About CoB’s Creation Diary
A diary of the trials & tribulations of creating a Church and Religious Charity dedicated to the Ritual Sacrifice of money.
What is Church of Burn?
We’re a Church where people come to burn their money.
From the first Mass Burn in 2015, through our annual events at The Cockpit, London, to The Secret Garden Party in 2022, we deliver a radical, immersive and transcendent experience.
We’re not affiliated with any Religion. We don’t own a pointy building. We’re a Church in the truest sense of the word; a gathering instituted by and assembled around a Sacred Act of Ritual Sacrifice.
Our Church’s mission is to change money by changing our relationship to money. We believe humankind’s most intractable problems are rooted in this dysfunctional relationship.
Money only exists in the material world because it first exists in our heads. We are the wellspring of every penny.
We must understand that a change in our relationship to money will not come from rational argument or intellect alone. Nor will not come from shoring up moral and legal strictures around money’s use.
Deep change requires embodied transformation. We must act ourselves into a new way of thinking rather than think ourselves into a new way of acting.
This is what Charlie Waterhouse (Extinction Rebellion, Brixton Pound) says about us;
“ Church of Burn is a portal into a glorious world we’re not supposed to see. Where money’s power is revoked, reclaimed and reassigned. A sacrificial rite that rewrites our failing modern world. For once one has burnt money, what else is possible? ”
What is CoB’s Creation Diary?
Our Church thrives on Ritual.
Every burn marks the transformation of an individual's relationship to money. This is the absolute bedrock of what we do.
But it is also possible to create change at an institutional level, too.
Our long term goal is for Church of Burn to become a bona fide Religious Charity. This will legally privilege Money Burning (and other forms of destruction & negation) which has far reaching implications.
So, CoB’s Creation Diary is about;
the creation of Church of Burn events in 2024 and beyond.
our progress toward registering as a Religious Charity.
the problems we encounter in trying to fulfil our mission.
the solutions we envisage to overcome those problems.
how we present our ideas and practices to the public.
how we connect with a wider congregation.
And most importantly CoB’s Creation Diary is the place where people with the vision to see the value and potential of Church of Burn can come together to help and support us in our mission.
Who is writing this?
My name is Jonathan Harris.
I am the High Priest of Church of Burn, Holder of The Staff [All Hail, The Staff!], and Keeper of the Thanatos Stone. The flourishing of humanity rests on the magic mediated through these earthly incarnations. Our collective capacity to honour them as blessings of the Divine Spirit will determine humanity’s fate. I am and will remain a humble Servant of Melusine.
I’m also an unemployed delivery driver.
Which is great. Because let me tell you, creating a Church dedicated to money burning, serving Melusine and all the rest of it while holding down a full-time job has been a really tough gig. Redundancy was a huge gift.
Prior to my decade plus of delivery driving work I did other things.
I’m a graduate of the London School of Economics and I’m still very much in touch with the academic side of things - giving talks and attending conferences.
Before Church of Burn my other big ‘life-project’ was Naturalsex. Alongside my Ex, I won an Erotic Award in 2002. I’ve also been a Tour Manager for musicians, actors and other creatives - you’ll know some of them. That’s the job I left in order to follow the money burning path that led to Church of Burn.
I’m a Dad to two grown-up kids. Son to an elderly mother. Brother to two siblings. And I cohabit with a 20 year-old cat called Nelson.
Okay, I’m interested. Give Me Your Pitch.
Thanks. Here goes. (I’m writing this in January 2024, by the way).
I feel like I’ve been given an opportunity to make a change in the world. And I desperately want to take it.
My redundancy has allowed me to focus full time on making that change. I’ve done immeasurably more in the last three months than in the previous twelve.
I’d like to continue dedicating myself to Church of Burn. But I can’t do that without your financial support. I’d love to be in a privileged, house-owning, private-income position but I’m not.
In 2022 I took three months off work to get Church of Burn to The Secret Garden Party. Then from September 2022 to October 2023 I worked six days a week to pay for those three months. This meant we weren’t able to hold an event in 2023.
We need Church of Burn to be living and breathing in the present moment. We must hold at least one event this year. If I’m forced to return to full-time paid work, I worry that won’t happen. So we’re on something of a precipice, at the moment.
I know that the idea of a Church dedicated to burning money seems off-the-wall, unconventional, outside-the-box thinking, strange, zany, crazy even. If you don’t believe that the world is in dire need of new ideas - ideas that by their nature will seem off-the-wall, unconventional, etc - then please don’t waste your time reading any further.
But if you believe we need to try what’s never been tried before. And you’d like to be part of bring that to life. Then I have a suggestion for you.
I don’t think the question you should ask yourself right now is “Will this work?” I think you need to ask “Is this worth a try?” I think you should weigh up the potential upsides against the known downsides.
Clearly, I’ve convinced myself that Church of Burn is worth a try.
And I’ve put everything I have - and all I could borrow - on the line to bring Church of Burn into being. Perhaps even just 23 minutes ago, if stranger had told you there’s a Church where people gather to burn their money you might thought they were winding you up. You might have thought the idea of it a near impossibility.
Well, myself and my friends have got that near impossibility a long way into material reality because we believe that trying to change money, and humanity’s relationship to it, is absolutely necessary.
I’d like you to support me financially, I’d like you to contribute your energy, passion and fresh perspective if you can - but above all - I want you to help our beautiful, precious and special Church survive, thrive and flourish in 2024.
What’s the deal with subscription?
If you’re not already a FREE Subscriber then please subscribe here;
Paid Subscriber Options (in GBP) are;
£10 per month
£100 per year (saving 17% and equivalent to £8.33 per month)
£230 and above per year to become a Founding Member
Monthly paid subscriptions can be cancelled at any time.
If you struggle to afford any of those you can;
Buy Me at least a single Coffee (£3) and I’ll send you a month’s complimentary subscription.
Offer work in leu. Convince me you’re genuinely interested. Tell me what you can contribute (e.g. Social Media Team, Help at Events, Expertise etc) and I’ll sort you out. Alternatively just get involved here. Feedback on CoB’s plans, on what does and doesn’t work for you, is really important. If you’re a regular contributor in the comments, I’ll notice and I’ll happily to offer you a complimentary subscription if you need it.
Share, like, restack. Spread the word on social media. I can’t tell you how important this is. Get busy with this and I’ll give you a complimentary subscription if you need it.
What do you get for your money?
Well, for a start you can get real stuff if you want it! Actual material things you can hold in your hand!
Check out the Merch page for the details. But basically I’ll send you a copy of Burning Issue - the World’s First Magazine for Money Burners. This is a fabulous 164 page glossy magazine that has been featured alongside Goldin+Senneby and The Yes Men in the Biennale de l’Image Possible, Belgium and is archived in the Library of The British Museum.
Founding Subscribers get the magazine, + The Money Burners Manual softback, signed & imprinted with Holy Ash + CoB Tee-Shirt.
Note: The magazine is sent after three consecutive month’s fully paid subscription if you’re in the UK, four if you’re not, or straight-away if you pay yearly or take out a Founding membership.
Content-wise a paid subscription will give you access to everything in CoB’s Creation Diary.
Most importantly of all, in recognition of your valued support paid subscribers will be the first to hear about Church of Burn Events. And you’ll be able to book your tickets prior to public release.
What are the other differences between paid and free?
All posts are archived after 4 weeks. The archive is for paid subscribers only.
Written posts are tagged as Magic & Ritual, Nitty Gritty or Philosophy. Sometimes a single post will have more than one tag. But basically Magic & Ritual are paid subscribers only. Nitty Gritty posts (about the practicalities of ‘branding’ & ‘strategy’, and testing out new video clips, social media ideas and the like) are half paid, half free. Philosophy posts (mostly metaphysics of money, money & language, money & thought, etc) are mostly free to all on release.
I like to keep comments open to everyone on free posts - including non-subscribers. Stick around for fireworks when the first CoB post finds its way out of friendly our safe space and into the wider Substack community!
I record a Weekly Audio Diary Update every Friday morning. I try to keep this to less than 5 minutes. It’s available to both paid and free subscribers on release.
