Breadcrumbs and Book Club

I’m betting that since you’re reading this, you resonate with feeling in the middle of something: a faith shift, a life shift, a body shift, a “wait… do I even believe what I used to believe?” shift.

Because it’s the start of a new year (and I’m feeling a little tender about it), I want to reintroduce myself and tell you what’s coming down the pipeline in 2026—so you know who’s writing to you, why I’m writing, and what you can expect when you open these emails.

Who I am (and why I’m worth listening to)

I’m Chelsea. I’m a writer, meditation teacher, and community-builder—and I spend most of my time working to help people who are disentangling faith from patriarchy and trying to build something true on the other side.

I arrived here after 10 years of wrestling with God. Everything I share is because I first needed to hear it. I grew up with a version of Christianity that taught me to mistrust my body, my questions, and my inner knowing… and then I became a mom and realized I couldn’t pass that inheritance down.

So I started doing the slow, painful work: unlearning, listening to myself, rebuilding, practicing.

I’ve taught meditation since 2016. I’ve facilitated support groups for women deconstructing for the past 3 years. Since 2019, I've co-led a small neighborhood faith community that’s been learning how to practice belonging for over a decade. And I’m writing my first book book (Faithfully Dissident Daughters, coming September 2026 from Westminster John Knox Press) about deconstruction, embodiment, motherhood, the Divine Feminine in Christianity, and what it looks like to reclaim Christian womanhood beyond patriarchy—without abandoning yourself in the process.

I will never again be interested in certainty as a performance. I’m interested in honesty that might shatter your whole world, but at least you have a chance at being whole and free.

What you’ll keep getting here in 2026

Here’s what you can expect when you’re subscribed to Rebirth:

• Language for what’s true: essays that help you name what you’re living through—faith transition, grief, anger, belonging, becoming.
• Embodied practices: grounded meditations and reflections that help you come back to your body as a place you can live.
• A more expansive spiritual imagination: inclusive prayer + liturgy, feminist theology, and ways of relating to God that don’t require you to shrink.
• Books + ideas worth chewing on: what I’m reading, what I’m learning, and what I think is worth keeping.
• Invitations to gather and work more deeply with me: ways to practice this work in community, like monthly book club and Soul Support Sessions.
• I'll wrap up my new moon series in March and likely archive those posts, so if you want to save the worksheets, I recommend you take some time to do it now!

What's new for 2026

• Faithfully Dissident Book Club: I'm excited; I hope you'll read with me!
• Breadcrumbs: This will be a paid subscriber email; I'm trying a new format! As I prepare for the release of my book, I'll be sharing a monthly video series following the trail of my own becoming—reading old journals and reflecting on who I was, how I understood God then, what I needed, and what I know now.

If you’re someone who still wants faith but can’t do patriarchy, who’s longing for an expansive spiritual path that allows space for all of you—you’re in the right place.

I’d love for you to hit reply and tell me one thing you’re hoping for in 2026 or one question you keep circling; I read every response. It genuinely helps shape what I write.

With you, Chelsea