I was with Friends in Spokane on Sunday. Some I had met before; some it was the first time. Combining the two categories, the mixture includes:

- the man who has found a comfortable home among Christian Friends after years of work and worship with “liberal” (his word) Friends,

- the young woman who with her cousin, my son, and me built a paddle-wheel raft one weekend,

- the young man whose grandfather first hired me to work at Barclay Press,

- the woman who surprised me with her knowledge of the terms and theology of the Holy Spirit that are at the center of the book we are soon releasing,

- the pastor whose sojourn among Quakers began in a Texas Friends community and includes time in Washington, D.C.; Indiana; and North Carolina,

- the woman who is the sister of a couple of cherished friends,

and there are more.

On Sunday afternoon as we talked about effective communication at the area gathering of Friends one of these people pointed out the importance of relationship.