Published in Anabaptist World: “When Wars Begin, Christians Cry”

A thank you to this community for helping this piece find its way into the world, and an invitation to read and share it.

Friends,

Something I first wrote on this Substack, “When Wars Begin, Christians Cry,” was just picked up and published in Anabaptist World.

I started this Substack one month ago as a place to gather my writing in public, test ideas, tell the truth, and dig at the deeper roots shaping the gardens of everyday life. I wanted it to be a place to slow down a little. To pay attention to faith, power, climate, and the long work of tending what makes communities whole.

And you all have been so encouraging.

Truly.

Encouraging enough that a teenage memory about an elder crying over bombs somehow found its way into my faith tradition’s leading publication. Which feels both moving and slightly absurd, which is usually how I know something real is happening.

So thank you for subscribing. Thank you for reading. Thank you for sticking around while I keep experimenting, keep writing, and keep digging for deeper roots. Every heart, comment, share, encouragement, and even critique has meant more than I can say.

You can read the Anabaptist World piece here:
https://anabaptistworld.org/when-wars-begin-christians-cry/

And if this Substack has meant something to you one month in, I would love your help. Send this Substack to a friend and invite them to subscribe. Remind them it is free, even if Substack occasionally acts like it has other ideas. Send it to your aunt, your pastor, your church friend who still reads actual essays, or that one person who always has strong opinions about Christians and war and is never shy about sharing them.

I am deeply grateful for each of you.

Brian