Everyone’s saying it. These are uncertain times. As our founding editors once wrote, “At every historical moment, the contemporary is afflicted by the crippling conceit of its utter novelty. We hope First Things will be an antidote to that intellectual and moral disease.” This continues to be our hope today, but we acknowledge that there is much rethinking and rebuilding to be done.
My second year as a Junior Fellow has been an eventful one, with intellectual retreats in Washington, D.C., and New York City; an office move; an absorbing Erasmus Lecture by N. T. Wright in October; and a transition to remote work due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Thanks to COVID-19, institutions around the world have had to alter their daily operations. For First Things, this has meant finding new ways to connect with readers from afar. We recently held a Zoom panel on “Covid and Religious Life,” and last week we hosted a virtual intellectual retreat on Josef Pieper’s Faith, Hope, Love. We are adapting, and for the means to do so, we are thankful. Some of the most memorable moments during my tenure as a Junior Fellow have involved interactions with our readers. Though we are temporarily unable to speak in person, it is always a gift when my job involves talking with our loyal supporters.
n
It’s a momentous time for both the world and the magazine. This is our thirtieth year of publication. I feel the weight of our legacy as we move into an unexpected future, uncertain of what will happen in our country and around the globe. First Things will strive to address whatever comes with care and an ultimate commitment to “the things that are above.”
nIf you have supported First Things in the past, thank you. It is support like yours that helps fund not just the magazine in your mailbox, but our educational programs and the fellowship that brought me here. If you appreciate what you read, or have benefited from our programming, please consider making a donation now.
n
First Things depends on its subscribers and supporters. Join the conversation and make a contribution today.
Click here to make a donation.
Click here to subscribe to First Things.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Zone of Commitment
Neal climbs up to join me at the belay. Moving quickly, he kicks the front points of…
A Culture of Parricide
I learned a new word the other day: déploration. It’s the French, directly from the Latin, for “lament.”…
Job and Her
It is said that Job lost everything, but she has lost more. All her possessions—the money, the…
