{"id":21770,"date":"2022-04-25T14:44:37","date_gmt":"2022-04-25T18:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?p=21770"},"modified":"2022-04-25T14:44:37","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T18:44:37","slug":"now-heres-a-pitch-a-catholic-priest-and-his-two-children-embark-on-a-supernatural-angel-quest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2022\/04\/now-heres-a-pitch-a-catholic-priest-and-his-two-children-embark-on-a-supernatural-angel-quest.html","title":{"rendered":"Now here’s a pitch: A Catholic priest and his two children embark on a supernatural “Angel Quest”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 04\/25\/22<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Get me a Catholic Harrison Ford!<\/strong> A Catholic priest, embarks on 2,500-mile pilgrimage with his skeptical, twenty-something children in an effort to convince them that seven ancient, mountain-top monasteries, which stretch across Europe to the Middle East in a perfectly straight line, represent an integrated spiritual system that has practical benefits to society today. The line of monasteries is named after an archangel and his weapon, St. Michael’s Sword<\/strong>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

With a synopsis that sounds like an ecclesiastical take on\u00a0 Indiana Jones<\/strong>,\u00a0 Angel Quest: Reconnecting with the Supernatural <\/strong><\/em>is actually a proposed hour-long television documentary hosted by Fr. Dwight Longenecker<\/strong>. The well-known Catholic priest, author<\/a>, blogger<\/a> and podcaster<\/a> is also a South Carolina pastor<\/a> – as well as a former Anglican priest who served as a school chaplain in Cambridge and country parson on the Isle of Wight before converting to Catholicism in 1995. Due to a wrinkle in Church law regarding such clerical conversions, he’s also married with children. In other words, he’s a fascinating real-life character.<\/p>\n

From his days at Oxford<\/strong>, and later as an Anglican priest in England, Fr. Longenecker had long been interested in the sacred geographic alignment of the St. Michael monasteries.\u00a0 In his earlier years he backpacked across Europe to Israel and stayed at a few of the sites, talking with the monks who ran them. He also long lamented what he sees as modern culture’s moral decline and rejection of transcendent and supernatural truths that he believes has historically nurtured and given birth to human progress.
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Believing that a connection with the supernatural through prayer and worship was responsible for the progress of civilization, he decided to conduct a pilgrimage to the seven monasteries. <\/span>When he came up with the idea of chronicling his intercontinental family trek on film (expect a book as well), he turned to his friend, and veteran documentary filmmaker of 35 years, Stan Williams<\/strong>. While the movie already has interest from PBS<\/strong>, a BBC<\/strong> producer and EWTN<\/strong>, as is usual in the film business (emphasis on business), a journey of 2,500 miles begins with the first dollar. Hence, the following fundraising trailer. My Q&A with Stan Williams follows.<\/p>\n