Friendship
The best friendships can be schools of virtue, but such winsome intimate bonds are difficult to realize in our individualistic, mobile society, now rife with political, racial, and religious division. We prefer Facebook encounters to face-to-face relationships.
Guided by the Gospel of John, fourth-century Christians viewed Jesus as a model friend who loved them without limits and was the empowering source of their friendships, Carolinne White observes. Gail O'Day traces how the ancient ideal of friendship—especially its themes of speaking frankly to one's friends and giving one's life for them—shapes John's narrative.
Caroline Simon describes how friends can help each other see themselves more clearly with insight into one's welfare and destiny before God. As they draw us into their lives, teach us about ourselves, and challenge us to extend the boundaries of our love, Paul Wadell reminds us, we discover a strong love for our friends does not detract from our love for God, but is precisely the setting in which we come to learn what loving God rightly means.
The study guides and lesson plans integrate Bible study, prayer, and worship to help us explore the biblical narrative and ancient wisdom to retrieve the ideal of friendship and probe its promise for the moral life. The guides can be used in a series or individually. You may download and reproduce them for personal or group use.
Download the entire Friendship issue and the set of six Study Guides. Or, download individual pieces by clicking the titles below.
Articles
- Moving Beyond Friendly to Friendship, by Carolinne White
- I Have Called You Friends, by Gail R. ODay
- A School of Christian Love, by Paul J. Wadell
- Friendships Role in Coming to Know as We Are Known, by Caroline J. Simon
- Literature and the Real Meaning of Mentorship, by Vigen Guroian
Art
- Depicting Christs Friends, by Heidi J. Hornik, on the Flemish sculpture The Last Supper and Domenico Ghirlandaios The Last Supper
- Near the Cross of Jesus, by Heidi J. Hornik, on Lorenzo Monacos The Crucified Christ between the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist and Hendrik Terbrugghens The Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John
Hymn and Worship Service
- Their Shoulders Bend as Low as Mine, by Terry W. York and C. David Bolin
- Worship Service, by Eric Mathis
Inspirational Pieces
- Love, Death, and Friendship in the Harry Potter Novels, by John Killinger
- The Neighborhood: A Company of Friends, by Kyle Childress
- Other Voices, Quotations on Friendship
Book Reviews
- Sacred Companions, by Christy Morr
- Richard Lamb, The Pursuit of God in the Company of Friends
- Upper Room Books, Companions in Christ
- Group Publishing, Friendship: Creating a Culture of Connectivity
- The Practice of Christian Friendship, by Ruth E. Groenhout
- Gilbert Meilaender, Friendship: A Study in Theological Ethics
- Caroline J. Simon, The Disciplined Heart: Love, Destiny, and Imagination
- Paul J. Wadell, Becoming Friends: Worship, Justice, and the Practice of Christian Friendship
- Mother Mary Frances, P.C.C., But I Have Called You Friends