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There and Back Again: A Somewhat Religious Odyssey
This is a unique tale of one man's spiritual adventure, tracing God's unusual plan of providence from 1950s America to England and back again. Dwight Longenecker's conversion story is a roller coaster ride through fundamentalism, Oxford, Cambridge, and the modern Catholic Church. Brought up in an Evangelical Protestant home, he attended the fundamentalist Bob Jones University, and continued his education by studying theology at Oxford University before being ordained as an Anglican minister, serving as a curate, a school chaplain in Cambridge, and a country parson on the Isle of Wight. Realizing that he and the Anglican Church were on divergent paths, in 1995 Longenecker and his family were received into the Catholic Church in England. For ten years they continued to live in England where he worked as a freelance writer and charity worker. Then in 2006 the door opened to return to the United States and be ordained as a Catholic priest. This story of one man's amazing journey from Protestant fundamentalism through the Church of England to the Catholic priesthood offers an inspiring tale of God's providence, and the truth that "all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose."
210 pages, Paperback
Published July 5, 2023
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September 29, 2023
This "somewhat religious odyssey" begins with an appropriate and well-loved quote from St. John Henry Newman: “God has created me to do him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another”. It is followed by an introduction from Steve Ray about Peter and Paul proclaiming to the people of Rome, the center of civilization, that men had not become gods, but God had become man. Perhaps this answers the implied question: this is the definite service every Christian must render, to follow in the footsteps of the apostles and spread the Good News. Spanning the course of multiple decades and denominations, this is what Fr. Dwight Longenecker has sought to do.
The first section of the book chronicles the author's family life and his youthful years in the spirit of C.S. Lewis' Surprised by Joy. Instead of an Anglo-Irish family in Northern Ireland, we are given a tour-de-force of life among the hearty Pennsylvania Dutch. In another call-back to Lewis and his vibrant Christian imagination, young Dwight has a dream about a Lion which leaves a lasting impression on him, common to those encountering the numinous and entering into the christological mystery, even as children. This related to his first conscious acceptance of Christ at an Evangelical revival meeting.
During his adolescence and young adulthood, the author becomes increasingly enamored with the history and heritage of England, something which this reviewer can intimately relate to, particularly in terms of her rich literary tradition. Inspired particularly by T.S. Eliot, the American-born English author, Dwight dreamed of following in his footsteps and moving to England and living the laid-back life of a gentleman and scholar. Some time after attending the eccentric Bob Jones University, he received a book that is a personal favorite of mine, C.S. Lewis: Images of His World, causing his Anglophilia to reach new heights. He also found himself increasingly.drawn to a more high-church form of liturgy in Anglicanism which led him to finally travel to the United Kingdom.
Dwight struggled to find his land-legs in the ocean-girt isle. He had entertained a somewhat picture-book view of the nation and people, and confronting the cultural realities took some getting used to for him, just as the English took time to adopt him into the fold. In some respects, he continued to see the place and people with an almost fairytale veneer, something emerging from the pens of Austen or Dickens or Christie. In others, he was shocked to find himself the odd one out in old-fashioned attire, reminiscent of the days of T.S. Eliot, while his fellows were dressed in jeans and flip-flops. He did make some friends who helped him through the hard years, including an amiable young aristocrat with whom he played chess.
Meanwhile, he embarked upon what he considered to be a course in "How to be a Jolly Vicar in Six Easy Lessons", among those whom he considered to be an array of English eccentrics, including one who he felt gave off a villainous Alan Rickman air. Eventually, he came to realize his dream of becoming a country vicar with an ancient parish. He took up residence on the Isle of Wight, which he jokingly nicknamed “the Isle of Dwight”, where he presided over a parish which felt to him like something straight out of Downton Abbey. He came to learn about the various divisions with the Anglican communion, ranging from low-church Protestant to high-church Anglo-Catholic. He also became enmeshed in the ever-widening split between liberals and conservatives on issues such as women’s ordination, which threatened to derail ecumenical relations with both Catholics and the Orthodox.
Although he ultimately married an Englishwoman, and came to appreciate various aspects of his life in England, Dwight gradually became disenchanted with Anglicanism and unconvinced of its religious authority. As he pondered more upon the origin story of Henry VIII's split with the Catholic Church, and the subsequent brutal enforcement of the Anglican settlement under Elizabeth I, he came to the conclusion that Anglicanism is, fundamentally, a political entity, one intended to give religious cohesion to a particular nationality and serve as a wing of the state. Indeed, he came to believe that the ethnic emphasis from its foundation point, manifesting what might be called island insularity, belied any attempt to be truly universal in scope and mission.
Eventually, Dwight made the decision to leave Anglicanism for Catholicism, a choice that not only shattered his long-held dreams but also created ill-feeling among some of his old co-workers among the Anglican clergy. This included one particularly unfortunate incident in the vicarage when the author felt the need to turn a cleric who had insulted him in a previous ill-fated encounter out of his then-home. Said cleric had arrived in a possibly awkward and perceived-to-be insincere effort to smooth things over before the author's dramatic departure, returning "The Isle of Dwight" to its former title.
The author was not the only one crossing the Tyber, as the debate over women’s ordination within the Anglican communion caused a wave of conservative-minded clerics to make the pilgrimage to Rome. In the fall-out, these former clerics found themselves trying to re-adjust to secular life or pursue a path to ordination within Catholicism. Married men had a particularly difficult time with the later route, and Dwight struggled for years to find a way to be ordained while pursuing a career in screenwriting to make ends meet. Eventually, an opportunity presented itself. It was not in his adopted country of England, but in his native country of America. Now serving as a Catholic priest in a parish church in South Carolina, he truly has come full circle in his wanderings.
This book was a truly unique read, full of plot-twists and surprises along the long and windy road. I particularly appreciated the reflections on English heritage and culture, as manifested by both the Anglican and Catholic communities in that beloved sceptered isle of saints and sages. Tying into the literary themes that permeate the book, the memorable cover art has a fantastical feel, evocative of The Lord of the Rings, which Dwight evokes in his choice of title. His testimony is truly one of journeys, to and fro. To conclude with a quote from the author's much-loved poet, T.S. Eliot: “We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”
The first section of the book chronicles the author's family life and his youthful years in the spirit of C.S. Lewis' Surprised by Joy. Instead of an Anglo-Irish family in Northern Ireland, we are given a tour-de-force of life among the hearty Pennsylvania Dutch. In another call-back to Lewis and his vibrant Christian imagination, young Dwight has a dream about a Lion which leaves a lasting impression on him, common to those encountering the numinous and entering into the christological mystery, even as children. This related to his first conscious acceptance of Christ at an Evangelical revival meeting.
During his adolescence and young adulthood, the author becomes increasingly enamored with the history and heritage of England, something which this reviewer can intimately relate to, particularly in terms of her rich literary tradition. Inspired particularly by T.S. Eliot, the American-born English author, Dwight dreamed of following in his footsteps and moving to England and living the laid-back life of a gentleman and scholar. Some time after attending the eccentric Bob Jones University, he received a book that is a personal favorite of mine, C.S. Lewis: Images of His World, causing his Anglophilia to reach new heights. He also found himself increasingly.drawn to a more high-church form of liturgy in Anglicanism which led him to finally travel to the United Kingdom.
Dwight struggled to find his land-legs in the ocean-girt isle. He had entertained a somewhat picture-book view of the nation and people, and confronting the cultural realities took some getting used to for him, just as the English took time to adopt him into the fold. In some respects, he continued to see the place and people with an almost fairytale veneer, something emerging from the pens of Austen or Dickens or Christie. In others, he was shocked to find himself the odd one out in old-fashioned attire, reminiscent of the days of T.S. Eliot, while his fellows were dressed in jeans and flip-flops. He did make some friends who helped him through the hard years, including an amiable young aristocrat with whom he played chess.
Meanwhile, he embarked upon what he considered to be a course in "How to be a Jolly Vicar in Six Easy Lessons", among those whom he considered to be an array of English eccentrics, including one who he felt gave off a villainous Alan Rickman air. Eventually, he came to realize his dream of becoming a country vicar with an ancient parish. He took up residence on the Isle of Wight, which he jokingly nicknamed “the Isle of Dwight”, where he presided over a parish which felt to him like something straight out of Downton Abbey. He came to learn about the various divisions with the Anglican communion, ranging from low-church Protestant to high-church Anglo-Catholic. He also became enmeshed in the ever-widening split between liberals and conservatives on issues such as women’s ordination, which threatened to derail ecumenical relations with both Catholics and the Orthodox.
Although he ultimately married an Englishwoman, and came to appreciate various aspects of his life in England, Dwight gradually became disenchanted with Anglicanism and unconvinced of its religious authority. As he pondered more upon the origin story of Henry VIII's split with the Catholic Church, and the subsequent brutal enforcement of the Anglican settlement under Elizabeth I, he came to the conclusion that Anglicanism is, fundamentally, a political entity, one intended to give religious cohesion to a particular nationality and serve as a wing of the state. Indeed, he came to believe that the ethnic emphasis from its foundation point, manifesting what might be called island insularity, belied any attempt to be truly universal in scope and mission.
Eventually, Dwight made the decision to leave Anglicanism for Catholicism, a choice that not only shattered his long-held dreams but also created ill-feeling among some of his old co-workers among the Anglican clergy. This included one particularly unfortunate incident in the vicarage when the author felt the need to turn a cleric who had insulted him in a previous ill-fated encounter out of his then-home. Said cleric had arrived in a possibly awkward and perceived-to-be insincere effort to smooth things over before the author's dramatic departure, returning "The Isle of Dwight" to its former title.
The author was not the only one crossing the Tyber, as the debate over women’s ordination within the Anglican communion caused a wave of conservative-minded clerics to make the pilgrimage to Rome. In the fall-out, these former clerics found themselves trying to re-adjust to secular life or pursue a path to ordination within Catholicism. Married men had a particularly difficult time with the later route, and Dwight struggled for years to find a way to be ordained while pursuing a career in screenwriting to make ends meet. Eventually, an opportunity presented itself. It was not in his adopted country of England, but in his native country of America. Now serving as a Catholic priest in a parish church in South Carolina, he truly has come full circle in his wanderings.
This book was a truly unique read, full of plot-twists and surprises along the long and windy road. I particularly appreciated the reflections on English heritage and culture, as manifested by both the Anglican and Catholic communities in that beloved sceptered isle of saints and sages. Tying into the literary themes that permeate the book, the memorable cover art has a fantastical feel, evocative of The Lord of the Rings, which Dwight evokes in his choice of title. His testimony is truly one of journeys, to and fro. To conclude with a quote from the author's much-loved poet, T.S. Eliot: “We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”
November 27, 2023
This title works geographically—from the United States to Britain and back to the United States, and even from Greenville, South Carolina, to Oxford, and back to Greenville again. But the title doesn’t work on the theological plane because Longenecker’s sinuous religious path takes him from Protestant fundamentalism, through the Anglican church, and eventually into the Roman Catholic priesthood. There’s no “back again” in that odyssey.
In the interstices between his clerical employments, Longenecker made his living by writing and public speaking, so his prose is usually clear, engaging, and nicely paced. Personally, I found his attempts at jocular hyperbole annoying, but perhaps coreligionists will be more forgiving.
Two other complaints: first, though there are plenty of down-to-earth elements in this life story, Longenecker also includes a considerable dollop of mysticism. For instance: “What I experienced lying in that hammock connected with and completed the evening visit to Sacre Coeur, the meeting with Saint Thérèse, the awareness of angels at Mont-Saint-Michel, and my earliest memory—the dream of the magnificent lion.” (122)
My other complaint—or maybe just wonderment—regards the decision of the traditional-leaning Longenecker to find ultimate religious authority in the institution of the Catholic Church and the pope, who he calls a “referee in the game.” (150) Could the Church or Pope Francis take religious positions so far to the left of the traditions Longenecker venerates that his religious journey might not yet be over?
In the interstices between his clerical employments, Longenecker made his living by writing and public speaking, so his prose is usually clear, engaging, and nicely paced. Personally, I found his attempts at jocular hyperbole annoying, but perhaps coreligionists will be more forgiving.
Two other complaints: first, though there are plenty of down-to-earth elements in this life story, Longenecker also includes a considerable dollop of mysticism. For instance: “What I experienced lying in that hammock connected with and completed the evening visit to Sacre Coeur, the meeting with Saint Thérèse, the awareness of angels at Mont-Saint-Michel, and my earliest memory—the dream of the magnificent lion.” (122)
My other complaint—or maybe just wonderment—regards the decision of the traditional-leaning Longenecker to find ultimate religious authority in the institution of the Catholic Church and the pope, who he calls a “referee in the game.” (150) Could the Church or Pope Francis take religious positions so far to the left of the traditions Longenecker venerates that his religious journey might not yet be over?
December 31, 2023
So funny, so readable. Couldn't put it down, really. If you love England, English literature and history, have a married priest leading your parish, and/or have had difficulties with Church hierarchy and their foot-soldiers, I definitely recommend. Puts a whole lot in perspective in a charming, entertaining way! :) It sounds like Greenville, SC might be a great place to live, too.
I should also add that he includes information for the tuition structure at the K-12 parish school at his parish church. Parents only pay tuition for the oldest two children and the rest go for free. High school tuition for parishioners for one child is $8,000. He says the families really support and sacrifice for this tuition structure and even childless and older couples with grown children donate because they see that this is both reasonable and helpful. Really only works because they have a high school, but it sounds like a plan for other parish priests to mull over and implement.
I should also add that he includes information for the tuition structure at the K-12 parish school at his parish church. Parents only pay tuition for the oldest two children and the rest go for free. High school tuition for parishioners for one child is $8,000. He says the families really support and sacrifice for this tuition structure and even childless and older couples with grown children donate because they see that this is both reasonable and helpful. Really only works because they have a high school, but it sounds like a plan for other parish priests to mull over and implement.
October 10, 2023
Father Longenecker has written a wonderfully, witty and fun to read book. The description says it better than I can, "his story of one man's amazing journey from Protestant fundamentalism through the Church of England to the Catholic priesthood offers an inspiring tale of God's providence, and the truth that "all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose."
Fr. Longenecker has led a pretty amazing life by my standards and continues to do so. Although the idea of a married priest kind of freaks me out, I am very happy that he came home and that the Church accepted him. When one finally sees the truth, it is hard to not want to immerse oneself in it.
There are some laugh out loud moments in this book and a lot of good information. I definitely recommend this book to everyone.
Fr. Longenecker has led a pretty amazing life by my standards and continues to do so. Although the idea of a married priest kind of freaks me out, I am very happy that he came home and that the Church accepted him. When one finally sees the truth, it is hard to not want to immerse oneself in it.
There are some laugh out loud moments in this book and a lot of good information. I definitely recommend this book to everyone.
December 15, 2024
I really enjoyed reading Fr. Longenecker’s autobiography. His younger years remind me of my own. I grew up Protestant and went to an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist church. I was a part of the youth group where it was unpopular to not be dating around. Eventually I went to a unaccredited Bible college in Crown Point, IN. I had an interesting journey to get where I am today. I love the title (LOTR fan). It was very interesting to hear how OLR came to be. I’m so thankful my family found it and are a part of the parish there.
January 8, 2024
I loved this autobiography. It was very funny (I literally laughed out loud). It was entertaining and easy to read. It was thought provoking, especially his insights on married clergy. It was a unique perspective on the Anglican Church of England. I’m glad I read it!
October 2, 2025
Dwight's style is both humorous and honest and, at times, self-effacing. His criticism of Anglican's Englishness is provocative food for thought. I hope it will be read by some Church authorities in order to gain a better understanding of the blessings and challenges of being a married priest.
January 4, 2024
starting the year off with a religious book that my catholic grandma strongly recommended I read <3
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews