I’m walking through Rosslyn back to Georgetown after participating in Borromeo Brothers, a men’s group at Saint Charles Borromeo in Clarendon.

Every few months, you read about how few friends we make after we reach adulthood. And you’ll read especially about how difficult male friendships are. Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone is still relevant.

I had realized that despite living in Washington for a year, and despite work, a master’s program, and three fellowships, I hadn’t done as much as I could have done to form thicker friendships, especially with some of the men I had come to admire. I’ve been working on that in general, but I also wanted to intentionally make time for spiritual fellowship, and that’s where Borromeo Brothers might come in.

There are a number of men’s groups in Washington, but most meet either infrequently (once a month or so) or after work when I’m drained. Borromeo Brothers meets every Saturday at 7:30am, and is within walking/biking distance.

I had listened to some of their spiritual reflection podcasts, so had a sense of what to expect. It was a genuinely good morning with twenty or so other men from their 20s to their 60s. Afterwards did Mass with two of the men, and then got to know them better at Northside Social over coffee.

I’ll be in Seattle/Bellevue next Saturday, but plan to be back after that.