BUILDING ON FIRE
Help with the next phase of Pyrotheology
Over the years, Pyrotheology has developed into a large body of courses, talks, books, practices, gatherings and conversations. More importantly, it has become a collective of people trying to think seriously, confront themselves honestly and create spaces in which transformation can take place.
But, for too long, the work has been scattered across an enormous archive. It has not always been clear where to begin, how the different parts fit together or how to move from encountering the ideas to putting them into practice.
Building on Fire is a campaign to bring 150 new and returning members into the Patreon collective and help establish the next phase of Pyrotheology.
More than content
I have never wanted Pyrotheology to become simply another stream of online content.
The aim is to create spaces where we can confront the beliefs, fantasies and practices that organise our lives, and experiment with new ways of thinking, gathering and living.
Inside Patreon, people currently have access to an extensive library of courses, seminars, reflections, book studies, practices and live conversations. These explore philosophy, psychoanalysis, radical theology, politics, love, anxiety, desire, faith and doubt.
But the real value of the Patreon is in being a place where the work continues to develop and where people can engage with it alongside others.
Current membership includes
Regular talks, reflections and seminars
Coffee and Concepts
Pyrotheology courses and teaching series
Book studies and reading groups
The Death of God Supper Club
Decentering and negative practices
Live online gatherings and discussions
Access to the extensive Pyrotheology archive
Opportunities to connect with others engaged in the work
Resources for those bringing these ideas into their own organisations and congregations
Why I am asking you to join now
Although the Patreon contains a huge amount of material, it has grown organically over many years. As a result, it can sometimes feel overwhelming. New members do not always know where to start, and courses and conversations can disappear into the archive.
A central part of this next phase involves bringing Kate Burgess into the development of Pyrotheology.
Kate first encountered Pyrotheology through Atheism for Lent while the certainties that had sustained her faith were beginning to collapse. Rather than providing firmer answers, the course taught her to remain with doubt, uncertainty and unknowing. An experience that has made her particularly attentive to both the transformative and destabilising dimensions of the work.
Her practical involvement began during the pandemic, when she started facilitating conversations between Peter’s weekly sessions. Since then, she has led Pyrotheology 101 groups, book studies, one-to-one courses, decentering practices and online events. She has increasingly become a point of contact for participants who are unsure where to begin, unsettled by the material or seeking to connect the ideas with their own lives.
Kate combines this relational experience with a genuine love of organisation. She excels at finding the underlying shape of complex creative projects and building structures that allow them to function more clearly and consistently. Her work as a doctor also brings extensive experience of listening, translating complexity, maintaining boundaries and accompanying people through difficult material.
Having experienced Pyrotheology both as a participant and facilitator, Kate is uniquely placed to help people enter the work while developing the structures through which it is offered.
Her involvement would help us:
Create clear pathways through the existing courses and archive
Develop a thoughtful onboarding process for new members
Communicate the monthly programme more consistently
Support reading groups, cartels and facilitated discussions
Develop practical resources for leaders and practitioners
Strengthen the connection between the online community and live events
Build structures that do not rely entirely on me
Ensure that the Patreon becomes more coherent, accessible and sustainable
This will help Pyrotheology become less dependent on one individual and more capable of becoming a lasting theory and technology.
The goal
Our first goal is to welcome 150 new or returning paid members.by 1st Novmber
Reaching that number would allow us to:
Bring Kate into the project in a defined part-time role
Reorganise and curate the existing archive
Create a clear “Start Here” pathway
Publish a consistent programme of upcoming events and courses
Strengthen member communication and community support
Begin planning a more regular series of live events
If we reach 250 members, we will be able to expand Kate’s role, increase the live-event budget and develop more resources for facilitators, practitioners and community leaders.
Find your place
Flame - The Threshold - $10
For those who want to enter the community
This is for people who want to follow the development of Pyrotheology, participate in regular gatherings and explore the work without feeling that they have to understand everything in advance.
You will receive access to foundational teaching, community conversations, selected live events and a guided pathway into the archive.
You do not need a background in philosophy, theology or psychoanalysis.
You only need curiosity and a willingness to question the stories that shape your life.
Blaze - School - $25
For those who want to study the work deeply
This is for people who want to engage seriously with the philosophical, psychoanalytic and theological foundations of Pyrotheology.
Alongside everything available at The Threshold, members receive access to the full course library, substantial teaching series, book studies, seminars, practices and deeper live gatherings.
This is the right level for those who want more than occasional inspiration and are interested in sustained intellectual and existential work.
Inferno - Practitioners Circle - $100
For those putting the work into practice
The Practitioners Circle is designed for leaders, facilitators, artists, therapists, clergy, organisers and others who want to bring Pyrotheology into existing communities and practices.
It offers a smaller space for consultation, discussion and practical development.
Members will have opportunities to explore how the ideas can inform gatherings, liturgies, teaching, therapeutic work, artistic practice and community formation.
This is not about reproducing my work or turning Pyrotheology into a fixed method.
It is about learning how to translate the central insights into different contexts responsibly and creatively.
If you are seriously committed to this work but the cost is genuinely beyond your means, contact us about supported access.
Institutional Partner - $200
For those who want to help build the infrastructure
The Institutional Partner level is for organisations and individuals who want to play a significant role in building the future of Pyrotheology.
Your support helps fund staffing, community development, live events, scholarships, new resources and the long-term sustainability of the project.
Institutional Partners receive access to everything offered through the Patreon, along with periodic strategic conversations and opportunities for consultation.
Build the fire with us
Pyrotheology has never been about providing answers that protect us from uncertainty.
It is an invitation to enter more deeply into the contradictions that shape us, and to discover what might become possible when we stop fleeing from them.
The next phase will not be built by me alone.
It will be built by those who believe that this work deserves a clearer structure, a stronger community and a life beyond the limits of one person.
If Pyrotheology has challenged you, disturbed you, sustained you or helped you see your life differently, I invite you to become part of what happens next.
Help us welcome 150 new and returning members.
Help bring Kate into the project.
Help create more live events.
Help build the next phase of Pyrotheology.