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📣📣📣 Coming in September 📣📣📣

Back in May, I told paid subscribers in a Coffee in the Back Room newsletter that I was thinking of taking Churched in a different direction. Everyone who responded to that post was really supportive and encouraging about this possibility. After a few months of deeper thinking and consideration, I’m ready to move things along. From September Churched will become:

Why Off the Rails? Well, a couple of reasons. Firstly, (this might come as a surprise because I hardly ever mention it) I’m from England’s premier railway town, the mighty and most excellent Crewe. You could say the railway is in my blood as the railway and trains are a bit of a theme round these parts. There used to be a nightclub here called Platform 5, where I worked when I was a teenager as a glass collector. Off the Rails was also the name of a local pool hall which Leo and I used to frequent.

Mostly though, I’ve chosen this name as a place for my writing because my life has been well and truly off the rails for quite some time now. Nearly two years on from leaving church based ministry, I’m starting to quite enjoy the direction things are going in. Being off the rails and forging your own track is freeing. Fancy sticking around with me to enjoy the ride? Read on!

Shot of me on a tiny train, to add ballast to the railway metaphor.

Back in the spring of 2023 when I launched this Substack, my goal was to write about church; my own experiences, the good and the bad, and to bring in other people too, to share some of theirs. I hope I achieved this, at least in part. Shortly after I launched Churched I was also invited to write a book, which meant that at times my energies were somewhat divided!

I’ve tried to be as open as possible, whilst protecting my privacy and that of my family, about some of my struggles with the church, the fallout of my curacy breaking down, the failure of my diocese to provide adequate care and support, and the catastrophic impact of this on my health and well-being. Despite all that, writing has kept me focussed and grounded. It’s genuinely saved my life and I’m really grateful to everyone who has read along so far, particularly my paid subscribers who are always kind and supportive.

Now though, I’d like to focus on broadening my writing to outside the confines of church. Churched has been a useful project for me, but there’s so much more that I want to write about now. In many ways, I’m a born (albeit accidental) deacon. The deacon is a bridge between the church and the world. I feel like this is a space I naturally inhabit. I tried, but I was never able to fully penetrate the Christian bubble. Let’s be honest, I never really fitted in, did I? But being a bridge is something I absolutely can be and do.

I plan to write about faith, because I can’t not write about the thing which grounds me and gives meaning and purpose to my life. Faith will be the track which winds gently through everything I write, while the topics I cover will be whatever scenery we pass on the way. (Sorry not sorry for stretching the railway metaphor.) I like writing about current affairs and topical stuff, which is something I do in short-form for my Friday Thought segment for paid subscribers, but which I’ll expand into essays. I also want to write about the things which interest me most, so midlife musings, motherhood, mental health, slow living and healing, and why everyone needs to get a dog.

If you like my writing you’ll still be happy here. Think of it as less of a departure from Churched and more of a derail; I’m still travelling in the same direction but not being constrained by the tracks anymore, I have more freedom to move around (that was the last railway metaphor, I promise.) However, if you feel like you don’t want to stick around, you can unsubscribe by clicking the link at the very bottom of this newsletter. If you’re an annual paid subscriber who feels like this isn’t what you signed up for, then just drop me a message and I’ll refund you. I really hope you’ll decide to stick around though, because it’s going to be an interesting journey.

I’ll see you all in September, bright eyed, bushy-tailed and ready to hit the rails running (Choo! Choo! 😉)

Best,