A minor

My father-in-law, Gary White, told me tonight about a website he found on Mercersburg theology. He recently picked up a copy of Nichols' Romanticism in American Theology: Nevin and Schaff at Mercersburg, and I greatly enjoyed reading most of his copy over a Sunday afternoon or two and Thanksgiving at Hollie's parents'. Mr Gary's been reading up on Mercersburg in general lately. He picked up a Schaff title (Principles of Protestantism, I think) at the conference this week; hopefully I'll get to read it soon, too. Anyway, based on his description of the website, turns out he was reading the Mercersburg subdomain of Reformed Catholicism, and apparently a bit of Reformed Catholicism itself; he mentioned the "Dispatches from Auburn Avenue" (Parts 1, 2, 3). I haven't been reading blogs much lately, so I haven't read much by Jamey Bennett, but I'm sorry I didn't know he was here - it would've been nice to meet him. Glancing over the Mercersburg site, most of it appears to be authored by another name I haven't read much: Jonathan Bonomo. Looks like these guys are doing some good work.

Thanks, Guido. Forget the rules, though; I don't feel like tagging anyone.

When I was a young teenager, I wore white polo shirts everyday by my own choosing. I must've had at least five or six of them.
When I hold something out the car window, I often have a false but strong sense that I'm going to drop it, e.g. if I'm pouring something, the cup's in danger; if I'm holding my hand out the window, my wedding ring's going to fall off. I also sometimes have strong premonitions of being in a violent car accident (as strong as memories, although I've never been in anything worse than a fender-bender). Doesn't keep me from driving, though, or from holding my hand and stuff out the window.
I don't play the guitar much anymore, but I keep my fingernails for those rare moments when I do. Plus, I've gotten used to having long nails on my right hand; they're incredibly strong and useful (maybe because I've kept them long for half of my life), and I'm sure God didn't give them to us just so we could cut them off.
There was a time when I hardly read any fiction. With so much important non-fiction to read, I felt like I didn't have time for fiction. Now I probably read more fiction than non-fiction, and I'm convinced that the path of wisdom is filled with as much good fiction as non-fiction (if not more).

In addition to patterns of reversal like this, my life has also followed other patterns, sometimes cyclical, sometimes chiastic, sometimes cyclical-chiastic-snowball. There's the whole Monroe-Moscow-Monroe-Moscow-Monroe thing, aka the NSA-ULM-UI&NSA-UI-ULM thing (and no, I don't plan to go back to NSA to complete the pattern). Then there are areas of vocational interest over the years: pastorate, music, military, medicine, academia, music, teaching, military chaplaincy, hospital chaplaincy. Even my work experience illustrates a weird theme-and-varations pattern with elements of the cyclical-chiastic-snowball effect: medical office cleaning, real estate appraisal office work, construction "apprentice" grunt work, foreign language computer lab and English department office work-study jobs, Christian summer camp counselor, Kinko's (from part-time basic position to full-time specialist position), Christian school teacher, Kinko's (from full-time advanced position to full-time specialist and then part-time specialist), church office work, FedEx Kinko's (assistant manager, interim manager, assistant manager).
I don't post a lot these days, so I don't get many readers, but I still occasionally get contacted out of the blue by interesting readers. Once, a local Target worker struck up a conversation with me that went like this: "Hey, you're Jon, aren't you? I recognize you from your Blogger profile...saw that you listed liturgy as one of your interests and thought, 'Wow, not many people are interested in liturgy, but here's someone locally!' I assist in the liturgy at Christ the King Chapel and am a student worker at ULM's Catholic Campus Ministry. Come join us sometime!"

Last week I received a letter in the mail, handwritten and dated Christmas Day, from the Rt Revd Michael Olsen of Louisville, Kentucky, abbot of Pine Abbey and rector of Iona Community Church (Diocese of Saint Cuthbert). He writes:
Dear Jon & Family,
Came across your blog, just thought I would drop you a note about our little Abbey here in Kentucky. We are with the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, also known as the Communion of Convergence Churches [CEEC/CCC; see also the Wikipedia entry, "Convergence Movement" -jon]. We have several new "monastic families" that have started recently. Perhaps you could begin one yourself! Blessings to you all!
Love in Jesus,
+Abbot Mike Olsen, O.S.C.
(Order of Saint Columba)
I believe that, biblically and hence ontologically, the church exists on a metropolitan level. It exists on other levels, too, but one of the potentially strongest levels is the citywide ecclesia, the presbytery or diocese that matters most, despite an often unofficial and transdenominational character.