Our Collective Becoming

Hi! I’m Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza. I like slow-cooking and the slow pace of the American South, though these days, it’s a hustle and bustle like every other growing city! I like sitting on porches, long and intense conversations, and the vision of another possible world.

This Substack grew out of my growing interest to cultivate community through writing, podcasts, chats, learning journeys, salons, and more. I was an early adopter to Substack after blogging for years while in graduate school. I have been on Twitter since it launched, and so I am deeply shaped by this ‘sound bite’ world, though long for opportunities to dig deep into issues and ideas. So, as I started to write my 2nd book, Body Becoming: A Path to Our Liberation, I began slowly charting my thoughts here — connecting theory to practice.

After using MailChimp to let folks know what I was up to each month (which was my original newsletter where I thought aloud), I discovered Substack and wanted to think aloud with folks and continue to build the discourse around my scholarship + my work as a politicized theologian & public ethicist. Since the entirety of my work revolves around the concept of becoming, I thought I would name my newsletter with an orientation toward our collective becoming. Meaning, we share in the responsibility of charting a collective becoming.

I envision Our Collective Becoming being rooted in relational belonging. I envision a dispersed community that can come together periodically virtually and in person! Keep reading to learn why you should subscribe!

Why subscribe?

Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and website, including the Mighty Networks Community Platform. Never miss an update. There is a paid version of this newsletter that allows me to be in deeper conversation with folks! But, the content is free when you subscibe! To cut down on harassment and bullying, the comments are only open for those who subscribe. There are at least 5 free email newsletters that go out each month, so if you are not a paying subscriber, you will get at least 5 free emails from me!

When you subscribe, you will receive a weekly contemplative thread that will encourage you to practice contemplation and action throughout your week, access to the Substack chat to chat with me and other members of our dispersed community, and you’ll be the first to know when things are happening at Our Collective Becoming. Keep watch for the Mighty Networks email!

You can become a monthly subscriber for $5/month, pay by the year ($50/year); or, becoming a Founding Member of Our Collective Becoming to help cultivate other members who cannot afford $5/month. When I think of Founding members, I am thinking of folks who want to help steward a dispersed community and want to be involved in the creation and evolution of a dispersed community! Does that sound like you? Come sign up to become a Founding Member! Also! If you are a group and want to subscribe to Our Collective Becoming, you can get a 20% discount when 2 or more sign up for a group subscription!

Subscribing is easy!

• $5/month

• $50/yearly

• $210 Founding Members

Perks of Subscribing:

• With a subscription, you get a private community where we can think together and dream dreams for another possible world on Mighty Networks.

• You also get early access to some of the things on which I’m working + Our Collective Becoming Audio Notes, a private, members only, podcast where I will talk with scholars about praxis and action and how to contact the dots between theory and practice!

• Monthly Zoom Chat to connect with other dreamers that will be afternoon/evening salons with a guest. Sometimes these monthly zoom salons will turn into live events, or a live event will spill over into becoming a ritual monthly meet-up for some. We have capacity for a lot.

• 5th Sunday Zoom Booknook Club to share what I’m reading and to learn what others are reading.

Stay up-to-date

You won’t have to worry about missing anything. Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox. And, when you are a subscriber, you have full access to the archive!

Join Our Collective Becoming and be a part of the crew

Be part of a community of people who share your interests. Come imagine with me and others on how to become a better world; a more possible world; a world where belonging and community are materially celebrated!

To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.