Friendship and Conversation

Since its formation, the group has organized evenings that include take-out food and discussion of a chosen text— either a passage from the Bible or some other spiritual commentary. A much-appreciated book was C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters. In the past, Before-work breakfasts focused on stories from men in the group, often involving hard choices they faced, and how they approached those choices. 

The pandemic halted most of these activities, but the group maintained its connection through a series of memorable Zoom discussions. The men read and discussed Bystanders, by Victoria Barnett, which explored the psychology and behavior of ordinary German citizens who essentially fell silent as Hitler’s murderous program unfolded in Europe. The men held a subsequent meeting to explore how similar patterns were in evidence in the U.S. during the Jim Crow era of segregation and racial oppression. 



Since September 2021, the group has resumed in-person meetings, with social distancing, organizing discussions around a theme of “amendment of life,” a phrase in the Book of Common Prayer that follows confession and absolution. Individuals and societies embark on amendment-of-life processes regularly, but only after some process of taking stock. Discussions have included viewpoints from a historian and New Testament scholar, and will continue in 2021.