The last day of the year is a good moment to reflect on this project. When I started this in December 2024, I had a few ideas but no fixed plan. I used this year to experiment and to get feedback from readers. In this brief post, I’ll share what I did, my thoughts on it, and what I plan to do in 2026.
What I did in 2025
- I posted a couple of (longer) reflections and a few short notes about culture, faith and the future of Europe. I posted without a rhythm, usually inspired by external events. This is not really satisfying and I intend to change this in 2026, but more on that later.
- In February / March, I hosted an online reading group in which we read some articles and book chapters. I am in two minds about this experiment. I really enjoyed some of our discussions, but I found the organisational side of it really draining.
- In May / June, I organised an Online Pilgrimage in five parts with a small group of participants. Based on feedback and some other research, I believe that this Pilgrimage has the potential to become a standalone digital course or perhaps a book. This winter, I will invest some time in updating and rewriting it, with a potential release in time for Lent 2026.
- In November, I gave a talk at the Breakwater conference. It was great to present parts of my research in this form. It was well received, and some of the discussions will lead to more blog posts.
What Europe At Midnight will be in 2026
In general, I am happy with Europe At Midnight as a platform for thinking out loud about culture, faith and the future of Europe.
In 2025, I discovered that I struggle with two things (readers, I struggle with many more things, but these two are relevant for this blog.)
I am not a perfectionist, but I have high standards. This means that I am not easily satisfied with what I do. As a result, I publish far less than I could and probably should. In 2026 I intend to publish something at least twice a month, even if it is not (quite) ‘ready.’ Those who have subscribed to Europe At Midnight should receive an email on the first and third Friday of every month.
Another problem is that I am wasting time on ‘social media.’ In what is (by far!) the most popular article of the year, I wrote:
The truth is, I just noticed that I don’t read as much as I want to, I don’t care as deeply as I should, and I don’t feel as excited as I once was about thinking, thanking, and the poetry of life.
Today, December 31, I will delete my Facebook and Twitter accounts and that should give me more time to write here.
The ideal for 2026 is to write a steady stream of imperfect but interesting articles about faith and culture. In addition, 2026 will be the year of guest appearances of some friends who are doing work worth sharing.
What does this mean for you as a reader?
If you get this post by email, you can look forward to more. I hope you enjoy it! You can help me in two particular ways:
- Keep me focused by providing feedback. I appreciate hearing from readers, and I can use your support.
- If you find these posts useful, you can likely think of a few friends or colleagues who would also be interested. Please share this email widely, so that it reaches the right people. Thank you!
That is all for this year. Thank you for joining me on this journey. I look forward to the next part. Happy New Year!