In our first meeting we simply went around the table and shared what each knew about C.S. Lewis and his writings. Experience ranged from having read him since childhood to having heard quotes in sermons but never having read him.
We then went through the range of his writings, passing around samples of his work that Brenda and I had brought with us, maybe 15-20 books in all. Everything from The Screwtape Letters to The Four Loves, with The Chronicles of Narnia and his science fiction trilogy, Perelandra, Out of the Silent Planet, and That Hideous Strength, in the middle.
I also shared some of the books that George McDonald had written: the many romance novels, highlighting (and strongly recommending) the Elizabeth Yates 'translation' of Sir Gibbie, 'translation' because they were all written in Scottish dialect for the most part, near impossible to understand for us, the 'unscotched'! And McDonald's phantastes which according to Lewis "baptized my imagination" and led him to repeatedly refer to McDonald as his literary "master" during the course of his life.
Finally I offered up a series of photos taken during my visit with Lisa, Summer 2007, to Lewis's home, The Kilns, just outside Oxford, England. Here they are if you care to look.
Our final meeting for the Summer Series takes place on Sunday, August 31. The plan right now is to practice 'lectio divina' on some selected passages from his varied work and share our thoughts with each other.
We will wrap up with a quick assessment of the series overall and whether and to what degree it has fulfilled its goal of helping us more fully live into our Vision and Mission here at St. Matthew's.
See you then!
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2 comments:
Dear Jim,
Thanks for the "refresher" comments about our last Series meeting. The photo's of C.S. Lewis's home in England was a highlight for me. The Kilns is exactly what I would imagine an author in England should live in, surrounded by beautiful flowers and landscape...so much to be inspired by! I regret that I will not be able to attend our last session as I will be at The Lake, but hope to be enjoying some of my own meditation as I look out at the water from the porch of my Dad's Lake House.
Peace and Blessings to all,
Linda
Dear Jim,
I forgot, since I won't be at our last session, I need to take this opportunity to "thank you so much" for offering this series to all of us this summer at St. Matthew's. As our Adult Education chair, you have done a great job, and I really appreciate all your efforts! Setting up the Blog as an additional tool for comments was awesome too!
Thanks again,
Linda
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