“BCP” refers to the Episcopal Church’s 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Page numbers are kept constant across various editions and publishers. Although there have been changes to the minor commemorations and the lectionary since its initial publication, none of these have changed the pagination or other content of the book.
The quotation from the Rev. Andrew C. Mead’s sermon at the funeral of John Scott is printed with his kind permission.
Portions of a chapter on friendship in my Christian Ethics: A Guide for the Perplexed (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2012) appear here and there in revised form in this book with the kind permission of the publisher.
Drafts of various parts of this book were developed from the Muhlenberg Lenten Lectures delivered at the Parish of Calvary–St. George’s in New York City and from talks and lectures given at All Souls’ Church in Oklahoma City; the Church of St. Michael and St. George in St. Louis; the Cathedral Church of St. Matthew in Dallas; Church of the Incarnation in Dallas; Trinity Cathedral in Columbia, South Carolina; and at Canterbury House, Dallas, under the sponsorship of the Living Church Institute. I am grateful for the hospitality and opportunities for discussion that the clergy and people of these congregations and foundations gave me.
In thinking through this matter of friendship, I enjoyed countless conversations with people, more than I can possibly remember. Indeed, if you and I have ever talked, you have entered somehow into this book. I have discovered that people are eager to talk about friendship and that everyone has some measure of understanding along with real questions. To everyone who has talked with me, my thanks. There are, however, two people whom I cannot leave behind the curtain of anonymity. First is Wesley Hill, whose early and wise encouragement, not to mention his book Spiritual Friendship and the blog of that name, has given me ongoing insight and hope. The other is my granddaughter Lucy, who at the end of her first decade of life is already quite clear that friends help us be better, and when we disagree, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Friendship is about the good, it leads us to the good, and it is good.