Just wanted to update everyone on our upcoming events since we’ve just added some new information online:

Summer Seminars in Residence at The Kilns

Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to explore the life and works of C.S. Lewis with a small group of fellow travelers while residing in C.S. Lewis’ beloved home, The Kilns!

Join us for a week of learning, fellowship, and renewal in the world renowned “City of the Dreaming Spires”– Oxford, England.  Study with a noted Lewis scholar, who will lead you in an engaging exploration of the essential themes of Lewis’ writings and life. Experience the pleasures of new friendships, fine dining, and warm hospitality as you find respite from the hectic pace of modern day life. Whether enjoying the many cultural treasures of Oxford, venturing on a guided tour of the city of Cambridge, punting on the Cam, or having tea in the garden with your companions, you will find your stay at The Kilns to be one of life’s rare treasures.

For the Summer Seminars, we’ve just added a new program for Week III:

Week III ~ August 1-7, 2009:
Lewis Remembered: Visits with Friends of C.S. Lewis
With Walter Hooper, Laurence Harwood and Kim Gilnett

What was it like to know C.S. Lewis as a friend? A stepfather? A benefactor? Meet with those who knew him best as family and friends of Jack Lewis reminisce about a man of integrity, scholarship, and humor. Gain an insider’s glimpse into formative influences on Lewis’ life. Consider how he integrated his Christian faith with work and personal pursuits. Beginning with a biography of Lewis’ life and conversion, each day’s discussion will introduce you to another of Lewis’ closest contemporaries.

Special Guests: Aidan Mackey, Barbara Reynolds and Simon Barrington Ward *

* Speakers and special guests are subject to confirmation.

C.S. Lewis Southwest Regional Retreat – We’ve just launched the official website and added the schedule information.

From the early 1930s to the late 1940s, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and a community of their friends and fellow writers met frequently to share good fellowship and their creative works-in-progress.  Members of this small writers group, the “Inklings,” came to produce some of the most beloved works of fiction and prose of the twentieth century.

But how did the Inklings, many of them Christians working in skeptical secular environments, come to create such lasting contributions to literature and Christianity?  And what can we learn about Christian creativity, community, and fellowship from such a diverse group of writers and thinkers?

Join Diana Pavlac Glyer, author of The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community, as she invites us to discover their friendship and the influence it had on their lives, their works, and their relationships with God.

In the intimate woodland setting of the Camp Allen Conference Center, be refreshed by Ad Deum Dance Company and the music of Kemper Crabb. Explore the theme in breakout sessions with Joel Heck, George Musacchio, Andrew Lazo and Don Wood. Worship with Rev. Skip Ryan and Rev. Scott Irwin. And engage in stimulating discussion and fellowship with other conferees.

The C.S. Lewis Southwest Regional Retreat will renew your spirit, challenge your mind, and refresh your body!

DON’T MISS THIS YEAR’S SPECIAL PROGRAMS!

Writer’s Workshop

In the spirit of Lewis & Tolkien, we are also offering a special preconference Writers Workshop that will continue throughout the retreat.  Featuring author Joy Jordan-Lake, agent Steve Laube, and editor Terry Glaspey, the workshop will center on the theme More Than a Hobby: Letting Community Take Your Creativity to a New Level. To meet the needs of writers of varying areas of interest, there will be two tracks – one for fiction writers led by Joy Jordan-Lake, and one for nonfiction writers (focusing on devotionals, journals, memoirs, family histories, and church projects) led by Frank Ball.

Children’s Track

This year will also see the return of our popular children’s program, “Sailing Aboard the Dawn Treader: Learning from Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace,” which offers kids (ages 7-12) the opportunity to connect with Lewis at their level through reading aloud, discussing, acting, singing, hiking, arts & crafts and much more.