Year Two Done, and Still a Lot to Say

It’s Hold My Chalice’s second anniversary, y’all. That means I’ve spent two years writing about you people, and what it now abundantly clear is that congregational nonsense is our most renewable resource.

Which, I suppose, is because we’re human and we can’t help but be human, especially when we interact with other humans.

But the thing is, you don’t give a girl a break. Every time I turn around, there’s new congregational nonsense to address, and so I do… and the list of topics I want to cover someday gets longer and longer. I swear, there are topics on this list that were part of the original brainstorming for HMC back in the summer of 2022, when I was threatening to start this Substack.

Here’s some of what is waiting for a quiet week:

the demographic reason why clergy are so sad • what’s the deal with contempt • music is faith formation • surprised people do not react well • a comment that there’s too much religious content in worship • why religion can be a coping mechanism • going beyond the minimum requirements of covenant • why congregations prefer corporate HR models to relational ones • the habit of scolding • cultural biases and discomfort • institutional grudges • fear of feeling the feelings • change for the sake of change • why no one has enough brain capacity for all the things • change can’t happen until space is made • why we are small • conservatism’s three rules of authority and how it creeps in to liberal religious settings

But no, I’ve got to address why religious institutions aren’t like other institutions, and bad habits in communities, and misogyny from unexpected places, because of current congregational nonsense.

Y’all.

Okay, I shouldn’t complain. The good news is that addressing the nonsense is making a difference in congregations - it’s the small wins we all hope for, as people realize that there are moments of misunderstanding, times of trial and tribulation, pockets of powerlessness, and yes, Toby, I have gotten alliteration-happy; take an avalanche of Advil.1

These small wins look like boards discussing and making changes because of these posts. They look like affirmation for those who are struggling to make good changes or point out areas for improvement. They look like the trust people put in me, seeking advice or programming. They even look like all the “it was in the newsletter'‘ magnets hanging out in church kitchens and on the admin’s desks. And those are just the ones I know about.

And, we’re building a great interfaith community here. We’ve got Unitarian Universalists, and Jews, and Christians of various types, and others too (I’m fairly certain one of you is Hindu). We have clergy, and educators, and music professionals, and membership professionals, and admins, and lay leaders.

This year is going to be a little different.

I’ll still do the Wednesday posts like usual (see: nonsense), but I’m inspired by Anne Helen Petersen, who uses her paid subscriber posts at Culture Study to pose deep questions and engage in real, deep conversation. I had thought of doing this kind of thing early on, but I ran out of questions - because I wasn’t focused.

Now I am.2

I’m embarking on some creative work that will poke into how we experience the world, how we approach art, how we worship, how we make meaning. I know I have a perspective, but I want to hear from you. So I’m going to post some question or proposition on many Mondays (can’t promise all, because life) that invites you to be connected and generative and thoughtful. You will have to be a paid subscriber to engage, but I hope the questions/propositions are engaging enough that you’ll want to invest in the community we build (and continue to support my ministry).

And yes, a note about that: for those who don’t know or don’t remember, I am an entrepreneurial (read: freelance) minister, and Hold My Chalice is part of my ministry, not a side project. And… if this Monday thing works out, it will be a crucial part of what will emerge in the next year or so.

Anyway.

Thanks for reading, thanks for subscribing! As of today there are about 1,440 of you (143 paid), and I’d love to get to 2,000 subscribers (and 300 paid) by HMC’s third anniversary. Please subscribe, support, and share!