{"id":20069,"date":"2021-04-15T10:21:03","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T14:21:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=20069"},"modified":"2021-04-15T10:21:03","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T14:21:03","slug":"making-new-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=20069","title":{"rendered":"Making New Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sJ2IWpUSUdU\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I\u2019ve known CAC faculty member Brian McLaren for many years; and I deeply admire his gift for making friends through his genuine curiosity, compassion, and unconditional presence to others. In this passage, he encourages us to build relationships outside our comfortable social and religious groups.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christian mission begins with friendship\u2014not utilitarian friendship, the religious version of network marketing\u2014but genuine friendship, friendship that translates love for neighbors in general into knowing, appreciating, liking, and enjoying this or that neighbor in particular. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many new friends have come into my life . . . Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, New Agers, and others\u2014including lots of atheists and agnostics, too. One of the most dramatic of those friendships began in the aftermath of 9\/11\/2001. Like a lot of churches, our little congregation held a prayer service. While praying, I felt a voice speaking, as it were, in my chest:&nbsp;<em>Your Muslim neighbors are in danger of reprisals. You must try to protect them.<\/em>&nbsp;The next morning, I wrote and made copies of a letter extending, belatedly, friendship toward Muslim communities in my area, and offering solidarity and help if simmering anti-Muslim sentiments should be translated into action. I drove to the three mosques nearby\u2014I had never visited them before\u2014and tried to deliver my letter in person. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[At the third mosque,] I clumsily introduced myself [to the imam] as the pastor from down the street . . . I then handed him my letter, which he opened and read as I stood there awkwardly. I remember the imam, a man short in stature, slowly looking down at the letter in the bright September sun, then up into my face, then down, then up, and each time he looked up, his eyes were more moist. Suddenly, he threw his arms around me\u2014a perfect stranger. . . . I still remember the feeling of his head pressed against my chest, squeezing me as if I were his long-lost brother. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My host welcomed me not with hostility or even suspicion, but with the open heart of a friend. And so that day a friendship began between an Evangelical pastor named Brian and a Muslim imam we\u2019ll call Ahmad. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s one thing to say you love humanity in general, whatever their religion; it\u2019s quite another to learn to love this or that specific neighbor with his or her specific religion. So, do you have a Sikh neighbor, a Hindu coworker, a Muslim business associate, a Buddhist member of your PTA, a New Age second cousin? Invite them into companionship over a cup of tea or coffee. Ask them questions. Display unexpected interest in them, their traditions, their beliefs, and their stories. Learn why they left what they left, why they stay where they stay, why they love what they love. Enter their world, and welcome them into your world, without judgment. If they reciprocate, welcome their reciprocation; if not, welcome their nonreciprocation. Experience conviviality. Join the conspiracy of plotting for the common good together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"361\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-4-500x361.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20070\" srcset=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-4-500x361.png 500w, http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-4-300x217.png 300w, http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-4-768x555.png 768w, http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-4.png 1900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve known CAC faculty member Brian McLaren for many years; and I deeply admire his gift for making friends through his genuine curiosity, compassion, and unconditional presence to others. In this passage, he encourages us to build relationships outside our comfortable social and religious groups.&nbsp; Christian mission begins with friendship\u2014not utilitarian friendship, the religious version [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20069"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20069"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20071,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20069\/revisions\/20071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}