Welcome to the Editor’s Letter for May

A Month of Mystery, Conversation, and Growth

One of the highlights of the month was having an afternoon tea for Rachel’s birthday with my beautiful little family. If you are not in the UK, an afternoon tea is basically endless layers of sandwiches, cakes and of course, tea!

Welcome to the Editor’s Letter for May, and to all subscribers of Sacred & Secular. A chance to pause and reflect on this community of ours.

The first thing I want to say is thank you.

May has been another record month, and our community here has grown by around a third. I genuinely appreciate the support, encouragement, and kindness that so many of you show through your subscriptions, comments, and messages.

One of the greatest joys of this month has been the increase in conversation. More and more readers are commenting on articles, sharing their own reflections, and engaging with one another. I love hearing your thoughts on the pieces I write and the ways they connect with your own lives and experiences. Writing can sometimes feel like a solitary activity, but these conversations remind me that it is anything but.

I never begin a month with a detailed plan of what I am going to write. I tend to follow the ideas that capture my attention and prayerfully see where they lead. What always surprises me is looking back at the end of the month and discovering that certain themes have appeared again and again.

May was no exception.

Looking back, it seems I have leaned toward the mystery side of faith, with articles exploring subjects such as angels, the Trinity, prayer, and some of the Bible's stranger stories. Again and again, I found myself resisting neat answers and choosing instead to sit with the mystery for a little longer.

There is something deeply valuable about acknowledging that not every question has an immediate solution and not every mystery needs to be solved.

On a personal level, it has also been a challenging month. We have experienced several periods of unusually warm weather here in the UK, and heat tends to have a significant impact on my illness. As a result, I have written more openly about Long Covid, chronic fatigue, and the realities of living with an unpredictable condition.

Despite that, I feel quite proud that I have managed to continue publishing daily reflections throughout the month. I have also managed to create a small shaded corner in the garden, which is already becoming a favourite place to sit and write. If the warm weather continues, I suspect I will be spending quite a lot of time there.

So what will June bring?

As usual, that remains something of a mystery. Some of my favourite articles have been the ones I never planned to write. I am certain, however, that I will continue exploring familiar Bible stories, looking for hidden details and forgotten perspectives, while connecting their themes with the ordinary lives we all share.

I will also continue publishing reflections on the Sunday lectionary readings on the Tuesday beforehand for those who attend churches that follow the lectionary. Those pieces have become a regular rhythm in the newsletter, and I greatly enjoy writing them.

If there is a topic, question, Bible passage, or article idea that you would like me to explore, please do get in touch. I love receiving your emails and messages, and I do my best to reply to every one.

Finally, if you are currently a free subscriber and have been considering supporting the newsletter, we would love to have you on board. Paid subscribers receive daily reflections designed to provide a brief moment of thoughtful reflection each day, preferably accompanied by a good cup of tea.

To everyone who has become a paid subscriber this month, thank you. Your support makes this work possible, and I am deeply grateful for it.

Thank you for reading, commenting, encouraging, and travelling alongside me. I am looking forward to sharing the journey with you as we head into June.