A grab bag of book-ish goodness from a new playlist to Winnipeg visits and beyond
Plus 40 Simple Practices for Lent
Hi friends,
Allow me to join the parade of folks reminding you that Lent begins on Wednesday…which is also Valentine’s Day. Go ahead and text your special someone now: “Fancy a date to the church for an imposition of ashes and the poignant reminder of our mortality?” Who could turn down such an invitation, eh? Sounds like a romance to me! *swoon*
If you’re looking for a lower-key invitation for this season, a few years ago I created 40 Simple Practices for Lent. There’s even a printable there, too. I didn’t create anything new this year as most of my attention is at the book launch but this is a good companion for you, I hope.
All The Things
As we are just a week away from my new book’s release into the big wide world, there’s a lot on the go over here and I want to make sure you don’t miss it.
So this week’s Field Notes is a bit of a grab bag of goodness because I have a few more goodies for you. (We’ll soon be back to ‘regularly scheduled programming’ here at the newsletter because I’ve got a backlog of books to tell you about as well as the return of our good things roster and a ton of ideas of new essays and conversations. Thanks again for your patience and support during this weird singular-focused season of book launch.)
All right, onward!
An Evening with Kate Bowler and Yours Truly
First up, if you’re in Winnipeg, Kate Bowler and I will be at McNally Robinson bookshop this Thursday evening (February 15) to chat about our new books together. Here’s all the details. It’s free and there’s even a live-stream option if you aren’t able to make it. And I just heard that they already have a box of my own new book there too and we’ve been given permission by the publisher to sell them early so that will be fun, too! I’ll be around to sign your copies and have a visit afterwards too.
(P.S. Kate and I are trying our best to find some dates for other Canadian cities together so stay tuned there!)
The Field Notes for the Wilderness Playlist
This one makes me quite happy. I compiled more than a hundred songs that speak to me about an evolving faith in this Spotify playlist to celebrate the release of my new book. It’s got a bit of everything from everyone. And I’ll keep adding to it so if you have any suggestions, please let me know!
Pro-tip for this one: maybe go for a long drive, turn the music up loud, and sing/sob at the top of your lungs as God intended. Bonus points if it is raining and moody. Ah, music brings the catharsis for those of us who have a hard time feeling our feelings!
My favourite thing
I am still basking in the glow of this moment when I surprised my mum and dad with the physical copy of the book along with the secret I’d been keeping: I dedicated the book to my mother. Being able to read that dedication aloud to her was so special, it’s a memory I’ll hold forever.
In other social media noteworthy items:
Here’s a video telling you what the book is actually about (always good to know, eh?),
here’s one explaining who I wrote the book for (and then a follow up from this former youth pastor’s wife about that),
this one about fear in deconstruction and
another one about going slowly on purpose.
I have a few Instagram Live chats in the coming days with folks I know many of you know, too. So if you aren’t already following me on Instagram, now is a good time so you don’t miss those.
Elsewhere
I’ve been recording a number of podcasts and interviews over the past few weeks but only a couple are already available. If you’d like to check them out, here are those links (and with the amount of time I’m spending on Zoom these days, there will definitely be more interviews to come - and a few of those are also with favourites around here so I’m excited to share those when they’re available).
Amy Julia Becker’s lovely podcast: Love Is Stronger Than Fear. It’s S7 E8 | The Gifts of an Evolving Faith with Sarah Bessey.
Good Faith Media interview: Field Notes for the Wilderness | A Conversation with Sarah Bessey by Craig Nash
Field Notes for the Wilderness was named a “Most Anticipated” book by both Barnes & Noble AND The Englewood Review of Books.
And an article I wrote for Broadview was just published. It’s called, As Easter approaches, I’m learning to embrace joy in ordinary life: "The regular resurrections of our lives are just as miraculous as the big, showy, attention-getting ones.” P.S. If you aren’t subscribed, highly recommend! I love this more progressive Canadian faith-centred magazine every month.
Two Pennsylvania Events
Pennsylvania folks, I’m coming your way! I’ll be at Eastern University next month for chapels and classes but we have two evening public events, too.
An Evening with Pete Enns and Yours Truly: This one is with renowned Bible scholar (and all around good pal) Pete Enns. It’s on March 18th at 7 p.m. Here are the details. It’s free as well but you do have to have a ticket.
And due to popular demand, we added one more for the public, Conversations That Matter: A Student Led Discussion with Sarah Bessey. It’s on March 19th (which is also my 45th birthday!) at 7 p.m. Here are the ticket details.
Pastors, Priests, & Guides Retreat
This one is in Chicago, IL on May 7-9. Aaron Niequist has been a pal for years and I’ve always wanted to attend one of these ecumenical retreats focused on renewal for exhausted spiritual leaders who are looking for holy space, godly spiritual guidance, and new personal practices. Well, now I get to attend - and I’ll be leading a session, too! If you’d like to join us, here are those details.
One Last Chance at the Preorder Bonuses
There are two preorder bonuses waiting for you, if you haven’t already snagged them. This is the last week to sign up so I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss this.
First up, you can receive a sneak peek at the first three chapters of Field Notes for the Wilderness. Here’s the link to claim that bonus.
And our second preorder bonus is a preview of the audiobook, as read by yours truly. Here’s the link to claim that one. (This was my first time narrating my own audiobook since my accent has always been considered a bit too distracting for most American listeners but this time around, we decided to go for it.)
Again, thank you so much for preordering the book. It matters way more than you might imagine and it makes a big difference, so thank you!
One Last Bit of Earnestness
I've been writing and leading in this lane of "evolving faith" for more than ten years now. A lot has changed in that decade for so many of us and in our communal landscapes. For this book, I wanted to write down all of the practices and postures and even prayers that have served me well during my own seasons of a faith shift. I envisioned you all sitting down with me at our metaphorical table in the wilderness, bringing your stories and your experiences, your hurts and your hopes with you: what would I want to say to you? I wanted to create something nourishing and helpful that you could tuck into your own back pocket for the rest of the journey. I hoped it would be an eventually-dog-eared and marked-up book that you could carefully pass to your friends who are embarking on the wilderness now. (Maybe I even wanted this to be the companion in the wilderness that I wished I would have had.)
And so this work was born, not out of a sense of "expertise" on the subject (because God knows that would be hilarious in an attempt) but rather to be resolutely alongside of you and anyone else who finds themselves at that scary threshold to the wilderness, wondering "What NOW?!"
I gathered up everything I've learned the hard way in these pages. I take your trust very seriously and it's my genuine hope that this book brings freedom, clarity, companionship, goodness, and even a bit of hope to you at this moment in time.
Field Notes for the Wilderness guides you through multiple principles to live by for an evolving faith, including:
practicing wonder and curiosity as spiritual disciplines
mothering ourselves with compassion and empathy
making space for lament and righteous rage
finding good spiritual teachers
discovering what we are for in this life, and moving in that direction
and so much more.
I hope it becomes a shepherd for our curiosity, sets a rich table for our questions, offers tools to cultivate what we crave, and provides a blessing for what was--even as we leave it behind.
Thank you for your kindness and support along the way. It's been my great honour to serve you here over these years and I hope this is a good companion to us all, especially at this moment in time.
Stumbling forward faithfully,
S.
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In case you missed these recent Field Notes:
Answering your questions about writing, books, & publishing: An AMA for the writers and the writer-curious among us
Finally: Navigating Marriage + An Evolving Faith: Our Story & Our Practices (plus an audio version for paid subscribers)
Preorder bonus for Field Notes for the Wilderness!: Plus videos! and endorsements! and GIFs make a return to the newsletter! Along with exclamation points apparently! 🫣 (!)
Perhaps this is one secret of re-enchantment: Or, The Sacramental Masterpiece of Vacuuming
Looking back at 2023: Field Notes 2023 in review - your favourites and mine
YESSS
Also biggest of eye rolls to "distracting for American listeners." Dear Sarah's publisher, I promise we can handle it. 🤣🤣🤣
Hoping you are doing ok in this highly vulnerable book launch season. Concerned about your well-being in light of the absence of footnotes in the Field Notes….😊💜