Trafalgar SquareFor our ten year anniversary my wife and I took a weekend in London to cram as much of the city into a weekend as possible.  We saw the British Library, British Museum, Harrod's, the V&A, the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, St. Paul's, the Tate Modern and a show called Avenue Q in the West End.  Here's a link to some pics.

A few months ago I submitted my doctoral dissertation to the research office at the University of Manchester. I have been researching Protestant metaphysics inherited in the work of Karl Barth and Martin Heidegger's understanding of the relationship between ontology and theology. I had my viva on April 29th and now after a bit of typo hoovering and an extended conclusion the dissertation has passed. I've finished the PhD. There are too many to thank so I'll just include my acknowledgements here:

Lastly, no doctoral dissertation is written alone. I have my wife, first and foremost to thank for her love and willingness to support a calling which began in our pastoral ministry together in Seattle. Truly, “let her works praise her in the city gates” (Proverbs 31.31). As well, thanks are due to our parents whose financial support and encouragement proved invaluable during our years in Manchester. At its heart, this dissertation is the result of an academic adventure, and no one has been more responsible for my progress in that regard then Professor Graham Ward. Thinking is a practice which requires good guidance. Graham is one such guide. I must thank Universities UK for the Overseas Research Scholarship and the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures at the University of Manchester for their financial support during my research. So too, the Religions and Theology Subject Area provided vital financial assistance which allowed me to present papers at a number of important conferences relevant to my work. To Professor George Brooke, Dr. Todd Klutz, Dr. Jeremy Gregory, Dr. David Law, and last but not least Dr. Michael Hoelzl, thank you for all the pints, corridor conversations and encouragement you have given me over my time in Manchester.

My sister is getting married, and I've been asked to officiate. I thought I'd post this short talk on love.

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In September 2003, my wife and I moved to Manchester to pursue a Master of Arts in Religion, Culture and Gender (now called the MA in Religion and Political Life). Our goal was to assess my potential for doing doctoral work with Professor Graham Ward. I received an Overseas Research Scholarship from the British government in June 2004, and began doctoral research with Graham in September of that same year.

Three and a half years later, I have just submitted my doctoral dissertation, Protestant Metaphysics after Karl Barth and Martin Heidegger (a brief summary can be found by clicking here).

It's a strange feeling to say the least. My research has come so far, and I feel I have grown tremendously in these years. Two chapters from the dissertation have already been accepted for publication and I have been able to participate in a number of conferences as well.  I did not expect this, but despite my usual melancholy disposition towards life, I am finding a sense of satisfaction setting in.

Now the question is whether this dissertation will pass or not. It will be examined by one internal examiner from the Religions and Theology Subject Area at the University of Manchester and one external examiner from another university. In this case, the internal examiner will be Dr. David Law, and the external will be Professor John Milbank from the University of Nottingham. I am concerned about their comments and will be interested to see how the defense goes in a few months. I am hopeful my work will be well received, but as with any project there is always more that could be done to make the arguments a little stronger and more pervasive.

As they say in England, fingers crossed.

We got away to the Canary Islands to do nothing for a week just before Christmas this year. Must do nothing like this again soon. Here's a link to some of our favorite pics.

We have a few calendars dotted around the walls of our flat. Outlook haunts my desktop with its little boxes and reminders. In England some people call their personal calendars a diary. I suppose this is a pretty good name for a calendar. If you look back over all those little boxes you can catch a glimpse of the stories and reflections that make up a year. So here's a list of some of the calendar entries which made up our 2007.

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Thanksgiving was this past weekend, and the usual festivities seemed to occur. In Manchester, American expats joined together along with the curious British folks interested to know just what the cult of this American holiday is all about. So, we embarked upon an epic feast of candied yams, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans with almonds, stuffing and loads of turkey accompanied by plenty of wine and gravy to wash it all down. But then, this issue of thanksgiving came up. We were asked "What are you thankful for?" An awkward silence came over the room. With one question the Norman Rockwell nature of our gathering began to unravel.

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