The first few months of COVID and my near-total isolation had me thinking a lot about friendship. About the lives I've intersected with and diverged from, the qualities I value and admire, and the changes I could make to better embody those qualities for others (without burning out). Developing new relationships wasn't even on my mind; I was thinking only of salvaging my existing friendships in the face of a cruel, apocalyptic adult world.
So I'm grateful to God's serendipitous timing for finding myself immersed in community, with people I've come to cherish, from whom I've learned so much--and so soon after returning (thanks to Ariana and her mom) to Cambridge. Thanks all for showing me that camping trips, barbecues, and Japan tours are lots of work to plan, but they're worth it. That it's possible to celebrate everyone's birthday, and come up with thoughtful gifts or food or affirmations to remind them that they are loved. That the same people can talk about pooping habits and play Nertz for four hours straight, but also reason about the theology of gender or process traumatic events. That Thanksgiving meals can never be too large, that you can always¹ invite someone new, and that cooking (baking desserts, sculpting pizza, frying... everything) is an invaluable skill to have.
I'm moving to Austin, but I'll keep these memories, examples, and photos with me! And your portraits and Ruth presentation and book, of course. You've all challenged me to be a better friend in some way or another, and you all know my response to a challenge is to fail two thousand times before failing another time.
I pray that you would not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing², and that God would continue to cultivate your bonds, and through them your wider church and city communities. Thanks for inviting me to walk with you, and I am sure we will meet again--if not in this lifetime, then in the promised land of California.
May God be among us always,
Newton
¹ Within reason. Left to interpretation.
² Hebrews 10:25.