My essay this week: morefullyalive.substack.com/p/lead-it-an...

Please can we have moratorium on novels which slowly reveal a characters trauma related to the death of a parent/sibling/child. There must be other ways to make characters psychologically complex and interesting. I can spot it a mile off now and I’m bored

Liked this from @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social “Commit in some way. Make it more than a vague intention …Humans have an almost limitless capacity for self-justification and self-deception. Alone, we are pretty crap at living by our principles & values” morefullyalive.substack.com/p/what-to-do...

“Brutally honest” is one of the most regular things people say about the book and it makes me so glad. We spend so much time tiptoeing around the truth, tidying ourselves up for others to stay safe and it just deadens our common life. Note: being brutally honest is not the same as being an A-hole.

my favourite miracle is when jesus is healing the blind guy with his spit and he fully does the "better or worse?" optometrist thing a few times til he gets it right and the dude is like "i can KIND of see people but they look like spooky trees walking??" and jesus is like "ok almost there one sec"

open.spotify.com/episode/7szk... This is possibly the best podcast episode I've heard all year. It was deeply moving, and full of rich wisdom. I was in tears at several points. It encouraged me to slow down and ponder on the richness of the everyday

A new essay from me about the moral seriousness of everyday human encounters, with a poem by @martinwroe.bsky.social morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-music-...

A rare acceptable explanation for a long church service. 'Under an ancient Dutch convention that prohibits the state from entering a church in service, the Open Hof has for the past 192 days been running a continuous service to protect the Babayants family.' observer.co.uk/news/interna...

‘In Great Waters’ - #RSThomas (Frequencies, Macmillan) #Bardd #Barddoniaeth #Cerdd #Poet #Poetry #Poem

Really looking forward to this event in Exeter on June 19th www.ticketsource.co.uk/growingspiri...

New essay from me over on Substack today

Really great piece from @j-amesmarriott.bsky.social comparing digital life to ultra processed foods and the misery that comes from over indulgence ‘TikTok and AI are junk food — start dieting’ www.thetimes.com/article/3136...

Integration requires willingness from refugees, but also structures, institutions, people who can support that integration. In June, @theosthinktank.bsky.social launches @glapshynov.bsky.social's 👌 report showing how the Church moves beyond welcome to help forced migrants integrate holistically.

'I once believed atheism was better than lazily defined half-belief. But maybe half-belief is better than nothing. This rare and arresting book raises the possibility that it might be better than anything that came before...' www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...

People are like "is the Pope left wing or right wing?" and I hate to break it to you but you cannot place a Pope's politics onto a simple line like that. In fact, the kind of space onto which you can plot the politics of a Pope requires a degree in Quantum Physics to even begin to understand.

‘The Chapel’ - #RSThomas (Laboratories of the Spirit, Macmillan)

Book review: @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social reads about an experiment in participating in church

My review of Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever by Lamorna Ash is out now. Spoiler: it’s really good. www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...

The conclave is set to begin on 7 May. Read this helpful explainer from our senior researcher Dr Marianne Rozario on the @theosthinktank.bsky.social website: www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2025...

My latest substack is on the uncontrollability of the world and the many ways we resist that. morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-soul-w...

First leg of mini US tour in D.C. This is tonight, we’re discussing goodness in a speakeasy

A beautiful conversation on the beauty and wonder of the Christian faith, which some are finding surprising. Gave me goosebumps at points. Thank you to the Bishop of Newcastle, @bijanomrani.bsky.social, @shahidhabari.bsky.social and @lamornaash.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

I’m off to the states for some speaking events, full details on my website www.elizabetholdfield.com/events

The “difficult hopefulness” is exactly what I was shooting for so grateful for this

"The psalms... follow a distinctive pattern: 1. Complaint, 2. Lament, 3. What else is true?" Good writing from @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social: morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-only-w...

This was the event club.unherd.com/event/debate...

Wise words about using the power of the Psalms. Wise words from Elizabeth Oldfield. morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-only-w... @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social

Excellent discussion this evening at @unherd.com between @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social and John Vervaeke on religion and the meaning crisis - and amid all the vastly clever things shared, the best bits were when they showed us what they know in their bones and hearts. We need more of that

"When you have a spiritual, moral & relational crisis, the job is to shift the culture.... Culture changes when a creative minority find a beautiful way to live. Culture changes when a small group of people find a better way to live and the rest of us copy." David Brooks speaking beautifully at #ARC

Can’t think why

New essay from me on how uncomfortable it is to try and live interdependently. You may laugh at me. That is ok. morefullyalive.substack.com/p/no-lion-th...

In 2008, There were 70M adults who self-reported attending religious services weekly. 45M adults never attended. In 2023, Weekly attenders were down to 64M - a drop of 6M. Never attenders were up to 86M - an increase of 41M.

New episode of The Sacred out today with conservative philosopher Prof James Orr m.youtube.com/watch?v=n0B_...

This line from @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social is SO important for free religious communities like Unitarians to consider - the ‘polarity management’ lens is helpful to see how we might move between deep rootedness and wide openness open.substack.com/pub/morefull...

‘The Chapel’ - #RSThomas (Laboratories of the Spirit, Macmillan) #Capel #Chapel #Bardd #Barddoniaeth #Cerdd #Poet #Poetry #Poem

New essay from me today on the false binary between belonging and hospitality, distinctive identities and wide open arms. morefullyalive.substack.com/p/deep-roots...

Honestly, I’m surprised and very grateful to see such a positive review here.

A risky feeling piece over on Substack today (I’m a Miranda July fan) morefullyalive.substack.com/publish/home...

I've got a feeling you'll like this @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social. #fullyalive

The masculisation of the church?

Crowdsourcing an author Q&A for the paperback edition of my book Fully Alive. If you happen to have read it and have a question, head on over to Substack and pop it in the comments for a chance to be included. morefullyalive.substack.com

New episode of The Sacred with Freya India m.youtube.com/watch?v=y2EX...

Ooof those last few lines

Surely, surely AI will make us stupider and more disconnected just when we need all the smarts (and the hearts) we can find

"This year, maybe don't worry about chasing novelty or shaking everything up. If you think you have found a seam of wisdom, stay with it. Actually walk in it. Give it time. You might call this approach wisdom minimalism."

New essay on my Substack on wisdom minimalism morefullyalive.substack.com/p/wisdom-les...