Echo Chambers, Old and New

Some Covenant Christian women have created semi-public forums—Slack channels and Gaggle groups—where participation is conditional. You’re welcome, as long as you don’t disagree with their narrative. Questions don’t open conversation; they quietly close it.

That pattern feels familiar to me.

Years ago, while attending the LDS Church, my temple recommend was removed after I asked questions in Relief Society. I was told by the bishop that I was there to learn, not to teach. Apparently my questions were too instructive. When I asked if I could simply read a scripture aloud, the answer was an emphatic no—you know too much about the scriptures. I was permitted to participate only insofar as my comments aligned with the narrative being presented.

I eventually left that community.

Today, I worship among a different group of people who call themselves Covenant Christians—a new community beyond church structure, yet with the same instinct. I’ve watched familiar dynamics resurface, driven by the same reflex: protecting unity by controlling who gets to speak and which questions are allowed to surface.

To be clear, there is one Slack channel still open to all Covenant Christian women, and I’m genuinely grateful for the integrity of the admins who keep it that way. Open spaces matter. They are rare—and worth protecting.

I don’t take myself or my situation too seriously. But I do take patterns seriously. Especially the ones that repeat themselves under new names.

So I wrote a song.

The Gaggle Slack Echo Chamber is a lighthearted folk satire dedicated to exclusive platforms that can’t quite tolerate disagreement. It’s not about individuals. It’s about process. About what happens when curiosity is managed instead of engaged, and when “safe space” quietly becomes agreement only.

Truth doesn’t need an echo chamber.
It needs daylight—and maybe a fiddle.