Amanda Held Opelt
@amandaheldopelt.bsky.social
Songwriter, author of A Hole in the World & Holy Unhappiness. Writes &speaks about faith, the creative life, grief, & ritual. 📍Rooted in Southern Appalachia.
New post! I wrote a few more reflections on the 100 year anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial. This one is…personal. It was pretty tough to write. I love my hometown. I’m grateful for how I was raised. I’m learning to embrace the both/and.
open.substack.com/pub/amandahe...
open.substack.com/pub/amandahe...
"The Monkey Trial" 100 Years Later
Reflections on My Own Evolving Faith
open.substack.com
July 9, 2025 at 1:58 PM
New post! I wrote a few more reflections on the 100 year anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial. This one is…personal. It was pretty tough to write. I love my hometown. I’m grateful for how I was raised. I’m learning to embrace the both/and.
open.substack.com/pub/amandahe...
open.substack.com/pub/amandahe...
This month marks 100 years since the Scopes Monkey Trial. I grew up in Dayton Tennessee, under the long shadow of that trial. In this Op Ed for @rns.org I share what it means to me now.
religionnews.com/2025/07/03/1...
religionnews.com/2025/07/03/1...
100 years after Scopes trial, cultural discourse about 'Bible Belt' Christians still suffers
(RNS) — Perhaps the trial’s most lasting legacy is the precedent it set for how we engage with our ideological enemies and the role the media play in that discourse.
religionnews.com
July 3, 2025 at 4:07 PM
This month marks 100 years since the Scopes Monkey Trial. I grew up in Dayton Tennessee, under the long shadow of that trial. In this Op Ed for @rns.org I share what it means to me now.
religionnews.com/2025/07/03/1...
religionnews.com/2025/07/03/1...
A must read story on the impact tariffs are having one beloved Appalachian company trying to recover from Helene:
www.wataugademocrat.com/news/local/t...
www.wataugademocrat.com/news/local/t...
Tubes and Tariffs: Beloved river outfitter battles to stay afloat
TODD — After weathering devastating floods, a beloved High Country outfitter faces a new and unexpected challenge: international tariffs.
www.wataugademocrat.com
May 1, 2025 at 4:51 PM
A must read story on the impact tariffs are having one beloved Appalachian company trying to recover from Helene:
www.wataugademocrat.com/news/local/t...
www.wataugademocrat.com/news/local/t...
Hearing @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social and Ross Douthat seriously discuss the existence of “the good people” is exactly the diversion I needed from the disaster that is the daily news. 🧚
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...
Ross Douthat on Trump, Mysticism and Psychedelics
Podcast Episode · The Ezra Klein Show · 04/25/2025 · 1h 35m
podcasts.apple.com
April 30, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Hearing @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social and Ross Douthat seriously discuss the existence of “the good people” is exactly the diversion I needed from the disaster that is the daily news. 🧚
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...
My top five favorite shows/miniseries from the last decade:
1. Station Eleven (I think about that show almost every day)
2. Severance
3. The Diplomat
4. Turn, Washington’s Spies
5. Chernobyl
(Honorable mention goes to Slow Horses and Poldark)
What about you?
1. Station Eleven (I think about that show almost every day)
2. Severance
3. The Diplomat
4. Turn, Washington’s Spies
5. Chernobyl
(Honorable mention goes to Slow Horses and Poldark)
What about you?
April 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM
My top five favorite shows/miniseries from the last decade:
1. Station Eleven (I think about that show almost every day)
2. Severance
3. The Diplomat
4. Turn, Washington’s Spies
5. Chernobyl
(Honorable mention goes to Slow Horses and Poldark)
What about you?
1. Station Eleven (I think about that show almost every day)
2. Severance
3. The Diplomat
4. Turn, Washington’s Spies
5. Chernobyl
(Honorable mention goes to Slow Horses and Poldark)
What about you?
Been getting a little preachy here lately. Would be interested in getting some feedback on this one. Are you seeing signs of a return to religion? Are you sensing a vibe shift like others? If you are a Christian, does this bring excitement or concern?
What Does the Lord Require of You?
Shifting Vibes, the Great Return, and Why the Gospel is More than a Trend
open.substack.com
April 2, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Been getting a little preachy here lately. Would be interested in getting some feedback on this one. Are you seeing signs of a return to religion? Are you sensing a vibe shift like others? If you are a Christian, does this bring excitement or concern?
“We’ve heard the old adage that the church is more than the building. But sometimes the church must transcend our buildings, must resist the cues & connotations imposed upon us by the spaces in which we meet.” Thanks CT for publishing this!
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/04/my-c...
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/04/my-c...
Cafeteria Church - Christianity Today
Under the fluorescent lights, we come to commune, not to be entertained.
www.christianitytoday.com
April 1, 2025 at 5:35 PM
“We’ve heard the old adage that the church is more than the building. But sometimes the church must transcend our buildings, must resist the cues & connotations imposed upon us by the spaces in which we meet.” Thanks CT for publishing this!
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/04/my-c...
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/04/my-c...
Every year on St. Patrick’s Day, I like to play a little game called “Is it Ireland or Appalachia?”
March 17, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Every year on St. Patrick’s Day, I like to play a little game called “Is it Ireland or Appalachia?”
New Post today! Ash Wednesday: Pride, Provision, and the Belly of a Big Fish
open.substack.com/pub/amandahe...
open.substack.com/pub/amandahe...
Ash Wednesday
Pride, Provisions, and the Belly of a Big Fish
open.substack.com
March 5, 2025 at 5:51 PM
New Post today! Ash Wednesday: Pride, Provision, and the Belly of a Big Fish
open.substack.com/pub/amandahe...
open.substack.com/pub/amandahe...
Diplomacy is not the art of the deal.
Allies are not just potential business partners.
War-zones aren’t real estate opportunities.
Holding the line on geopolitical tyranny matters more than acquiring rare earth minerals.
Allies are not just potential business partners.
War-zones aren’t real estate opportunities.
Holding the line on geopolitical tyranny matters more than acquiring rare earth minerals.
February 28, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Diplomacy is not the art of the deal.
Allies are not just potential business partners.
War-zones aren’t real estate opportunities.
Holding the line on geopolitical tyranny matters more than acquiring rare earth minerals.
Allies are not just potential business partners.
War-zones aren’t real estate opportunities.
Holding the line on geopolitical tyranny matters more than acquiring rare earth minerals.
Crowdsourcing! Looking for the best book you’ve read on the theology of health and healing. I’ve read Amy Kenny’s My Body is Not a Prayer Request. What else should I read?
February 17, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Crowdsourcing! Looking for the best book you’ve read on the theology of health and healing. I’ve read Amy Kenny’s My Body is Not a Prayer Request. What else should I read?
Are we at Threat Level Midnight yet??? 🤔🤔🤔
February 16, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Are we at Threat Level Midnight yet??? 🤔🤔🤔
As long as we are changing maps, renaming bodies of water and landmasses, I’ll remind everyone that Edgar Allen Poe originally wanted to name our country Appalachia.
Executive order anyone?? 😊
Executive order anyone?? 😊
February 14, 2025 at 4:13 PM
As long as we are changing maps, renaming bodies of water and landmasses, I’ll remind everyone that Edgar Allen Poe originally wanted to name our country Appalachia.
Executive order anyone?? 😊
Executive order anyone?? 😊
Normalize changing your mind on political matters.
It’s ok to think one way, get more information, then start thinking another way.
American freedom means our loyalty lies only with the good of the country, not a politician…not to our previous opinions.
It’s ok to think one way, get more information, then start thinking another way.
American freedom means our loyalty lies only with the good of the country, not a politician…not to our previous opinions.
February 12, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Normalize changing your mind on political matters.
It’s ok to think one way, get more information, then start thinking another way.
American freedom means our loyalty lies only with the good of the country, not a politician…not to our previous opinions.
It’s ok to think one way, get more information, then start thinking another way.
American freedom means our loyalty lies only with the good of the country, not a politician…not to our previous opinions.
I’m lovin’ all this “triumph of the human spirit” pre-game content.
February 9, 2025 at 11:05 PM
I’m lovin’ all this “triumph of the human spirit” pre-game content.
Church, I think it’s more important than ever that we strive to be the faithful remnant.
At the same time, you must guard against the assumption that YOU ARE the faithful remnant.
The moment you think you’ve arrived, you are back at the beginning.
At the same time, you must guard against the assumption that YOU ARE the faithful remnant.
The moment you think you’ve arrived, you are back at the beginning.
January 30, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Church, I think it’s more important than ever that we strive to be the faithful remnant.
At the same time, you must guard against the assumption that YOU ARE the faithful remnant.
The moment you think you’ve arrived, you are back at the beginning.
At the same time, you must guard against the assumption that YOU ARE the faithful remnant.
The moment you think you’ve arrived, you are back at the beginning.
It’s all fun and games to be anti-establishment until you realize the establishment is paying for your kid’s lunch.
January 28, 2025 at 8:46 PM
It’s all fun and games to be anti-establishment until you realize the establishment is paying for your kid’s lunch.
Reposted by Amanda Held Opelt
The real “culture war” isn’t “out there.”
It’s “in here.”
And as long as they keep us thinking it’s “out there,” the more we lose “in here.”
It’s “in here.”
And as long as they keep us thinking it’s “out there,” the more we lose “in here.”
January 24, 2025 at 3:50 AM
The real “culture war” isn’t “out there.”
It’s “in here.”
And as long as they keep us thinking it’s “out there,” the more we lose “in here.”
It’s “in here.”
And as long as they keep us thinking it’s “out there,” the more we lose “in here.”
New post!
Fire and Flood: “Whatsboutisms,” Blame, and Disaster Rage
Fire and Flood: “Whatsboutisms,” Blame, and Disaster Rage
January 23, 2025 at 5:03 PM
New post!
Fire and Flood: “Whatsboutisms,” Blame, and Disaster Rage
Fire and Flood: “Whatsboutisms,” Blame, and Disaster Rage
The only news on I’m interested in today are snow pictures from New Orleans, Mobile, and the Florida panhandle. Please leave them below!
January 22, 2025 at 2:25 PM
The only news on I’m interested in today are snow pictures from New Orleans, Mobile, and the Florida panhandle. Please leave them below!
Every transfer of power is a test of the American character. The decorum matters. The civility matters. Joe Biden showing up for this moment MATTERS…and may be the single greatest contribution of his long life of service to this country.
January 20, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Every transfer of power is a test of the American character. The decorum matters. The civility matters. Joe Biden showing up for this moment MATTERS…and may be the single greatest contribution of his long life of service to this country.
On days like today, I’m reminded that the observance of rituals and time-honored traditions plays a huge role in the preservation of democracy.
January 20, 2025 at 3:46 PM
On days like today, I’m reminded that the observance of rituals and time-honored traditions plays a huge role in the preservation of democracy.
“I would distinguish between the intention to offend and the willingness to risk offending.” -Wendell Berry
January 20, 2025 at 3:05 PM
“I would distinguish between the intention to offend and the willingness to risk offending.” -Wendell Berry