But I Have Called You Friends

Mother Mary Francis gives us a fresh look at one of the oldest arts--friendship. Long before you have finished the book, you will know that the author really means it. She goes to the source of love and invites you to accompany her. You cannot sell friendship. You can only give it away. That is what Mother Mary Francis does. Mother Mary Francis tells us how to recapture the commodity in shortest supply in the world, the love and friendship of Jesus Christ, in whom we have our friendship with all his brothers and sisters.

Throughout his nine-year term as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Frank T. Griswold has taught about reconciliation: conversation, conversion, communion--all grounded in Jesus' meeting us in all our particularities and isolation and calling us into the ever greater friendship of the Holy Spirit. It seemed natural, then, that a book of essays in honor of the Presiding Bishop at the end of his term should take reconciliation as its theme. Each of the contributors-church leaders from all over the globe--focuses in his or her own way on reconciliation and our participation in what God has already accomplished through Christ. I Have Called You Friends is a proper and loving gift to man who has served as the overseer of the Episcopal Church, and as a teacher and a friend. But it is more than that. It is an enterprise in theological reflection on a vital topic for citizens of the twenty-first century.

I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my father. --John 15:15 These words of Jesus to his disciples teach that the mutuality of friendship is at the heart of a Christian community. When baptized into that community, we accept this mutuality and desire to serve others. Kevin Thew Forrester says, "We can go so far as to say that to be a member of the community entails being a minister. . . Baptism and ministry are two sides of the same coin." This ministry is the responsibility of all baptized members of the church not merely the ordained. Drawing on experiences of the people in the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan, the author challenges the whole church to seek this mutual ministry as the key to its future health and mission.

Fairacres Publications 165 A selection Reinhard Korner’s writings and talks relating to the farewell discourses of Jesus (Gospel of John, chapters 14-17), in which Jesus promises us the gift of the Spirit. In developing a deep, personal relationship of friendship with Jesus, we come to the Father. The book ends with detailed reflections on the farewell or high priestly prayer of Jesus. This book is translated by Sister Avis Mary SLG.

I Have Called You Friends invites you to grasp the unique dimensions of our idenity as believers. --Back Cover.

God made you for friendship. Friendship is one of the deepest pleasures of life. But in our busy, fast-paced, mobile world, we've lost this rich view of friendship and instead settled for shallow acquaintances based on little more than similar tastes or shared interests. Helping us recapture a vision of true friendship, pastor Drew Hunter explores God's design for friendship and what it really looks like in practice—giving us practical advice to cultivate the kinds of true friendships that lead to true and life-giving joy.

Presents a retelling of the Gospel, emphasizing how Jesus can be a friend and Savior.