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Tanya Marlow

@tanyamarlow.bsky.social
420 followers 140 following 117 posts

Writer, lecturer (pastoral theology), speaker. Author of Those Who Wait (+ more). Writing on Christian #faith, trauma, #disability & #chronic illness, Bible. Housebound w/ M.E. #MyalgicE. Spirituality, suffering, soc justice & all the big questions.

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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
@seanwdoherty.bsky.social congrats on the new position! Exciting times.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Terrible news: the Court of Appeal has just ruled that the Government’s ban on Palestine Action is lawful. PA is now likely to lodge an appeal before the Supreme Court. So the mass arrests of peaceful people sitting with cardboard signs will continue. Because that is what terrorism looks like ...
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
I’ve been thinking about how this social media ban will likely disadvantage chronically ill, neurodivergent and housebound children. YouTube has so many resources for home education, social skills learning, and entertainment in smaller chunks for those with low concentration. 1/2
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Church ministers and service leaders: If anyone is looking for a poem for a Palm Sunday service, feel free to use mine (with attribution). tanyamarlow.substack.com/p/a-sonnet-f...
tanyamarlow.substack.com
A Sonnet for Palm Sunday
With a side helping of spring joy
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
I was so moved by Timothy’s story when I first heard it. Today, this encourages me to pray for the impossible instead of giving in to cynicism. www.odbm.org/en-GB/devoti...
odbm.org
Prayers For The Impossible
In a Chinese prison cell, Timothy wept. The first time he had fled North Korea, he...
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
I keep asking myself: if this happened in Britain, would we protest like Minnesota? Like Iranians? Would we inconvenience ourselves, or even risk our lives, for the sake of others? On Holocaust Memorial Day, I am sitting with this challenge.
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
SO excited! My very own Jon is speaking at Canterbury Cathedral about the controversial graffiti art exhibition. He's such a good speaker! Please do go if you can and spread the word! 11 Feb, 11:00–13:00, Cathedral Community Studio, CT1 2EH. Free lunch. www.canterbury-cathedral.org/whats-on/eve...
canterbury-cathedral.org
11Feb26 Faith, Culture, and the Arts Seminar | Canterbury Cathedral
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
In today’s devotion I mention @chinemcdonald.bsky.social’s relatable experience and look at one thing you might try when you experience shame. www.odbm.org/en-GB/devoti...
odbm.org
A Surprising Cure For Shame
Chine felt like she was going mad. It was 3 a.m., and her baby had been crying for...
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
This was absolutely fascinating. If you know someone with ADHD who hates meditative prayer, here’s the brain science behind it.
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
I am delighted to announce that I am one of the contributors to this beautiful book paying tribute to Rachel Held Evans. It gathers together many of her essays about deconstructing faith, doubt, and what the church needs to learn, with her characteristic intelligence and passion. Do preorder it now!
Book cover - turquoise book on sunshine yellow background. Author is Rachel Held Evans. Title is Braving the Truth - essential essays for reckoning with and reimagining faith. Coming February 24,2026 from Harper One. Small picture of book entitled Braving the truth with a list of contributors. Sarah Bessey, Jen Hatmaker, Shauna Niequist, Glennon Doyle, Shane Claiborne, Amanda Held Opelt, Shannon Dingle, Kaitlin Curtice, Winnie Varghese and Tanya Marlow are among the contributors.
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Jenna DeWitt (she/her) @jennadewitt.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
So excited for this! If you have heard of Rachel Held Evans but only read her books, this one is essential reading. These essays are why we have all we do today. open.substack.com/pub/sarahbes...
open.substack.com
Announcing: Braving the Truth
For the first time, Rachel Held Evans' online essays will be available in a book
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SCM Press @scmpress.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
2. Tim Goode investigates how inherited and contemporary notions of perfection have distorted Christian theology 'As a disabled Christian, I applauded every word of this... an urgent, prophetic message the whole church needs to hear' @tanyamarlow.bsky.social scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/978033...
An endorsement quote from Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford:
Breaking, not Broken issues a strong and at time uncomfortable challenge, shining a light on an important area of our shared life that we should not ignore. Tim Goode is opening up a long overdue conversation and inviting us into deeper understanding. This is a book born of pain but full of hope for the possibility of transformation, not just for disabled people but for the whole church.
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
We disbelieve the women. We blame ethnic minorities. We kill the prophets. My latest newsletter - how Celebrity Traitors reveals more about us than we’d like to believe - and what to do about it. (NB Even if you haven’t seen Traitors, you’ll want to read this.) open.substack.com/pub/tanyamar...
open.substack.com
Celebrity Traitors and Curious Scapegoating
And how on earth do we defeat evil?
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
In case you missed this devotion i wrote back in September for Our Daily Bread - Prodigal Perfectionists www.odbm.org/en-GB/devoti...
odbm.org
Prodigal Perfectionists
Outwardly, successful Olympic track athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone looked rock ...
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Many medics need reminding (or informing) of this - No Evidence that Graded Exercise Supports Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - Miriam Tucker. This is also important in Long Covid - many with LC also meet the criteria for M.E. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...
medscape.com
No Evidence Supports Using Graded Exercise for ME/CFS
Studies examining the effects of activity-based interventions haven’t required post-exertional malaise as a core criterion for the now-termed ‘myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.’
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Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
This is how. Every Dem, please, this is how. EVERYONE in the media, please!!
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
Can times of illness and suffering ever be viewed as pilgrimage? Check out - and share - my latest Substack - Pilgrimage and Inner Journeys. open.substack.com/pub/tanyamar...
open.substack.com
Pilgrimage and Inner Journeys
When your spiritual walk is full of mud
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Amen to this - Bishop calls on Christians to reclaim England flag from ‘toxic tide of racism’ www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
theguardian.com
Bishop calls on Christians to reclaim England flag from ‘toxic tide of racism’
Arun Arora, bishop of Kirkstall, says Christians should not be ‘neutral in the face of violence and injustice’
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
open.substack.com/pub/tanyamar...
open.substack.com
Incredible Women - Webinar 17 September
Watch me be a panellist for a discussion on women's pain
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
I’m pleased to announce I will be a panellist next week - Weds 17 September, 18:30 BST, for a 1 hour webinar on the reasons why women’s pain is ignored, dismissed or denied (based on Eilidh Galbraith’s research). If you are a medic, or are a woman who knows pain, do join us for the discussion!
Speakers Eilidh Galbraith, Charli Clement, Natalie Busari and Tanya Marlow - a panel to discuss issues arising from Eilidh’s book, Incredible Women. For a copy of the Teams link, please message me.
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
The state of the world deserves righteous anger. But I do reserve a petty fury in my heart for @netflix.com who didn’t renew Kaos for a 2nd season. IT IS SO GOOD that I applaud after each episode. Watch series 1. Then let the longing for series 2 consume you. We will storm Netflix’s gates together
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 06/08/2025
Scientists find link between genes and ME/chronic fatigue syndrome
theguardian.com
Scientists find link between genes and ME/chronic fatigue syndrome
Large study suggests people’s genetics could ‘tip the balance’ on whether they would develop the illness Scientists have found the first robust evidence that people’s genes affect their chances of developing myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a mysterious and debilitating illness that has been neglected and dismissed for decades by many in the medical community. Early findings from the world’s largest study into the genetics of the condition pinpointed eight regions of the human genome that were substantially different in people with an ME/CFS diagnosis compared to those without the illness. Continue reading...
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DecodeME @decodemestudy.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
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Graphic 1 of 4. DecodeME: The Results graphic. The slide says: ‘The signals discovered are involved in the immune and nervous systems, indicating immunological and neurological causes to this poorly understood disease’.Graphic 2 of 4. DecodeME: The Results graphic. The slide says: ‘At least two of the signals relate to the body’s response to infection’. Beneath this is an image of green germs.Graphic 3 of 4. DecodeME: The Results graphic. The slide says: ‘Other signals point to the nervous system, one of which researchers previously found in people experiencing chronic pain, reinforcing neurological contributions to ME/CFS’. Beneath this is an image of a person curled up in bed feeling ill.Graphic 4 of 4. DecodeME: The Results graphic. The slide says ‘All of these signals align with how people with ME/CFS describe their illness’.
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DecodeME @decodemestudy.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
(1/2) Key genetic differences found in people with ME/CFS > Swipe to find out more. These findings reflect the lived experience of thousands of #pwME. Thanks to all our participants & supporters who made this possible! Read a summary of our results: shorturl.at/pgsjk
Graphic 1 of 4. DecodeME: The Results graphic. At the top in bold lettering, it says ‘Main Findings’. Beneath this it says ‘Your genes contribute to your chances of developing ME/CFS. Other key findings are on the following slides.Graphic 2 of 4. DecodeME: The Results graphic. The slide says ‘People with an ME/CFS diagnosis have significant genetic differences in their DNA compared to the general population’. Beneath this is an image of a DNA helix and a magnifying glass.Graphic 3 of 4. DecodeME: The Results graphic. The slide says ‘These lie in many places across the genome, and do not impact just one gene’. Beneath this is an image of a DNA helix and graphs.Graphic 4 of 4. DecodeME: The Results graphic. The slide says ‘Eight genetic signals have been identified. As DNA doesn’t change with ME/CFS onset, these findings reflect causes rather than effects of ME/CFS’. Beneath this is a blue magnifying glass with a DNA helix.
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
For anyone in a season of hiddenness, who feels forgotten. My latest devotion for Our Daily Bread: www.odb.org/2025/07/21/g...
odb.org
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
If you’ve read or heard of The Salt Path, read this. If a memoir claims to be unflinchingly honest, it really should be. And if the nature of Moth’s illness is wrong, it’s very important that other sufferers realise they can’t walk their way back to health. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk
The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ...
Penniless and homeless, the Winns found fame and fortune with the story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. We can reveal that the truth behind it is ve...
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Frances Ryan @francesryan.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
With just over a week to go to the vote to cut disability benefits, now is the best time to write to your MP to ask them to vote against. @z2ktrust.bsky.social have created a helpful tool that enables you to enter your postcode and use a pre-written letter: z2k.eaction.org.uk/cuts-legisla...
z2k.eaction.org.uk
Ask your MP to vote against dangerous cuts to disability benefits
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Frances Ryan @francesryan.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
It’s predictable but terribly bleak to see U.K. politicians defend Trump’s Iran strikes. There will be endless attempts to justify it, as there were for Israel’s assaults on Gaza. And yet the truth is, it is the result of two men who are authoritarians, bored, and take pleasure in warfare and death.
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
There’s something slightly magical here. Carolyn Whitney-Brown presents a meticulously researched article on how watching trapeze artists impacted Henri Nouwen’s spirituality. Free from Sojourners today - 22 June only. sojo.net/magazine/jul...
sojo.net
Why Henri Nouwen Fell in Love With the Trapeze
Daring to have spiritual lives that swing toward freewheeling motion, community inclusion, and humor.
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
Important M.E. study here. But I long for us to move on from headlines that say “this proves ME is not ‘all in your head’” to headlines like “Breakthrough in ME using biomarkers for targeted treatment to different M.E. phenotypes”. I fear we’re still decades away from anything like that. #MyalgicE
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
With so much tribalism amongst Christians today, this is my challenge - Peace with Enemy Christians (for Our Daily Bread) www.odbm.org/en-GB/devoti...
odbm.org
Peace with Enemy Christians
The 2003 World Cup rugby match between Samoa and South Africa was most memorable f...
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
“If you feel inadequate to serve God, perhaps especially because of your body, draw comfort in God’s calling of Moses.” My latest devotion for Our Daily Bread Europe: odb.org.uk/2025/05/15/c...
odb.org.uk
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
This is why disabled people are worried.
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
"God is not the police officer of our emotions, telling us what we should or shouldn’t be feeling sad about. God is the refuge, the safe place, the private space where we can be honest and unvarnished." My latest Substack: Little Disappointments and the Love of God open.substack.com/pub/tanyamar...
open.substack.com
Little Disappointments and the Love of God
5 kneejerk Christian responses – and what really helps
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Donations have been coming in - please keep them coming!
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
Just heard that Pope Francis has died, though he managed to deliver his Easter address yesterday. I imagine, as a Pope, he would be grateful that his very last sermon was on Easter Sunday. From preaching about life after death, to experiencing it himself, in quick succession.
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
I’m also grateful for the glorious service at Canterbury Cathedral today, where I joined from my bed and sang ‘Thine Be The Glory’ with my still-healing voice. Bishop Rose preached up a storm and the choir was heavenly. Thanks to all who broadcast online services - we are really grateful.
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
Today I heard testimonies from members of St Matt’s church, Plymouth. They told honest stories of real issues - mental illness battles, loneliness, lostness, addictions - and every single young person could say that Jesus had transformed their life. Pockets of hope and resurrection on Easter Day.
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
Wishing everyone a happy Easter, especially those who are mired in deep disappointment, those who feel increasingly rejected by society, and those carrying all kinds of grief. Like the couple on the road to Emmaus, may Jesus walk beside you, even as you feel utterly abandoned.
Two daffodils, with white petals and a yellow centre, against a black background.
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
I was feeling inspired by Spring - here’s a dose of thought-provoking wisdom from the one and only Jon Marlow, along with a poem to soothe your soul. open.substack.com/pub/tanyamar...
open.substack.com
A Sonnet for Palm Sunday
With a side helping of spring joy
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
“I’m close to breaking this record. The record of a man who tried to block the rights on which I stand. But I’m not here because of his speech. I’m here DESPITE his speech. I’m here because the people were more powerful than his speech.” -Sen Cory Booker
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
“We have all been in the same storm, but we are not all in the same boat. For some of us, nothing is over. There is before, there is during, but there is no after.” Do share my new Substack on differently-shaped hope for those who feel left behind: open.substack.com/pub/tanyamar...
open.substack.com
Bad Anniversaries and Silenced Grief
Differently-shaped hope for those who've been left behind
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Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 24/03/2025
Roses are red Whales are gigantic I texted the war plans To the Atlantic - P. Hegseth
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Frances Ryan @francesryan.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
“I can’t sleep, I’m so scared.” My report in tomorrow’s Guardian on the disability benefit cuts “domino effect”: losing PIP will see unpaid carers lose their benefits too - pulling away two main strands of a family’s income at once. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
theguardian.com
‘I can’t sleep, I’m so scared’: disabled people face benefit cuts domino effect
Three people tell how knock-on impact of losing Pip on carer’s allowance and other benefits will affect their families
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
@francesryan.bsky.social Wanted to bring your attention to new ONS survey, ‘Shaping Tomorrow’, about employment. It has absolutely no category of thought for permitted work on ESA and wants to measure ‘satisfaction in life’ & ‘I feel like I do worthwhile things’ along with measuring your employment.
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Beware the latest Office for National Statistics questionnaire about employment, which has several odd, leading questions that are very narrow and offer no clarification. Looks like trying to prove that people too ill to work aren’t ’motivated’ to look for work or need extra qualifications.
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Frances Ryan @francesryan.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
For anyone struggling tonight x
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Stef Benstead @stefbenstead.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
Benefits and Work have done a really good piece here, looking at what the DWP is and isn't consulting on. It isn't consulting on the major issues: scrapping WCA; PIP Daily Living & UC Health Element; freezing UC HE until 2029/30; 4-point criterion for PIP www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/dwp-lau...
benefitsandwork.co.uk
DWP launches entirely bogus Green Paper consultation
Get the benefits you're entitled to: help with personal independence payment (PIP), universal credit (UC), employment and support allowance (ESA),disability living allowance (DLA). Claims, assessments...
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
Especially for those affected by the disability benefit cuts, but also anyone dealing with deep disappointment. Here's my latest Substack post, with a special spiritual exercise. Do subscribe and share. Gutted – Spiritual consolation for deep disappointment: open.substack.com/pub/tanyamar...
open.substack.com
Gutted
Spiritual consolation for deep disappointment
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Tanya Marlow @tanyamarlow.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
For the record, severe mental illness is incredibly disabling, and should not be pitted against physical disability. Telling them to work will not cure them. It could cause them to end their life. There should be no discrimination against those disabled by mental illness or neurodivergence.
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