Your Questions Answered
British Lockdown, Patreon Update, New Episode, Cool Stuff
Hello! Hope you’re well.
Here’s the latest, presented as answers to your burning questions:
Are You Guys Still Under Lockdown in England?
Yes. And no. :)
Today is a big day over here—as of today: restaurants and pubs are open for outdoor seating and non-essential shops, the library, hairdressers, etc can open! Wow wow wow. (Next change comes on May 17 when restaurants and pubs open for indoor seating.)
We knew, of course, that lockdown was a possibility when we made plans to come here. And when the UK issued the order less than a week before we arrived, we were somewhat dispirited. But these last 3 months have been totally survivable, thanks to healthy rhythms, daily walks, and lots of proactive conflict resolution between the four of us cooped up in this little cottage.
That said, though, we are very excited to be able to sit at a picnic table outside The Kings Arms down by the harbor and enjoy some mediocre pub food we didn’t have to cook on plates we won’t have to wash. (And next to other humans we don’t know! Thrilling.)
Slowly but surely over the past few weeks, Weymouth has been coming to life—a beach hut opens up selling gelato, a small restaurant begins serving takeout a couple of hours a day, a grimy length of sidewalk morphs into a freshly painted patio space, people can be found playing frisbee on the beach, the odd busker appears and fills the streets with the sound of his acoustic guitar, friends gather in 5 person groups on the edge of the quay to share a pizza.
Here are some pics of our wanderings the last several days:
By all accounts, all of this slow-and-steady emergence will kick into high gear beginning today—and we’re thrilled to see it. In fact, Jennifer and I have a date planned tonight! 🎉
How’s the Patreon Rollout Going?
I’m so grateful to be able to say it’s going very well!
The response has been so encouraging. It’s amazing how close I immediately feel to every person who steps up as a patron—this emerging partnership and makes me feel very unalone in the work I’m doing. (What’s that you say? “Unalone” isn’t really a word? Eh.)
So let’s talk specifics for a sec: As of this morning, I have 68 patrons who’ve committed to enabling the continuation of Holy Ghost Stories. This is wonderful.
Now—I realize, of course, in the age of internet virality and millions of views on YT videos, that “68 patrons” may sound…underwhelming. To be clear: it is not. A click or a view (or a 30-minute listen in my case) is one thing. Someone, on the other hand, ponying up their hard-earned money on a regular basis to actually pay for quality content they like? This, in the internet age, is a much rarer thing. And at the rate things are going (you guys are jumping in at every level of support on Patreon), those 68 people’s patronage makes a huge impact.
“So how many patrons do you need, Justin?” Great question. My goal is to reach 100 patrons by the end of Season 1. That number will indicate a trajectory of support that will make me feel great about continuing to devote my time and energy to Holy Ghost Stories. If we can get there, there’s no question about a Season 2 (and beyond)—I’ll be all over it.
That means, of course, that we only need a little over 30 more of you lovely people to come on board as patrons before May 3.
We can do this!
You can head over to Patreon and check out the three levels of support: Anecdotalist, Storyteller, and Raconteur—each comes with some great thank-you bonuses. The whole process takes about 2 minutes to complete, so if you want to jump over there right now, I’ll hang out here and wait for you. :)
So When Do Patrons Get Their Bonus Stuff?
If you’re a patron, here’s when you can expect your stuff going forward:
Bonus Episodes:
There’s one up right now! It’s the prequel to the two-part treatment of Esther I did in episodes 7 & 8—a super interesting prelude to Esther’s story (sourced from Esther 1 and also a bit of Herodotus).
Beginning with Season 2, you can expect at least 3 bonus episodes per season. Often they’ll be attached somehow to one of the full episodes, the way this first one is.
Insider Notes: These collections of various historical and textual and storytelling tidbits, embedded within a copy of the full script, will be made available in your Patreon feed the day after each full episode drops. (I might do them for the bonus episodes too if I’m able.)
Discussion Guides: These will be released alongside the Insider Notes the day after each episode drops. They’ll be focused on enabling you (and a group of others, if you’d like) to process the story, turn your attention to possible application, and use the story as a lens through which to get a better look at your Heavenly Father. Great to use in a small group, a Bible class, family devotional, or for personal reflection.
Full Scripts: Same drill—on Tuesday after each episode drops, you’ll be able to head to Patreon to download a pdf of the full script. Enjoy!
Voting on Future Episodes: Between seasons, I’ll ping my patrons about which OT stories they want to hear next, structuring the season accordingly. Just remember, with great power… :)
Swag: Raconteurs get one free merch item of their choice each year—the HGS merch shop will open later this summer (!), and one of whatever’s in there is all yours (on the house) if you’re a Raconteur. I’ll likely batch fulfillment of these patron gifts quarterly.
This means, of course, that tomorrow morning (Tues 4/13) there will be some great stuff waiting for y’all to download over on Patreon. Questions about any of this? Just reply to this email and tell me what you want to know.
Jump in now to grab a free Patron Saint of Storytelling t-shirt or sticker before they go away!
When Does the Next Episode of Holy Ghost Stories Drop?
Today, my friend. It’s ready and waiting for you right now! This one’s a classic OT tale—a jealous mother, a vulnerable woman, and a son who everyone wanted…until no one wanted him.
Any guesses?
Some astute listeners over on Instagram sussed it out: it’s the story of Hagar & Ishmael. What a story of all-too-human drama and all-too-divine intervention.
Take a listen to The Rescuer and the Rejects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, wherever you prefer.
If you’re blessed by it, share it with a friend, would you? You guys have been amazing about sharing this podcast so far and I’m so grateful.
Oh—and if you’re interested in some cool details about the story, there’s a bunch of great stuff in the inaugural issue of Insider Notes coming to patrons tomorrow.
Any Cool Stuff To Share?
Come on—you know I’ve got stuff. Here’s 4 cool stuffs for you:
Go To The Louvre - The Louvre just put 480,000 works of art online for free—amazing.
The Supper of the Lamb - I am loving this book. It’s essentially a faith-oriented love letter to cuisine—the whole thing is just him leading you through a single recipe for lamb. His chapter on slicing the onion was simply fantastic. Well, it was to me.
Entropy Isn’t The Only Game In Town - This video essay on synchronization in nature is fascinating—if you’ve heard the Radiolab piece on fireflies, this pulls on that thread.
“Recipe For Happiness in Khabarovsk Or Anyplace” - What a delightful bit of verse by Lawrence Ferlinghetti:
One grand boulevard with trees
with one grand cafe in sun
with strong black coffee in very small cups.
One not necessarily very beautiful
man or woman who loves you.
One fine day.
That’s it! Hope you have a great week. Enjoy The Rescuer and the Rejects and come join forces with me on Patreon!
Gratefully,
Justin
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