This retreat looked at the nature of friendship and why strong friendships are so important, especially for Christians. Christians have not always thought highly of friendship, or thought it necessary to Christian flourishing, but Alan and Wesley think it matters a lot, and they tried to explain why—in conversation with retreat participants.
Sessions included:
- Friendship Among the Loves: An exploration of why true friendship genuinely is love, and how it relates to the other kinds of love.
- The Gifts of Friendship: An exploration of the distinctive gifts that friendship brings, including the ways it can help us in our Christian walk.
- The Challenges of Friendship: Friendship is one of the forms of love, and love is always hard, complicated, and messy; so here we inquired into the challenges that come to the person who takes friendship seriously.
- The Future of Friendship: Is our moment an especially good time for cultivating friendships, especially in Christian contexts, or an especially difficult one? The evidence points both ways. This session looks closely at the ways technology enables friendships—and also endangers them.