attention of the man I am today. The boy was beckoning me to join him on a voyage through the harrowing straits of memory. He was gambling that if we survived the passage, we might discover an ocean where the past would become the wind at our back rather than a driving gale to the nose of our boat. This [audio] book is the record of that voyage."

Ian Morgan Cron served for ten years as the Founding and Senior Pastor of Trinity Church in Greenwich, Conn., a non-denominational community committed to social justice as well as to communicating the Christian story through the arts.?

To introduce others to St. Francis, whom Cron has billed the “consummate postmodern saint,” he authored Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale (September 2007, NavPress). Part historical narrative, part fiction, Cron’s literary debut has received praise from a host of both Catholic and Protestant thinkers including The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church Frank Griswold, Phyllis Tickle, Marcus J Borg, Brian McLaren, artist Makoto Fujimura, Fr Richard Rohr, Tony Campolo and Brennan Manning. Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale is now being published in several languages.?

An accomplished songwriter, he has two CDs of original work, “The Land of my Father’s,” produced by Grammy Award-nominated producer Rob Mathes and “Sacred Hunger,” produced by three time Grammy Award-winning producer Phil Naish. Ian continues to be active as a songwriter.?

Cron speaks extensively to audiences across the nation. He is presently speaking on the theme Bread, Song and Story, an evening of readings from his upcoming spiritual memoir (Thomas Nelson Publishers), integrated with live original music, and the celebration of a contemporary sung Eucharist that is deeply moving.?

Ian is also a doctoral student at Fordham University (The Jesuit University in New York) where he is focusing his studies on Catholic contemplative spirituality and the work of Thomas Merton. In his spare time Ian enjoys yoga, hiking, traveling, and kayaking. He resides in Franklin, Tennessee and Dorset, Vermont with his wife and three children, and his Portuguese Water Dog, Hobbes.