I always tell folks that The Cottage is “part retreat, part think-tank.” The real cottage in my backyard is exactly that. I go there to pray, read, and get grounded. And it is where I think, write, and participate in online classes and podcasts.
Being “part retreat, part think-tank” is an odd combination. Most books, newsletters, and podcasts are about one or the other — about spirituality or about ideas. But the Cottage is about both inspiration and information. Because that’s who I am. For my entire life, I’ve been pushing deeper into the territory of heart and head, always learning more and letting questions lead me.
Since the U.S. election, I’ve been writing mostly to buoy your spirits by practicing joy, rediscovering gratitude, sinking into poetry, and holding up the wisdom of scripture. (Don’t worry — that continues.) Your response to all of this has been overwhelming! Wanting to buoy you, I buoyed myself, too.
Today, however, I want to switch things up and be Professor Diana.
For those of you who don’t know, my academic training was in American religious history, with sub-specialities in historical theology and (some) New Testament. During the first fourteen years of my career, I taught undergraduates and seminary students. I love to teach. I’m always teaching.
And I love history.
Today’s video isn’t a “spiritual pep talk” like last week. It is a history lecture. But here’s the thing: to me, history is a spiritual pep talk! Indeed, I often opine that history is a spiritual practice. History provides a bigger picture, reminds us of our ancestors’ courage (and failures), offers lessons to live better, and puts our lives in context.
If that’s not spiritual, I don’t know what is.
“Theology and Spirituality in Times of Rupture” (above) is a 40-minute talk I gave to the Southern Lights Conference three days before the Inauguration. In it, I suggest that three “ruptures” have shaped America in the last 120 years — with each rupture creating a new cultural pattern in which we live our lives. Each rupture has had profound impacts on every aspect of our experience — but especially the practices of politics and religion.
This lecture proposes a framework for understanding the last century that helps make sense of where we’ve been — and where we could go. Frameworks aren’t gospel. They are like video taken from drones — they get us above eye-level so we can see a larger landscape. Historians move back-and-forth between small pictures and big ones; sometimes we write about unique and discreet episodes in the past and, at other times, we see new or helpful patterns for the whole.
“Rupture” is a the latter type of history — about suggesting a pattern that has often hidden from us.
And it isn’t just a pattern of American history. These ruptures have shaped global history, especially the history of western democracies, as well.
This isn’t “boring” history. This is history as we’re living it. I think that you’ll be stunned by the ending. You can’t hear it in the video, but the audience collectively gasped. You could literally feel the power of a shared “aha” moment at the conference.
Southern Lights rarely shares full videos beyond the community. I insisted that we open up this one lecture so you could see it. I think it will help. I know 40 minutes is a time commitment, but please, please listen. It is important. You can share it with your friends or book group or adult ed classes by sharing this post. The video is not available for wider public viewing anywhere but here (it isn’t on YouTube or Vimeo).
Welcome to the Cottage think-tank. I trust you’ll find your spirit strengthened by, what the New Testament calls, “the renewing of your mind.”
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The graphics for the lecture are from Steve Thomason, a.k.a, “The Art Pastor.” Please explore his WEBSITE HERE.
TODAY’S NOTE FROM THE SHORES OF THE POTOMAC
Dear Friends,
Good morning from the shores of the Potomac! It is grey today here in Washington. But the frigid temperatures have retreated, and the ice on the Potomac is breaking up.
That’s a good metaphor for what is happening politically — we’ve been frozen by events, but things are starting to change. There are fewer, heads-down furtive glances. Our neighbors here are beginning to talk more openly and are seeking allies in one another. Isolation from fear is beginning to crack, even while many are losing jobs and their families and futures are threatened. You can sense a shift in the seasons. Hints of the thaw.
For the first time in a month, there are ripples in the river.
Resistance to Musk and Trump is rising. It isn’t yet a wave, but you can see the waters moving, starting to slosh against the shore.
An undulation of hope.
Your calls, the millions and millions of calls over the last two days that helped to crash Congress’s switchboard, are doing so much good. Thirty-one members of Congress stood outside the Treasury late yesterday afternoon after having been denied entrance to the building by Musk’s minions. They addressed a very large crowd (a friend of mine who was there said it stretched for three blocks) and demonstrated real courage by clearly stating what is at risk. It wasn’t wonky DC talk. It was inspiring. And it is clear that many in Congress are finding spine.
You are giving others hope and courage. Please continue to do so. You are making a difference.
Here are some things to do, chose whatever you feel like you can do:
Keep calling. They asked us to keep calling. Especially call the GOP. But the Democrats were clearly buoyed by your support. Keep that up. Tell them you approved of yesterday’s rally at the Treasury. You want more of that. Also, tell you Senators to STOP all confirmations in the Senate. Use the 5 Calls app (if you are an app person) — read about 5 Calls HERE. It is easy.
Go to a Town Hall meeting. By phone, online, or in person. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the House, has “urged” (that’s DC talk for “demanded”) that all Democrats hold town hall meetings with their constituents THIS WEEK. (The link is from Indivisible, Marin County, CA.)
If you live in a Dem district, look up your rep’s website or call the office and find out when and where such a town hall will be conducted (I imagine that many of them will be online). Attend as you are able. (Online or phone town hall is easy — and anonymous if you feel nervous — but your presence is noted and you are “voting” your support simply by being there.) This is a way of connecting with those who are on the front lines and with your neighbors who are also frightened, angry, and concerned about Musk and Trump.Pray for the nation and the world. Pray specifically for all those being directly hurt by what’s happening — for children in Africa waiting for a meal from USAID (that now won’t arrive) to my neighbors here whose lives are being upended by Musk and Trump. Continue to pray for the people of Gaza (you can google Trump’s plans for Gaza as announced yesterday). Pray for your own fears to recede. Pray for clarity in the midst of the flood of executive orders, etc. Remember: Trump and Musk want you to be afraid. Do whatever you can to connect with others and minimize the fear.
Show Kindness. People are hurting and are afraid all around you. Kindness is an antidote to fear. Kindness is a way of connecting with others.
May the Light of Epiphany, the Light of the Nations, continue to rise and thaw the fear that has gripped us. May we be guided by light and the Light. May the warmth of both the sun and the Son be felt in your bones, and may you be strengthened to love your neighbors right now.
Toss your pebble in the thawing water. Add to the ripples. Ripples are the beginning of a wave.
Love,
Diana
INSPIRATION
The world now is too dangerous
and too beautiful for anything but love.
May your eyes be so blessed you see God in everyone.
Your ears, so you hear the cry of the poor.
May your hands be so blessed
that everything you touch is a sacrament.
Your lips, so you speak nothing but the truth with love.
May your feet be so blessed you run
to those who need you.
And may your heart be so opened,
so set on fire, that your love,
your love, changes everything.
— Brian Baker, A Black Rock Prayer Book
ABOUT SOUTHERN LIGHTS
Each January, Brian McLaren and I host The Southern Lights Conference at Epworth-by-the-Sea conference center on St. Simons Island, GA. The above lecture is my 2025 talk at the conference — just one of a series of heart-expanding, mind-changing talks in that special weekend.
Next year, on January 23-25, 2026, our theme will be Reimagining Faith from the Margins with guests Jemar Tisby, Rabbi Or Rose, and Jennifer Harvey.
We’re working on a new website right now (it isn’t up yet). But we’re running a secret early bird special — $15 discount off the regular registration — for both in-person and virtual attendance. Here’s the link with basic information. CLICK HERE.
TWO RESOURCES
I know you are exhausted and overwhelmed. These are for you to watch if and when you are able. The Cottage isn’t about alarmism. This isn’t an anti-Trump screed place. This is a place for grounding and goodness.
This isn’t about adding to the frozen river. Think of these as ice melt (you know the stuff if you live in the north!).
There two small bites of the news are not intended to sink you. I’m trying to both build your resilience and give you a clear understanding of what is happening. One is from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD); the other from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Jamie Raskin’s remarks at yesterday’s rally reminds us of history. It is inspiring.
In a more formal DC setting, Senator Elizabeth Warren clearly and succinctly stated the stakes of the moment. This is Warren’s turf — she’s an EXPERT on these issues.
This isn’t meant to scare you. This is information so you can clearly grasp why we must push back. This is a RESOURCE for you to share with your friends — share it on Facebook, with your church group, over coffee with others — publicly or privately.
Seniors especially need to understand what she’s laying out here. Again, not to scare. But to motivate. Maybe it will get some of your friends — or parents or grandparents — to join the phone brigade.
Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.
— Albert Schweitzer
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