Anglican Community Project

...but just barely! I hope this blog can lift off again soon.

It was the beginning of Lent (2008) and I was walking out of a beautiful Roman Catholic retreat center, talking with a dear friend from our beloved church . We were talking about our parish life, especially our rhythm of seasonal retreats (like that very one), practicing the spiritual disciplines together. We were rejoicing in the community Christ is building in our midst and out of us. And on the grounds of this serene retreat center, our unity in Christ seemed more palpable than ever. Like many in our church, and like my wife and I were until deep into our thirties, this friend is single. Singleness has its rewards, no doubt. I could not have gone to grad school in Europe for as long as I did (won't say how long!), and could not have taken quite the cultural education in languages and travel that I did, were I not free-wheeling it. But singleness is difficult, too. I struggled with loneliness and felt forced to forge communal ties on my own, sometimes without much reciproc