{"id":1792,"date":"2012-02-27T21:03:53","date_gmt":"2012-02-28T02:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roadsfromemmaus.org\/?p=1792"},"modified":"2012-02-27T21:03:53","modified_gmt":"2012-02-28T02:03:53","slug":"from-general-hospital-to-the-hospital-of-souls-interview-with-jonathan-jackson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ancientfaith.com\/asd\/2012\/02\/27\/from-general-hospital-to-the-hospital-of-souls-interview-with-jonathan-jackson\/","title":{"rendered":"From General Hospital to the Hospital of Souls: Interview with Jonathan Jackson"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The Obligatory Cellphone Shot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This morning, after Matins, I high-tailed it across New Jersey over to Newark Liberty International Airport, pulled up to the Departures area at Terminal A, and picked up a man holding a tray of coffee. We drove to the airport parking, picked a spot, and proceeded to chat for about ninety minutes, about sixty of which<\/a> I caught on tape.<\/p>\n

The man was (as you can see from the photo) Emmy award winning actor Jonathan Jackson<\/a>, who is perhaps best known for his role as “Lucky Spencer” (son of the mighty super-couple Luke and Laura) on “General Hospital.” Jonathan and his family are currently catechumens of the Orthodox Church, preparing for baptism this coming Holy Saturday, the day before Pascha (Easter).<\/p>\n

I’ll let you listen to the interview yourself for all the details of our chat, but I will say that it was a genuine pleasure to conduct. One occasionally finds people that convert to Orthodoxy for various reasons (many of which can, indeed, be good), but it’s always such a delight to find someone who is entering into the Church because of a diligent and earnest desire for the truth. Jonathan has that. But this post isn’t really about that. (But the interview is!)<\/p>\n

What this weblog entry is actually about is how a lowly, no-account priest like me got to interview a Hollywood heartthrob, especially because, when his name first came to my attention, I had never heard of him. (He didn’t seem to mind.)<\/p>\n

The story essentially goes like this: In the process of exploring the history of Christianity, Jonathan and his sister ended up coming across Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy<\/i><\/a> (also on Amazon<\/a>) and reading it together. Out of the blue, she contacted me this past November to ask if I’d be willing to send a couple signed copies out to them over on the West Coast, as a surprise Christmas gift. She also asked if I’d be willing to be introduced to her brother.<\/p>\n

As I’ve mentioned in the past<\/a>, I often get people contacting me out of the blue and asking for things from me as a priest that are really properly asked of a priest who is local to them. So my first thought was to try to politely brush them off, because I essentially have a local-only policy about such things. But this wasn’t the same kind of request. She wanted to introduce<\/i> us, because she thought we might get along, and she also let me know that he was already fully plugged-in with a priest and parish local to him. But I must admit that my first thought was, “What the heck will a soap opera star and I have in common?”<\/p>\n

But there was just something about the request that kind of intrigued me, even though I am naturally wary of anyone with fame. (I was particularly amused to hear Jonathan say today, “Fame is ridiculous.” I agree.) So of course I sent the books, but instead of initiating the contact myself, I just put a couple of copies of my business card inside the books.<\/p>\n

Sure enough, he contacted me sometime after Christmas. We corresponded a bit over email, and I was particularly amused at the (barely restrained) gushing of some of my female parishioners and friends when I happened to mention the whole thing to them. They couldn’t believe that this guy was really becoming Orthodox, and they also had a hard time believing that their priest (of all people) was somehow connecting with him.<\/p>\n

Over the course of our correspondence, he told me that he was going to be on the East Coast with his band Enation<\/a> to play some shows not terribly far away from Emmaus, all within a couple hours or so. So we decided to try to meet up.<\/p>\n

Anyway, we eventually were able to work out a time when we could connect, and in the meantime, I suggested the idea of doing an interview for the Roads From Emmaus<\/i> podcast<\/a>. He graciously agreed, and now you can listen<\/a> to much of our talk.<\/p>\n

It was a wonderful encounter. I guess I should probably get familiar with his work, though I can’t say I’m likely to start watching “General Hospital” any time soon. (He’s off the show for the time being, anyway, so I guess that lets me off the hook. I should probably watch Tuck Everlasting<\/i><\/a> at some point, though.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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