Send food I'm hangry.
Nourishment for When Your Faith Falls Apart & Recipes for Rebuilding
A seismic spiritual shift, like leaving your church or questioning your beliefs, can leave you with the bewildering sensation of figuring out how to feed yourself after a lifetime of being served meals. At first, you might just need casseroles delivered by neighbors—comfort and nourishment, no questions asked.
For me (Rachel here), when I was going through my own faith implosion, I was nowhere ready to “rebuild” and learn how to cook for myself. I mean, like a good evangelical, I tried. But after a few years of frenetic research (please see the five stages of grief), I was left a tired puddle of overwhelm. I couldn’t read any more dang books.
It was at this time, deflated and questioning my entire identity— that poetry, podcasts, practices, and prayers shared by both friends and kind strangers on the internet felt like a lifeline. Staring into the abyss can make one equal parts peckish and flailing. You might be there right now, tired and hungry, in desperate need of spiritual lasagna dropped on your doorstep.
But later, when you’re ready, you might step into the kitchen and start learning how to cook, experimenting with ingredients and techniques and developing your own pattern of eating that leaves you feeling full and nourished.
At The Belonging Workshop, Marri and I are here for you in either of these stages (and the many spaces in between). Whether you need a stocked freezer to get you through a difficult time or you want to develop your own “recipes,” we are learning and cooking alongside you. Marri and I have wildly different faith backgrounds, and we’re both still learning on the job. We’re not master chefs—we’re fellow home cooks, figuring out what works for us, sharing what we’ve learned, and pointing you toward our favorite cookbooks (resources) to help you on your journey.
I’ll take this moment to dive a little deeper into our substack tiers so you can get a handle on where you might feel cozy: casseroles vs chef lessons.
The Porch (free tier) – All of our free stuff lives here! Anyone can come and hang on the porch. We’ll have a Weekly Sabbath Practice, along with some round ups and behind-the-scenes posts about the making of The Book of Belonging.
The Crowded Table ($5/month) – Lots more goodies behind this paywall: downloads, guides, printables, galore. But here’s the big difference: This is where we draw the line regarding vulnerability. Marri and I will share more personal essays and resources here. Commenting and community will be available here. Live video calls in which I draw about yours and my feelings will happen here. If you want a safe place to let your weary freak flag fly or shout “HALP!” you’re in the right place.
Hearth Keepers ($50/year) – This is essentially the same thing as The Crowded Table, just offered at a discount for paying annually rather than month-to-month. You keep the fire going and help Marri and I pay for childcare, thank you.
The Studio ($150/year) – This is for you superfans and collaborators who want Marri and I to keep making more stuff, and want to help us make it! More art, more published works, more projects, and you get to have a say. A look at the messy process and the ability to weigh in and be beta testers. It’s messy back here in the studio, and if you’re down for that, you know where to click.
So here you are, bless you, hanging on till the very end of this post as I mix metaphors. Our Substack tiers are like a house, and my essay about different strokes for different folks in spiritual crisis is about food. This is why I draw the pictures and Marri writes the books. Thank you for stopping by. Whether you need someone to stock your freezer or you're ready to start assembling your own meals—you’re welcome here.
