Since 1988, when the C. S. Lewis Foundation first launched its triennial Summer Institute in Oxford, over 2000 conferees from around the world have gathered to consider the life and legacy of C. S. Lewis and explore the larger implications of that legacy in the realms of both mind and spirit. Oxbridge 2002 offers a two-week conference unlike any other. Set amid the "dreaming spires" of Oxford and Cambridge Universities, scholars from the arts and sciences, together with leaders in ministry and from the major professions. Joined by an array of literary, visual, and performing artists, we will explore the theme, "Time and Eternity: The Cosmic Odyssey."

At this time of great social, political, and spiritual turmoil, our faith in Jesus Christ simultaneously plants us, firmly and hopefully, in both time and eternity. The commencement of this 3rd Christian millennium offers an unique perspective from which to consider the broader implications of the current situation, not only within the geopolitical realm, but also within the realm of higher education, the arts, and the culture at large. In keeping with the legacy of C.S. Lewis, we invite "Mere Christians" of all traditions, and seekers of all persuasions, to join with us in pursuit of a deeper understanding of the human adventure through time, enfolded in the embrace of eternity.

A world-class faculty will lead our thinking and reflection in daily plenary sessions. Scientists, philosophers, and theologians will explore differing conceptions of time and eternity in the light of Christian thought through the ages. Historians, artists, and cultural interpreters and commentators will examine the times of our lives and their relation to eternal matters.

Throughout the conference, we are also privileged to nurture the renewal of our spirits through morning meditations, daily prayers, opportunities for artistic reflection, and formal services of worship encompassing liturgy, the preached word, and communion.

The intended result - a baptism of spirit, mind, and imagination that refreshes us so that we can return to our respective communities to engage the culture redemptively in Christ. I look forward to seeing you in England for Oxbridge 2002!

Week One will commence with an opening service of Evensong at the historic University Church of St. Mary the Virgin where Lewis preached his famous sermon The Weight of Glory.

Each weekday begins with a plenary session featuring a morning meditation followed by two major addresses with ample opportunity for questions and answers. A leisurely coffee break provides a pleasant interlude between the two addresses. Plenary meetings will convene throughout the week in the prominent Oxford Town Hall and at the Sheldonian Theatre, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, where Lewis read his undergraduate essay that won him the Chancellor's English Essay Prize in 1921.

Following afternoon small group electives (see "Afternoon Sessions"), conferees are offered, on successive evenings, an engaging one-man performance of "C.S. Lewis: My Life's Journey," performed by British actor David Payne; an evening recital of song (both sacred and secular) on themes from time and eternity featuring Mezzo-Soprano Kate Butler and Tenor Neil Latchman; a Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication celebrating the formal dedication of The Kilns, C.S. Lewis' beloved and newly restored home in Oxford; and concluding service of Evensong with a dramatic rendition of the Book of Ecclesiastes followed by wine and cheese reception.

During free time, conferees are encouraged to make use of the Foundation's Walking Guide to C.S. Lewis’ Oxford, dropping by The Eagle and Child pub where Lewis and the Inklings gathered every Tuesday. Conferees will also be afforded the opportunity to visit The Kilns, now owned and cared for by the C. S. Lewis Foundation. Outdoor college productions of Shakespeare are also available.

For Week Two, we sojourn to Cambridge University where Lewis was appointed Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English Literature in 1954. The program begins on Sunday with an opening service of Choral Evensong at the magnificent Ely Cathedral.

In addition to the rich series of plenary morning lectures and afternoon electives, special evening programs include a Traditional 18th Century English Country Dinner and Dance at Chilford Hall; a premier performance of "The Great Divorce," presented by Lamb's Players Theatre of San Diego, California; an evening of contemporary dance featuring interpretative works based upon our text from Ecclesiastes. The week ends with a wine and cheese farewell gathering followed by a closing Eucharistic Service of Choral Evensong at Great St. Mary's Church.

Conferees will find ample time to go punting on the idyllic river Cam as it flows slowly through the medieval setting of the Cambridge colleges also not to be missed - a tour of the exquisite Kings College Chapel, site of the internationally renowned Christmas service of "Lessons and Carols," and a stroll through Lewis' Magdalene College grounds with its beautiful gardens and Samuel Pepys Library. The more hardy will also want to walk through the meadows to the lovely village of Grantchester for an afternoon cream tea at the Orchard, passing along the way the lamppost that reportedly inspired its Narnian counterpart.

Not to be missed are a host of stimulating afternoon electives devoted to a wide range of disciplines. The afternoons of Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday of each week are set apart for the convening of over twenty special area interest groups, each with its own facilitator and faculty contributors, including many plenary speakers.

In the interest of encouraging more intimate and sustained interaction, each registrant is encouraged to participate in one of the elected offerings presented each week over three afternoon sessions. The sessions are offered in three formats: Seminars, Workshops, and, for scholars presenting papers on subjects of professional interest, a full fledged Academic Conference.

Seminar topics run the gamut from C.S. Lewis (Introductory and Advanced) to Science Fiction, Issues in Science and Religion, Great Books, Higher Education, Children's Literature, Film Studies, The Healing Arts, Law and Public Policy, and The Gardens of Oxford and Cambridge, to name but a few.

Workshops require active participation in the creative process in such areas as Creative Writing, Journaling, Prayer, Sacred Choral Performance*, Theatre*, Dance*, and "Sketching in Lewis' World." * Participation subject to approval by the specific workshop leader.

The Academic Conference is conducted independently of the afternoon seminars and workshops, affording faculty members and independent scholars the opportunity to read and discuss papers addressing the conference theme from the vantage point of all disciplines - the natural, social, and behavioral sciences, the traditional humanities and the professions.

In addition, proposals on any aspect of the life and writings of C.S. Lewis and related authors (i.e. "the Seven": Lewis, Tolkien, Barfield, Williams, Sayers, MacDonald, and Chesterton) are especially welcome.

Scholars desiring to present a paper at the Academic Conference are encouraged to submit four (4) printed copies of a 300 word abstract describing the content of the proposed paper and its relationship to the conference theme along with a 2-page C.V., including complete contact information, to: Dr. Harold K. Bush, Department of English, St. Louis University, 3800 Lindell Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108. Acknowledgement will be made by e-mail. Postmark deadline for proposal submission: January 15, 2002.

Kate Butler - leading Mezzo-soprano with the Bremen Opera, 1986-1992; awarded the Medaille de la region de l'Auvergne and the 1986 NIMT George London Award; studied at Julliard's Professional Studies Program and at Indiana University.

Tony Campolo - Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Eastern College, St. Davids, PA; founder and president, Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education; author of more than 25 books, most recently Let Me Tell You a Story and Revelation and Renewal.

William Lane Craig - Research Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology; author of numerous volumes including Time and Eternity: Exploring God's Relationship to Time, The Tenseless Theory of Time: A Critical Examination, and Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics.

Nigel Goodwin - Executive Director, Genesis Arts Trust; Founder, London Arts Centre Group; Graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Douglas Gresham - Director of Rathvinden Ministries, Ireland; stepson of C.S. Lewis and author of Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis.

Os Guinness - Founder and Senior Fellow, Trinity Forum; former fellow, Brookings Institution; author of more than twenty books including, Unriddling Our Times, The Call, The American Hour, and Long Journey Home.

James Jones - Anglican Bishop of Liverpool; newly appointed Chair of the Church of England Board of Mission; author of People of the Blessing, Following Jesus, Finding God, and The Power and the Glory.

Peter Kreeft- Professor of Philosophy, Boston College; widely acclaimed as one of the leading Christian apologists of our time; author of many books including Socrates Meets Jesus, Between Heaven and Hell, Handbook of Christian Apologetics, and C.S. Lewis: A Critical Essay.

Neil Latchman - Tenor Soloist; has performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, The Lord Mayor of London, and to mark the 40th anniversary of the national youth theater of Great Britain; studied at the Julliard School of Music, and privately in London.

Frederica Mathewes-Green - Former columnist for Christianity Today and commentator for National Public Radio; contributor to numerous journals and The Los Angeles Times; author of The Illumined Heart: The Ancient Christian Path of Transformation, among others.

George Marsden - Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame; author of The Soul of the American University, and The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship, among others.

Stan Mattson - Founder and President, C.S. Lewis Foundation, Redlands, California; Director of the C.S. Lewis Summer Institute; Lecturer on C.S. Lewis and related topics.

John Patrick - Professor of Biochemistry and Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa; lectures internationally on the integration of faith and science, and medical ethics.

Ben Patterson - Campus Pastor, Westmont College; former Dean of the Chapel, Hope College, Holland, MI; author of Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, and Deepening Your Conversation with God.

David Payne - British Actor and Founder/Director of Rising Image Productions, Nashville, TN; performs as C.S. Lewis in a series of one-man plays based on Lewis' life and literature.

John Polkinghorne - Former president of Queen's College, Cambridge University; a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Science, and former Professor of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge; author of The Quantum World, Reason and Reality: The Relationship Between Science and Theology, among others.

Hugh Ross - Founder, Reason to Believe, an international ministry communicating the factual basis for belief in the Bible; author of The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Latest Scientific Discoveries Reveal God.

Robert Russell - Founder and Director, Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences; Professor of Theology and Science in Residence at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley; author of forthcoming Time in Eternity: Theology and Science in Mutual Interaction.

Luci Shaw - Poet; Adjunct Professor and Writer-in Residence at Regent College, Vancouver, Canada; author of The Angels of Light, LifePaths: Personal & Spiritual Growth Through Journal Writing, Water My Soul, and Friends for the Journey (co-author with Madeleine L'Engle).

Russell Stannard - A writer and broadcaster on religion and humankind; former Professor of Physics, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK; a regular on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day; author of many books including Science and Wonders: Conversations About Science and Belief.

Elaine Storkey - Lecturer on women and religion, King's College, University of London; speaker on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day; author of Search for Intimacy and Origins of Difference: The Gender Debate Revisited.

Anthony Ugolnik - Professor of humanities, Franklin and Marshall College, PA; Eastern Orthodox priest and the author of The Illuminating Icon.

Kallistos Ware - Greek Orthodox Bishop of Diokleia; Lecturer in Theology, Pembroke College, Oxford University; author of The Orthodox Church and The Orthodox Way.

Francis Warner - Dean of degrees and Emeritus Fellow, St. Peter's College, Oxford; honorary fellow, St. Catherine's College, Cambridge; poet and playwright.

And Other Distinguished Speakers

Workstudy and Scholarship Information

A limited amount of financial aid is available for those in need, particularly students, artists, teaching faculty, those in full-time ministry, and third world representatives. Those in genuine need of assistance are encouraged to submit a letter describing the nature of your need together with the Oxbridge 2002 Registration Form, two letters of reference, and the $375 registration fee.

All applicants for financial assistance must be fully registered before applying. In the event that the amount of financial aid awarded proves to be inadequate for your needs and the award is declined, a full refund of the Registration Fee will be made.

Registration is closed. Please visit our upcoming events page to find out more information on what we are currently offering.