Welcome to another installment of Weekly Wrapped.
If you are new here, this is basically like virtually grabbing a cup of coffee with me and I share with you about everything I am reading, watching and thinking about. Rather than avoiding anything stained by the world, here at Jenna’s Column, we seek to find glimpses of the good in all things.
I post every Monday and alternate between these recommendation posts and longer form pieces about Gen Z and faith. Subscribe to stay tuned!
Hi friends! We have a lot of new faces around here, so if you have a minute, please leave a comment introducing yourself. I would love to *virtually* meet you.
Speaking of new faces, if you do not know me very well yet, I have a nifty about me page on my feed as well as a longer post introducing myself that you can check out.
I am super excited to say that we have hit my first more significant milestone on here, 500 subscribers! I am so, so grateful and excited to continue to cultivate a community here on Substack.
It is so surreal not coming on here with a platform from elsewhere and getting to this point. God is so kind, and thank you, reader, for faithfully reading (and sharing) my words.
I have a lot of ideas for ways to serve you all in the coming months with great resources and content. One of them is an Instagram page to coincide with this newsletter, so you can get more stuff from me that way.
More details on that to come! (YAY)
Writing
Articles, Substack Posts/Notes & Poems that I want to show you!
Interviews with CT’s Young Storytellers
Last year, I participated in Christianity Today’s NextGen program, which is a program dedicated to raising up the next generation of storytellers in the church.
Hannah Glad, the administrative superstar behind the program, put together an incredible piece about the program, including interviews from each of the fellows in the program.
The program was a mix of meetings with folks like Karen Swallow Prior and Jon Tyson and hearing their insights on creativity, vocation and faith, hanging out in-person on memorable trips, virtual bookclubs and more.
I truly treasure the group of friends I made during those six months and still think about (and talk to) them regularly. These folks make me grateful that we live in such an overly connected world, because at the drop of a hat I can talk to rebecca ince or Elijah Ramzy even if they are across the country from me.
My friend Mary Spaar Putrasahan did all of the illustrations in the piece, which are absolutely magnificent!!!!!!!!!!!
Applications for the program are open! If you are looking for a place to grow in your creative practice and faith alongside other young believers, I highly recommend applying.
New Data reflecting Gen Z’s church attendance being higher than Gen X’s and Millennials.
This is SO exciting to see from my generation. More reflection on this to come!
Reading
Books I recently read or am reading (sometimes a review) and a recommendation from my library. Let’s be friends on GoodReads!
Read
I talked about this in last week’s wrapped, if you want to read the synopsis. I LOVED this book. I rated it 5 stars on GoodReads. I am not keen to recommend it to everybody, especially if you do not enjoy the reading experience of being in the POV of somebody crazy.
I personally, can not get enough of insane main characters! I love it! It felt so refreshing to read such an honest and unsanitized account of somebody’s innermost thoughts, and it truly helped me understand how somebody really could steal somebody’s novel about it and publish it under their own name. Even if I say I would never do that.
The novel also contains a lot of commentary on cultural appropriation, but not in a way that was too in-your-face, but actually caused a lot of reflection on my end. Sometimes I can feel ill-equipped to engage with conversations like that, but after reading this novel, I feel like I have learned a little more about this topic, which I think is super important. If you have any books you recommend about being a culturally competent person (Christian-specific would be great too) leave your recs in the comments.
Currently Reading
I am about 3% of the way through this book, according to my Kindle so I am unsure I will be able to do a quick summary of it justice. But after doing a quick google search I am sure I can.
The Atlas Six is a novel, specifically a fantasy one with a sprinkle of dark academia (if you don’t know what that is, just think Dead Poets Society). It follows six characters (I have only met 4 so far), all of whom are talented magicians competing for a place in the secretive Alexandrian society (????).
I am excited about this one, especially because I have had a Harry Potter-shaped hole in my heart since finishing the series earlier this spring. I will be sure to review it once I am finished with it!
Book recommendation
I wanted to add this section to my ‘reading’ section because it often takes me a few weeks to finish a book and I do not always have fresh material for you. So, I will be recommending a book for you on here every other week as well!
Everything I know About Love by Dolly Alderton
If you are chronically online, you probably recognize the cover and/or the title of this memoir. Dolly Alderton takes us through growing up, getting older and everything in between. The style of this book is conversational, witty and funny and I deeply enjoyed it.
I have a difficult time rating and reviewing books after immediately finishing them, because I find that my favorites are the ones I am still thinking about months or years later. I did not love this book because Dolly gave the best advice (oftentimes she did not) but the authentic reflections and vulnerability.
This book is perfect for a young reader who is a little lost or unsure about an area of their life. Through Dolly’s witty dialogue and cringeworthy moments, you can see yourself in her, and hopefully find some solace that you really do not need to have everything figured out in your 20s.
Appreciating
Mostly music and movies. Let’s be friends on LetterBoxd.
Music
Below is a collection of all of the songs from my monthly playlists from January-March this year, the Q1 Roundup. I love pop music, but you will also find some rock, folk, some indie (and some Wicked…)
Movies
Thunderbolts
This week, my husband and I saw Thunderbolts, the new Marvel movie. The last few Marvel films have been unbelievably bad (I am looking at you, Captain America: Brave New World) that I forgot the magic Marvel feeling I used to get after seeing those superheroes do cool stuff.
This movie is by no means perfect, but it was entertaining and actually was centered around a meaningful theme, the loneliness epidemic. It also includes a fun crew of misfits, which is always fun, especially when it includes Florence Pugh. Marvel movies, in an attempt to maintain cultural relevance, have often catered too much to their fans, and being politically correct, which has made the recent films lack some serious luster.
Thunderbolts had,
Cool fight scenes
Commentary on the loneliness epidemic
The power of community
Reconciliation/forgiveness
Florence Pugh being awesome
A superhero named Bob
If you are intrigued, go see it! I dare you!
Pondering
Pilate Washing His Hands
This photo of Pilate washing his hands before sending Christ to his execution has been burned into my brain since I came across it last week. It looks as if he is breaking the fourth wall, staring at the viewer.
I find this perspective of Pilate refreshing, because I almost feel pity for him. The artist paints him with such a distinct perspective. I feel the weight of his guilt as I look into his eyes. Do you?
Thank you for reading this week’s piece. I publish every Monday.
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Your friend,
It was wonderful to meet with you all!
I enjoyed your music playlist! Tfs