An Introduction for Reasons

A strange thing happened online.

I posted a note. Not strange. On racism and a legacy of privilege and activism. Also, not strange for me. What was strange is that it got a great deal of traction. As of this writing, it has received almost 900 likes and it has been restacked more than 40 times. Suddenly, there are more of you here reading my Substack. It’s wonderful and unnerving at the same time.

So, to all you newcomers, welcome! I am glad you’re here. Let me tell you about myself and what you might find here.

My name is Tripp Hudgins (he/him/all y’all). I’ve done a lot of things. I’m a musician, preacher, teacher, chaplain, and writer. I’m a husband and father. My family and I currently live in Richmond, VA. We attend an Episcopal church and I hold ordination in the American Baptist Churches, USA. That’s a story I need to tell someday. I love both my baptist and Episcopal kin. To pay the bills, I work as a hospice chaplain. It is work that I love.

I have pastored churches in Chicago, IL and Berkeley, CA and taught Middle School science and Spanish as well as seminary courses in liturgy, missiology, and preaching. They are also examples of work that I love.

I have been a professional singer since college (‘92) serving churches across the denominational spectrum… Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Baptist...as a bass/baritone soloist and chorister. I’ve pitched in at the Wild Goose Festival, too. I play guitar, mandolin, and a little banjo. I did not grow up in the church and I often joke that Thomas Tallis and William Byrd evangelized me, but bluegrass keeps me going. And though I have studied the community (think: Michael Gungor and The Liturgists), I do not regularly listen to praise and worship/contemporary Christian music. I have nothing against it. It’s just not my spiritual soundtrack.

Christian spirituality, liturgy, and music are my thing. I’m a novice in the Third Order Society of St. Francis. I’m Southern white and cis male. I endeavor to be anti-racist and LBGTQ+ affirming. I believe they are Christian postures to address some of the social ills of our time. I write from that perspective, but I write about my life. Think of it as spiritual memoir from a progressive in the South.

I’m also a diabetic and bipolar. So, I bring that into the mix as well.

Something like that.

I’ve been online since The Before Times (beginning 1999). I was on Blogger. Then there were the AngloBaptist.org years. I’ve written online for Sojourners and The Christian Century. I’ve been published in academic journals as well. I’m addicted to social media. And that’s kind of how I understand Substack. If Blogger and MySpace had a baby…? Ha!

You can expect one or two posts a week, typically Wednesday and Saturday. I don’t maintain any kind of differentiation between paid or free subscriptions. So, what you see is what you get. Every blue moon, I podcast here.

I believe that these posts are part of a conversation. I’m not writing ex cathedra here. I’m opening up a conversation with you all. I’m hoping for questions and shared experiences. I legitimately want to know how you feel and think about the same things I’m sharing.

Again, I am glad you are here. If you wish to know anything else, let me know.

Be excellent to each other.

Me doing musical things…