I've learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you. I've learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help. I've learned-that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being. I've learned-that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon. I've learned that it's hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people's feelings and standing up for what you believe.
Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed.
They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their heart to us. These and other questions are at the heart of a major research study now under way in nine dioceses involving 200 individual and group interviews. The hope is that the answers will soon shed light on what it means to be an Episcopalian in today's society. The study, called the Zaccheus Project after the man, who according to the Gospel of Luke, climbed a tree to get a better view of Jesus as he was passing below, is funded by the Episcopal Church Foundation.