Building friendship takes time. I think about some of my friends who I have known for 25 or 30 or 35 years or more. Proximity, common interests, understanding, and what we might call chemistry brings us friends. This group of men have two things in common. The first is Doug. He knows us all through different times, experiences, lenses and relationships. He is our common thread. But secondly, we are all Followers of The Way and involved in ministry.

Doug, with the green coat on to the left of me has known me since 1996. We were in Ottawa together – he’s still in Ottawa! He invests himself in others like I’ve never seen before. He knows the important people of Ottawa and those least important. He has been pivotal in the history of the Christian Church both in Ottawa and in Canada. I love him like a brother, and he is a brother in Christ.

We began as a group of ten, and we are really a group of seven now. Two were unable to join us and three others determined it was time to move on. These guys breathe life into my soul.

So a few photos from our time away. MacKay is the ice cream place in Cochrane and I highly recommend it. I was amazed at all the flavours. The stone table is from inside the chapel at Kingsfold – very Aslan looking! And the field is how it looks now in November as I drove home in a chinook (17C) .

I look forward to the next time we meet. This is all about mentoring with each other…