It's time to try something different...and so behold: the Layte annual Christmas letter in digital form! Thanks for reading our news. Thanks for sending us yours. Home and Family In March, Paul and I took the dogs to chilly Portland, Maine, to celebrate our 12th anniversary weekend. I got to introduce Paul to Popham Beach, where my mom's side of the family used to vacation when I was a kid. We're grateful for--and continuing to enjoy!--our life together and are looking forward to the next...
4 months ago • 26 min read
Hi friends! This letter is later than I intended, partly due to both work and vacation travel all crammed into about six weeks (with a side of covid), so let's get right to business, starting with the most time-sensitive item first. Special Guest at the Next Outfitters' Gathering! I really hope you can make our next zoom gathering, which is October 30th at 7PM Eastern. I'm excited to welcome BJ Thompson, Build a Better Us CEO, to our call that night, so that you can learn a little bit more...
7 months ago • 4 min read
Remember Disposable Flashes? On film cameras? No? Well, now you know how old I am. That, however, is not what I'm giving away. It's time for the monthly Jennifer A G Layte/Pilgrimage giveaway! But it feels really weird to do a giveaway during Holy Week, so this one's going to be QUICK. (That is, it's happening "in a flash." I'm not making myself seem younger, am I?) Here's what you need to know: Giveaway Goal - 50 new newsletter subscribers in April Giveaway Prize - One of my hand illustrated...
about 2 years ago • 2 min read
Jenn's Stories March 2023 Edition I forget where I heard--or maybe read--this, but one time someone suggested that rather than "What would Jesus do?" a better question is "What would Jesus do if He were me?" Our God-given contexts, personalities, limitations, and abilities--in short, our identities--actually make a difference in how we might express "what Jesus would do" in any given situation. Lately the topics of identity and wholeness have been looming large in these parts--both on...
about 2 years ago • 4 min read
Jenn's Stories - February 2023 Some of my best childhood summer memories involve body surfing in the Atlantic with my grandmother. Body surfing is fun, and also my grandmother was fun. We would rush into the waves, watch for one that looked promising, turn our backs to it while still watching it over our shoulders, and clasp hands. Then, just as it seemed like it was going to crash over our heads, we'd jump, and the wave would carry us, breathless and laughing, back to shore. As I grew up and...
about 2 years ago • 4 min read
What Is Even Going On Right Now? Be honest. How many times have you asked or heard someone ask that question in the last four years? I suspect for those of us in or adjacent to churches, that question has an additional layer of meaning as we watching things occuring in corners--or entire sanctuaries--of churches which we didn't think were supposed to be a part of Jesus-based faith and practice. Then there are those who try to come up with answers to those questions: People are just looking...
about 2 years ago • 1 min read
I have questions, and I think you can help with some answers! Originally I was going to send this email only to those people who donate financially to the Pilgrimage. Then I realized I am actually trying to do a little bit of real research which would benefit from a greater cross-section of people, so if you're reading this note, it and the survey at the end, are for you! Thanks in large part to the 2020 phenomenon, #WeirdChristianTwitter, the Pilgrimage has been growing a bit this year, and...
over 3 years ago • 1 min read
There was a discussion on Twitter recently regarding whether there is such thing as a fixed "core" identity, or whether identity is more fluid than that. It's an interesting question, but I haven't really thought it through, and it wasn't my conversation. Still, I jumped in anyway, with a story: Recently I was on a walk with a friend around a pond. We were talking about how our individual perspectives on our own life events change, the further out we get from them. I observed (as we sat on a...
almost 4 years ago • 1 min read