Elizabeth Oldfield
@elizabetholdfield.bsky.social
“You shall love your crooked neighbour/With your crooked heart”
Auden
Writer, podcast host, coach
ElizabethOldfield.com
Auden
Writer, podcast host, coach
ElizabethOldfield.com
July 3, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Please can we have moratorium on novels which slowly reveal a characters trauma related to the death of a parent/sibling/child. There must be other ways to make characters psychologically complex and interesting. I can spot it a mile off now and I’m bored
July 1, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Please can we have moratorium on novels which slowly reveal a characters trauma related to the death of a parent/sibling/child. There must be other ways to make characters psychologically complex and interesting. I can spot it a mile off now and I’m bored
Reposted by Elizabeth Oldfield
Liked this from @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social
“Commit in some way. Make it more than a vague intention …Humans have an almost limitless capacity for self-justification and self-deception. Alone, we are pretty crap at living by our principles & values”
morefullyalive.substack.com/p/what-to-do...
“Commit in some way. Make it more than a vague intention …Humans have an almost limitless capacity for self-justification and self-deception. Alone, we are pretty crap at living by our principles & values”
morefullyalive.substack.com/p/what-to-do...
What to do if you can’t go AI Sober
Some questions to help you stay loyal to your values as AI accelerates
morefullyalive.substack.com
June 27, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Liked this from @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social
“Commit in some way. Make it more than a vague intention …Humans have an almost limitless capacity for self-justification and self-deception. Alone, we are pretty crap at living by our principles & values”
morefullyalive.substack.com/p/what-to-do...
“Commit in some way. Make it more than a vague intention …Humans have an almost limitless capacity for self-justification and self-deception. Alone, we are pretty crap at living by our principles & values”
morefullyalive.substack.com/p/what-to-do...
“Brutally honest” is one of the most regular things people say about the book and it makes me so glad. We spend so much time tiptoeing around the truth, tidying ourselves up for others to stay safe and it just deadens our common life. Note: being brutally honest is not the same as being an A-hole.
Just read this book 'Fully alive' by @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social.
What a great book: intelligent, brutally honest, humorous, presenting her wisdom of life, sharing her faith in God, and all that written in real beautiful English phrasing, 200% in the cultural language of 2025.
Recommended!
What a great book: intelligent, brutally honest, humorous, presenting her wisdom of life, sharing her faith in God, and all that written in real beautiful English phrasing, 200% in the cultural language of 2025.
Recommended!
June 12, 2025 at 12:54 PM
“Brutally honest” is one of the most regular things people say about the book and it makes me so glad. We spend so much time tiptoeing around the truth, tidying ourselves up for others to stay safe and it just deadens our common life. Note: being brutally honest is not the same as being an A-hole.
Reposted by Elizabeth Oldfield
my favourite miracle is when jesus is healing the blind guy with his spit and he fully does the "better or worse?" optometrist thing a few times til he gets it right and the dude is like "i can KIND of see people but they look like spooky trees walking??" and jesus is like "ok almost there one sec"
June 9, 2025 at 5:52 PM
my favourite miracle is when jesus is healing the blind guy with his spit and he fully does the "better or worse?" optometrist thing a few times til he gets it right and the dude is like "i can KIND of see people but they look like spooky trees walking??" and jesus is like "ok almost there one sec"
Reposted by Elizabeth Oldfield
open.spotify.com/episode/7szk...
This is possibly the best podcast episode I've heard all year. It was deeply moving, and full of rich wisdom. I was in tears at several points. It encouraged me to slow down and ponder on the richness of the everyday
This is possibly the best podcast episode I've heard all year. It was deeply moving, and full of rich wisdom. I was in tears at several points. It encouraged me to slow down and ponder on the richness of the everyday
How to Find Meaning in the Life You Already Have | Joshua Luke Smith
The Sacred · Episode
open.spotify.com
June 5, 2025 at 10:05 PM
open.spotify.com/episode/7szk...
This is possibly the best podcast episode I've heard all year. It was deeply moving, and full of rich wisdom. I was in tears at several points. It encouraged me to slow down and ponder on the richness of the everyday
This is possibly the best podcast episode I've heard all year. It was deeply moving, and full of rich wisdom. I was in tears at several points. It encouraged me to slow down and ponder on the richness of the everyday
A new essay from me about the moral seriousness of everyday human encounters, with a poem by @martinwroe.bsky.social
morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-music-...
morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-music-...
The music we play on each other
Emotional contagion, predictive processing and a poem
morefullyalive.substack.com
June 5, 2025 at 3:08 PM
A new essay from me about the moral seriousness of everyday human encounters, with a poem by @martinwroe.bsky.social
morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-music-...
morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-music-...
Reposted by Elizabeth Oldfield
A rare acceptable explanation for a long church service. 'Under an ancient Dutch convention that prohibits the state from entering a church in service, the Open Hof has for the past 192 days been running a continuous service to protect the Babayants family.'
observer.co.uk/news/interna...
observer.co.uk/news/interna...
Dutch church shelters migrant family with 192-day service
Open Hof church in Kampen is providing sanctuary to a family facing deportation by using an ancient law to prevent police entering the building
observer.co.uk
June 4, 2025 at 2:14 PM
A rare acceptable explanation for a long church service. 'Under an ancient Dutch convention that prohibits the state from entering a church in service, the Open Hof has for the past 192 days been running a continuous service to protect the Babayants family.'
observer.co.uk/news/interna...
observer.co.uk/news/interna...
May 19, 2025 at 8:50 AM
New essay from me over on Substack today
May 15, 2025 at 11:04 AM
New essay from me over on Substack today
Reposted by Elizabeth Oldfield
Really great piece from @j-amesmarriott.bsky.social comparing digital life to ultra processed foods and the misery that comes from over indulgence
‘TikTok and AI are junk food — start dieting’
www.thetimes.com/article/3136...
‘TikTok and AI are junk food — start dieting’
www.thetimes.com/article/3136...
TikTok and AI are junk food — start dieting
In the smartphone age it’s increasingly clear that developing and maintaining our critical faculties requires hard work
www.thetimes.com
May 13, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Really great piece from @j-amesmarriott.bsky.social comparing digital life to ultra processed foods and the misery that comes from over indulgence
‘TikTok and AI are junk food — start dieting’
www.thetimes.com/article/3136...
‘TikTok and AI are junk food — start dieting’
www.thetimes.com/article/3136...
Reposted by Elizabeth Oldfield
Integration requires willingness from refugees, but also structures, institutions, people who can support that integration. In June, @theosthinktank.bsky.social launches
@glapshynov.bsky.social's 👌 report showing how the Church moves beyond welcome to help forced migrants integrate holistically.
@glapshynov.bsky.social's 👌 report showing how the Church moves beyond welcome to help forced migrants integrate holistically.
But a proper integration strategy needs proper investment - and stopping seeing it as something 'other people have to do'. The public want to see more efforts to encourage integration - BUT overwhelmingly reject the notion it's something that is just the responsibility of minorities.
May 12, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Integration requires willingness from refugees, but also structures, institutions, people who can support that integration. In June, @theosthinktank.bsky.social launches
@glapshynov.bsky.social's 👌 report showing how the Church moves beyond welcome to help forced migrants integrate holistically.
@glapshynov.bsky.social's 👌 report showing how the Church moves beyond welcome to help forced migrants integrate holistically.
Reposted by Elizabeth Oldfield
'I once believed atheism was better than lazily defined half-belief. But maybe half-belief is better than nothing. This rare and arresting book raises the possibility that it might be better than anything that came before...'
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
Faith is a half-formed thing
A new generation is turning away from established churches in search of a different way to believe
www.newstatesman.com
May 9, 2025 at 2:47 PM
'I once believed atheism was better than lazily defined half-belief. But maybe half-belief is better than nothing. This rare and arresting book raises the possibility that it might be better than anything that came before...'
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
Reposted by Elizabeth Oldfield
People are like "is the Pope left wing or right wing?" and I hate to break it to you but you cannot place a Pope's politics onto a simple line like that. In fact, the kind of space onto which you can plot the politics of a Pope requires a degree in Quantum Physics to even begin to understand.
May 9, 2025 at 6:45 PM
People are like "is the Pope left wing or right wing?" and I hate to break it to you but you cannot place a Pope's politics onto a simple line like that. In fact, the kind of space onto which you can plot the politics of a Pope requires a degree in Quantum Physics to even begin to understand.
Reposted by Elizabeth Oldfield
Book review: @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social reads about an experiment in participating in church
Book review: Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever: A new generation’s search for religion by Lamorna Ash
Elizabeth Oldfield reads about an experiment in participating in church
www.churchtimes.co.uk
May 2, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Book review: @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social reads about an experiment in participating in church
My review of Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever by Lamorna Ash is out now. Spoiler: it’s really good.
www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...
www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...
Book review: Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever: A new generation’s search for religion by Lamorna Ash
Elizabeth Oldfield reads about an experiment in participating in church
www.churchtimes.co.uk
May 2, 2025 at 11:22 AM
My review of Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever by Lamorna Ash is out now. Spoiler: it’s really good.
www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...
www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...
Reposted by Elizabeth Oldfield
The conclave is set to begin on 7 May. Read this helpful explainer from our senior researcher Dr Marianne Rozario on the @theosthinktank.bsky.social website:
www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2025...
www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2025...
Papal Conclave: how the next pope is elected
Marianne Rozario unpacks the centuries–old processes that take place in the Catholic Church when the Pope dies. 24/02/2025
www.theosthinktank.co.uk
April 28, 2025 at 4:01 PM
The conclave is set to begin on 7 May. Read this helpful explainer from our senior researcher Dr Marianne Rozario on the @theosthinktank.bsky.social website:
www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2025...
www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2025...
My latest substack is on the uncontrollability of the world and the many ways we resist that.
morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-soul-w...
morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-soul-w...
April 22, 2025 at 6:43 PM
My latest substack is on the uncontrollability of the world and the many ways we resist that.
morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-soul-w...
morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-soul-w...
First leg of mini US tour in D.C. This is tonight, we’re discussing goodness in a speakeasy
April 22, 2025 at 3:18 PM
First leg of mini US tour in D.C. This is tonight, we’re discussing goodness in a speakeasy
Reposted by Elizabeth Oldfield
A beautiful conversation on the beauty and wonder of the Christian faith, which some are finding surprising. Gave me goosebumps at points. Thank you to the Bishop of Newcastle,
@bijanomrani.bsky.social, @shahidhabari.bsky.social and @lamornaash.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
@bijanomrani.bsky.social, @shahidhabari.bsky.social and @lamornaash.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Start the Week - Christianity and British society - BBC Sounds
Shahidha Bari with Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley, Bijan Omrani and Lamorna Ash.
www.bbc.co.uk
April 21, 2025 at 5:32 PM
A beautiful conversation on the beauty and wonder of the Christian faith, which some are finding surprising. Gave me goosebumps at points. Thank you to the Bishop of Newcastle,
@bijanomrani.bsky.social, @shahidhabari.bsky.social and @lamornaash.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
@bijanomrani.bsky.social, @shahidhabari.bsky.social and @lamornaash.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
I’m off to the states for some speaking events, full details on my website
www.elizabetholdfield.com/events
www.elizabetholdfield.com/events
April 11, 2025 at 10:14 AM
I’m off to the states for some speaking events, full details on my website
www.elizabetholdfield.com/events
www.elizabetholdfield.com/events
The “difficult hopefulness” is exactly what I was shooting for so grateful for this
Just re-read this chapter and I think it's some of the best 20 something pages I have read about community, church and the difficult hopefulness of it all I have read in a very long time. Go and buy this book.
Thank you @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social
Thank you @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social
the chapter on pride and community was exceptional. It's the kind of pragmatic realism about the work of community that I otherwise only hear from friends in Bruderhof communities.
April 11, 2025 at 10:08 AM
The “difficult hopefulness” is exactly what I was shooting for so grateful for this
Reposted by Elizabeth Oldfield
"The psalms... follow a distinctive pattern:
1. Complaint,
2. Lament,
3. What else is true?"
Good writing from @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social: morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-only-w...
1. Complaint,
2. Lament,
3. What else is true?"
Good writing from @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social: morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-only-w...
The only way through is down
Finding our steadiness by Psalming It
morefullyalive.substack.com
February 28, 2025 at 12:56 AM
"The psalms... follow a distinctive pattern:
1. Complaint,
2. Lament,
3. What else is true?"
Good writing from @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social: morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-only-w...
1. Complaint,
2. Lament,
3. What else is true?"
Good writing from @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social: morefullyalive.substack.com/p/the-only-w...