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	<title>Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis</title>
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		<title>Remembering Colin Duriez (1947-2025)</title>
		<link>https://www.cslewis.org/blog/colin-duriez/</link>
					<comments>https://www.cslewis.org/blog/colin-duriez/#respond</comments>
		
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		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:12:39 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.cslewis.org/blog/?p=9008</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>By Deborah Higgens Colin Duriez, who passed away on November 1, 2025, was a prolific author of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, the Inklings, and other fantasy authors and works leaving us with approximately 20 books. These included The C.S. Lewis Encyclopedia, Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings: A Guide to Middle Earth, The Inklings [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/colin-duriez/">Remembering Colin Duriez (1947-2025)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog">Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis</a>.</p>
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<p><strong>By Deborah Higgens</strong></p>


<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default">
<figure class="alignleft size-full is-resized"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="640" height="480" src="http://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Colin-Cindy-Debbie-at-The-Kilns.jpg" alt="Colin Duriez with his wife, Cindy, and Dr. Debbie Higgens." class="wp-image-9012" style="width:365px;height:auto" title="" srcset="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Colin-Cindy-Debbie-at-The-Kilns.jpg 640w, https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Colin-Cindy-Debbie-at-The-Kilns-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Colin-Cindy-Debbie-at-The-Kilns-250x188.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></figure></div>


<p>Colin Duriez, who passed away on November 1, 2025, was a prolific author of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, the Inklings, and other fantasy authors and works leaving us with approximately 20 books. These included <em>The C.S. Lewis Encyclopedia</em>, <em>Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings: A Guide to Middle Earth</em>, <em>The Inklings Handbook</em>, <em>A Field Guide to Harry Potter</em>, and biographies of Dorothy L. Sayers and Francis Schaeffer.</p>



<p>Many knew him as a profound speaker as well, but those close to him knew him as a good friend who was kind, generous, intelligent, and a fun conversationalist with a glint in his eye and a witty sense of humor.</p>



<p>In the world of the C.S. Lewis Foundation, Colin and his lovely wife, Cindy Zudys, often found themselves at The Kilns, having tea with Walter Hooper and Aidan Mackey, giving tours of the beloved former home of C.S. Lewis, and assisting with the Summer Seminar programs. He also served as a Director on the Board of Directors for the C.S. Lewis Foundation (UK) from 2024-2025.</p>



<p>I first visited Colin and Cindy’s home in the beautiful Lake District before they moved to Wallingford to assist with Cindy’s mother’s care.  Colin enjoyed living in Wallingford for its close proximity to Oxford University and the fellowship he could enjoy with other Oxford scholars and friends.  Both Colin and Cindy enjoyed the local community of Wallingford with its rich and colorful history reaching back to its medieval roots and forward to its popular statue of Agatha Christy sitting on a park bench.  The town lends itself to rich stories and was therefore suited to Colin’s writing of his informative books and to Cindy’s storytelling that we love and enjoy. </p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="960" height="720" src="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Walter-Colin-Debbie-Aidan-Maggie-not-shown.jpeg" alt="From left to right: Walter Hooper, Colin Duriez, Debbie Higgens, and Aiden Mackey" class="wp-image-9013" style="width:338px;height:auto" srcset="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Walter-Colin-Debbie-Aidan-Maggie-not-shown.jpeg 960w, https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Walter-Colin-Debbie-Aidan-Maggie-not-shown-300x225.jpeg 300w, https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Walter-Colin-Debbie-Aidan-Maggie-not-shown-250x188.jpeg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /></figure></div>


<p>Colin wrote smaller pieces as well, such as when he graciously took the time to write the foreword to my book on Tolkien’s Anglo-Saxon community in his fictional works.  I’m unsure of how much he knew it meant to me that he crafted such a beautiful piece for this budding author; however, a few words that he wrote can also be applied to himself, “He wears his learning lightly, as he enthusiastically and lucidly explains and shares his discoveries. His books have a place on the shelves of both scholars and the wider readership of fiction.”  Those who have read Colin’s books have found them well researched, yet readable and accessible. Truly the mark of a great writer. </p>



<p>Cindy was with Colin during his final days of advanced Alzheimer’s.  She said that she quietly sang familiar songs and hymns to him during this time and as Cindy shared, “It was when I played the main theme from <em>LOTR</em> that we had that wonderful moment of recognition when Col opened his eyes and focused on me.”  What a lovely moment for them both!</p>



<p>But for me, and many of Colin’s friends, a prominent memory that will remain with us is Colin wearing his floppy sun hat (reminiscent of CSL on his holidays) and chatting about all things Inklings, while sitting in The Kilns’ garden.  Thank you, Colin, for a life well lived and the legacy and friendship you left to so many of us. </p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/colin-duriez/">Remembering Colin Duriez (1947-2025)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog">Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">9008</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Call for Papers:  Academic Roundtable of the 2024 C.S. Lewis Conference &#038; Faculty Forum</title>
		<link>https://www.cslewis.org/blog/call-for-papers-academic-roundtable-of-the-2024-c-s-lewis-conference-faculty-forum/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[cslewisfoundation]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 19:54:17 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.cslewis.org/blog/?p=8338</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Sponsored by C. S. Lewis Foundation and the C. S. Lewis Study Center, Northfield, MA Longing for Beauty and Justice:  Restoring a Commonweal University of Massachusetts, Amherst November 1-3, 2024 Theme Statement:&#160; Despite cultural and political tensions there is a prevailing longing for both Beauty and Justice.&#160; How do these two important concepts relate?&#160; Can [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/call-for-papers-academic-roundtable-of-the-2024-c-s-lewis-conference-faculty-forum/">Call for Papers:  Academic Roundtable of the 2024 C.S. Lewis Conference &#038; Faculty Forum</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog">Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis</a>.</p>
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<p><strong>Sponsored by C. S. Lewis Foundation and the</strong> <strong>C. S. Lewis Study Center, Northfield, MA</strong></p>



<p><strong><em>Longing for Beauty and Justice:  Restoring a Commonweal</em></strong></p>



<p><strong>University of Massachusetts, Amherst</strong></p>



<p><strong>November 1-3, 2024</strong></p>



<p><strong>Theme Statement:&nbsp; </strong>Despite cultural and political tensions there is a prevailing longing for both Beauty and Justice.&nbsp; How do these two important concepts relate?&nbsp; Can Beauty be reduced to biological or purely emotive features of human experience?&nbsp; Can Justice be reduced to utility or power?&nbsp; Is there a basis for the “common good?”&nbsp; Can either Beauty or Justice be pursued without truth or goodness or practical wisdom?&nbsp; Can the desires of isolated individuals driven by diverse passions be an adequate basis for a common goodness that lends credence to our longing for beauty and justice?&nbsp; This conference will explore these questions and others in a dialogical nexus linking visual art, music, drama, philosophical, and theological themes.</p>



<p><strong>Academic Roundtable:&nbsp; </strong>The Academic Roundtable is a cross-disciplinary setting in which thinkers are able to present well-written and carefully documented papers that explore the theme of the conference. &nbsp;Professors and Graduate Students from all disciplines are invited to submit abstracts for consideration.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Parameters:&nbsp; </strong>Papers must wrestle with the themes of the conference as arising in specific disciplines of study or across disciplines.&nbsp; Utilization of materials developed by the Inklings or writers influenced by the Inklings will also be considered.&nbsp; Paper presentations will be limited to 20 minutes followed by 10 minutes of “questions and answers.”&nbsp; This limits the length of the papers to about eleven (11) double-spaced pages.&nbsp; The Academic Roundtable takes the place of the two Saturday afternoon optional Breakout sessions.&nbsp; As a participant in the Academic Roundtable, you are choosing to be present for all the paper presentations enabling a robust and respectful &nbsp;cross-disciplinary discussion. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Submission Due by July 1, 2024,&nbsp; including:</strong></p>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>CV of author</li>



<li>100 to 300 word Abstract of the paper to be presented</li>



<li>Title of the paper</li>
</ol>



<p><strong>Review Process:&nbsp; </strong>All abstracts will be peer reviewed, and notification of participation status submitted to authors by July 31, 2024.&nbsp; If financial support from an educational institution is necessary for conference participation, then please indicate in the submission the required deadlines for an expedited response by reviewers.</p>



<p><strong>Submit Abstract and CV by email to:</strong></p>



<p><strong>Scott B. Key, PhD</strong></p>



<p><strong>Vice President of Academic Initiatives</strong></p>



<p><strong>C. S. Lewis Study Center</strong></p>



<p><strong>Email:&nbsp; </strong><a href="mailto:skey@cslsc.org"><strong>skey@cslsc.org</strong></a><strong></strong></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/call-for-papers-academic-roundtable-of-the-2024-c-s-lewis-conference-faculty-forum/">Call for Papers:  Academic Roundtable of the 2024 C.S. Lewis Conference &#038; Faculty Forum</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog">Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">8338</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>A Tribute in Memory of Dr. J. Stanley Mattson (1937-2024)</title>
		<link>https://www.cslewis.org/blog/mattson-tribute/</link>
					<comments>https://www.cslewis.org/blog/mattson-tribute/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[cslewisfoundation]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 13 Jan 2024 22:34:49 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Foundation News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[In Memorium]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[J. Stanley Mattson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stan Mattson]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.cslewis.org/blog/?p=7893</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Our Founder and first President, Stan Mattson, died this week at age 86. A great man, but more importantly, a good man, he was many things to people over the course of his life – a friend, husband, father, mentor, father-figure, leader, President, Headmaster, Professor, truck stop owner, student, son, sailor, and a formidable “Words [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/mattson-tribute/">A Tribute in Memory of Dr. J. Stanley Mattson (1937-2024)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog">Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>Our Founder and first President, Stan Mattson, died this week at age 86. A great man, but more importantly, a <em>good</em> man, he was many things to people over the course of his life – a friend, husband, father, mentor, father-figure, leader, President, Headmaster, Professor, truck stop owner, student, son, sailor, and a formidable “Words with Friends” player, to name just a few. It’s easy to say that he’s most well-known as the Founder and President of the C.S. Lewis Foundation, where he served for 34 years, from 1986-2020.</p>



<p>I had the pleasure of getting to know Stan for nearly half of his years at the Foundation, where I worked for Stan from 2006 until his retirement in 2020 and then succeeded him as President and continued to serve alongside him in his role on our board until his death Wednesday.</p>



<p>When you know someone that long, you learn their strengths and weaknesses, their core qualities of character and their flaws, their dreams and hopes, and their fears and insecurities. You learn about their loves and regrets and their successes and mistakes.</p>



<p>But I’ve also realized that the more you live life with someone, the more difficult it becomes to encapsulate that person in just a few words. It’s easy to say a few quick words about someone we know very shortly with an initial first impression. But with people like Stan, who I’ve worked alongside for so long, how do I even attempt, in just a few words, to describe the shape of his soul?</p>



<p>The other day, while I was grieving Stan, a thought occurred to me that I have long characterized the important men in my life – my dad, my grandfather, my son – using animal symbols.</p>



<p>My dad was a bear, a nickname others gave him when I was young. My grandfather, an alligator, the price, I suppose, of having a deep, northern Floridian accent in California, where he lived most of his life after his service in WWII. My son, though only on this earth for eighteen days, was a puppy, a symbol attached to him by three separate people in the first few days of his birth. And they all received gifts from others with those animals represented, including clothing, figurines, and nicknames.</p>



<p>On an intuitive level, people use elements of the natural world to describe an understanding that can’t be so easily put into words. With my father and grandfather, it came from long relationship with their personalities. In the case of my son, we knew a puppy was right even without knowing him for long at all.</p>



<p>So I asked myself, what animal symbolized Stan? The quick and ready answer was a lion. The core figure in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia is Aslan, and Stan had a long association with C.S. Lewis as Founder and President of the Foundation. Over the years Stan, on behalf of the Foundation, received multiple gifts of lion statues, paintings, postcards, stuffed animals, pillows, and the like. Stan even wore his hair swept back sometimes in a way that made me think of a lion’s mane. He’d even become a sort of expert on which lions were most like Aslan. I remember him seeing footage of a lion representing Aslan in one of the many Lewis documentaries and remarking “that lion looks nothing like Aslan. The lion they put in the ‘C.S. Lewis: Dreamer of Narnia’ documentary – that lion was a real Aslan lion, full of power and majesty.”</p>



<p>Perfect… a lion. And Stan certainly had some aspects of a lion – nobility, courage, majesty. It would be fitting.</p>



<p>But the more I’ve sat on that thought, the more a different animal’s courage and nobility sprang forth in my mind.</p>



<p>A mouse.</p>



<p>Now don’t get upset just yet. Hear me out. I’m not talking about any mouse, but a very specific mouse that defies the stereotypes of mice that you might be imagining right now. I’m talking about C.S. Lewis’s creation Reepicheep the mouse, one of the heroes of <em>Prince Caspian</em> and <em>The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</em>.</p>



<p>The intrepid Reepicheep, noblest and bravest Chief of the Talking Mice.</p>



<p><em>The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</em> was Stan’s favorite of the Narnia books, and Reepicheep was his favorite character. Stan, being a sailor and descendant of sailors, loved Lewis’s sailing narrative the most. But there is more to Stan’s “Reepicheepness” than that.</p>



<p>In memory of Stan, I’d like to share a few qualities that Stan shared with Reepicheep, though I’ll give the caveat that there was much more to Stan than this particular snapshot, just as a video of someone gives us more information than a single photo.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Faithful Fortitude</strong></h2>



<p>When someone has died and we memorialize them verbally, we often start with describing who they are. However, through the words of those giving tribute at a funeral service, we also come to find out who or what they served.</p>



<p>And maybe that’s because it’s the more important thing to know. For no matter how someone began, who or what they served in life tells us much more about their identity.</p>



<p>Was it money, success, youth, their pride? Was it family, friends, those in need? Was it their job or their hobbies? Was it God? Who or what was their main pursuit through life?</p>



<p>In the case of Reepicheep and Stan, they both faithfully served a High King.</p>



<p>In <em>Prince Caspian</em> and <em>The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, </em>we are given a portrayal of Reepicheep as a mouse who faithfully and wholeheartedly follows after Aslan, even though exuberance, passion, and an overdeveloped sense of personal honor lead him to make mistakes along the way. He is dedicated to following Aslan even to the end of the known world, all the way to Aslan’s Country.</p>



<p>When I prayed for Stan the day before his death, I heard the words “pray for safe passage” and I saw an image of him on a small boat, sailing towards the sun on the open ocean, waving to us on shore as he embarked to eternity. Only when I was looking for something to quote in our social media announcement the next day, did I realize this image reminded me of Reepicheep sailing to Narnia’s country in the final section of <em>The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</em>:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>At that moment, with a crunch, the boat ran aground. The water was too shallow now for it. “This,” said Reepicheep, “is where I go on alone.”</p>



<p>They did not even try to stop him, for everything now felt as if it had been fated or had happened before. They helped him to lower his little coracle. Then he took off his sword (“I shall need it no more,” he said) and flung it far away across the lilied sea. Where it fell it stood upright with the hilt above the surface.</p>



<p>Then he bade them goodbye, trying to be sad for their sakes; but he was quivering with happiness. Lucy, for the first and last time, did what she had always wanted to do, taking him in her arms and caressing him.</p>



<p>Then hastily he got into his coracle and took his paddle, and the current caught it and away he went, very black against the lilies. But no lilies grew on the wave; it was a smooth green slope. The coracle went more and more quickly, and beautifully it rushed up the wave’s side. For one split second they saw its shape and Reepicheep’s on the very top.</p>



<p>Then it vanished, and since that moment no one can truly claim to have seen Reepicheep the Mouse. But my belief is that he came safe to Aslan’s country and is alive there to this day.</p>
</blockquote>



<p>A class of fifth graders once wrote a letter to C.S. Lewis asking him what some of the characters in <em>Prince Caspian</em> represented as allegories. Lewis responded:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>You are mistaken when you think that everything in the books &#8220;represents&#8221; something in this world. Things do that in <em>The Pilgrim&#8217;s Progress</em> but I&#8217;m not writing in that way &#8230; So the answer to your first two questions is that Reepicheep and Nikabrik don&#8217;t, in that sense, represent anyone. But of course anyone in our world who devotes his whole life to seeking Heaven will be like R, and anyone who wants some worldly thing so badly that he is ready to use wicked means to get it will be likely to behave like N.</p>
</blockquote>



<p>Like the character of Reepicheep, Stan lived a life of devotion to “seeking Heaven.” He constantly wanted to learn more about God through beauty, goodness, and truth. Stan learned about God through the Bible and through sermons, church attendance and the like, but he also learned through lectures, books, audiobooks, and conversations with others. Given his energy and his high level of extraversion (also like Reepicheep), he most often was found in conversation with people about God, sharing pieces of his testimony and hearing those of others around him.</p>



<p>Stan was known for an unwavering dedication to his calling in life, given to him as early as 1972, to lead an effort to influence the world for Christ especially in academia, the arts, and the culture at large. An important piece of our history as a nonprofit organization is that we didn’t start with C.S. Lewis in 1972, but with that calling first. C.S. Lewis came into it when a group of Stan and his fellows asked what previous Christian figure exemplified a threefold dedication to faith, reason, and imagination. Lewis, of course, fit the bill. Because of Stan’s dedication to that calling and mission, many thousands of lives have been directly and indirectly impacted for Christ through the work of the Foundation.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Joyous Courage</strong></h2>



<p>When we are introduced to Reepicheep in <em>Prince Caspian</em>, Lewis describes him (and here I’m paraphrasing to account for changes in word usage) as “a joyous and martial mouse.” Reepicheep is both fearless in battle and courteous elsewhere, experiencing joy in either situation. Though he is not without insecurities when it comes to worrying overly about his own sense of honor, Reepicheep is the first to lead a charge, the first to help others, and the first to express joy. He is energetic and quick to action.</p>



<p>As any leader in nonprofit ministry knows (or discovers very quickly), faithfulness in this world takes immense courage. Through all sorts of trials from the world, the flesh, and the Enemy over his 34 years as President, Stan demonstrated that courage. Like Reepicheep, Stan had his own set of flaws and insecurities, but it’s in the midst of these that courage is so often called forth. Stan trusted the Lord and always desired to lead by following the Spirit. More than anything, he was a man of prayer which tempered his natural eagerness to move forward quickly.</p>



<p>Stan was known for his joy. Anyone that met him could tell you about a time when he saw them and greeted them with a twinkle of joy in his eyes and a smile on his face. He was particularly in his element when he’d talk to someone as if the rest of the world around him didn’t exist in time or space, hearing their story, and encouraging them forward on their journey as Christians.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Hospitable Charity</strong></h2>



<p>One of the greatest characterizations of Reepicheep is his charity towards Eustace after Eustace becomes a dragon in <em>The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</em>. Mistreated by Eustace earlier in the story, to the point where Reepicheep challenges Eustace to a duel for honor, Reepicheep later shows kindness to Eustace when Eustace is distressed at becoming a dragon:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>The pleasure (quite new to him) of being liked and, still more, of liking other people, was what kept Eustace from despair. For it was very dreary being a dragon. He shuddered whenever he caught sight of his own reflection as he flew over a mountain lake. He hated the huge batlike wings, the saw-edge ridge on his back, and the cruel, curved claws. He was almost afraid to be alone with himself and yet he was ashamed to be with the others. On the evenings when he was not being used as a hot-water bottle he would slink away from the camp and lie curled up like a snake between the wood and the water. On such occasions, greatly to his surprise, Reepicheep was his most constant comforter. The noble Mouse would creep away from the merry circle at the camp fire and sit down by the dragon’s head, well to the windward to be out of the way of his smoky breath.</p>
</blockquote>



<p>Like Reepicheep, Stan always wanted to help people forward on their path towards Jesus. I don’t know that Stan ever ended a conversation with anyone, even a brief one, without asking if he could pray for them. I’ve also been with Stan or heard him tell stories multiple times of him stopping while driving to help people who were stranded on the side of the road. He walked through life ready to talk to anyone he encountered about God and about the C.S. Lewis Foundation.</p>



<p>One example of this is that he intentionally wore his C.S. Lewis Foundation polo shirt on flights so that people might ask him about it and begin a conversation. Many times I heard later from people who had met him at the airport or on an airplane. We all knew that Stan would have struck up a conversation about C.S. Lewis and Jesus even without that logo on the shirt! But he purposefully wore it anyway.</p>



<p>Because of his spirit of joy and hospitality in talking with others, Stan was regularly late to important business meetings, events we were hosting, or speaking engagements. He even almost missed a few flights. When in the throes of talking with, helping, and praying for people, he’d lose track of and then disregard time. When it was our job to get him to places at a certain time, it drove the Foundation staff crazy with anxiety. But seeing the shining look on Stan’s face as he talked to people mitigated some of that.</p>



<p>I personally learned some important lessons from this: 1) Be present when learning about people’s stories and give them your full attention, 2) Prioritize people over tasks, and 3) If you need to be somewhere on time where it’s your job to run an event or attend an important meeting, <em>travel separately from Stan</em>. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/1f609.png" alt="😉" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>



<p>I’ve heard and continue to hear countless stories of Stan sitting at a meal with someone in need or spending time on the phone with them helping them figure out their direction in life and praying over them.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Godspeed, My Brother</strong></h2>



<p>I could go on and write so much more about my good friend and mentor, Stan Mattson. I’m sure others will fill in some of the gaps by sharing their own stories about him and his influence on their lives. I’m blessed to have known him and spent so many hours with him these last 17 years. He was a formative influence and even a father figure in my life. While he and I are very different as people, we share some key traits and beliefs that made us kin. I wouldn’t be who I am in Christ now without Stan’s friendship in my life and without the community he gathered forth through the Foundation.</p>



<p>I owe so much to the man that my heart greatly grieves over the coming years before I will see him again in glory.</p>



<p>Bon voyage, my dear friend and brother in Christ. Sail on in those golden waves and experience boundless joy in the heavenly host of companions whom you’ve now joined. You are now part of the Great Feast. You’ve arrived Home, and I can’t wait to rush forward to greet you again when my own time has come.</p>



<p>Further up and further in,</p>



<p>Steven Elmore<br>President, C.S. Lewis Foundation</p>



<p>[Please pray for Stan&#8217;s wife Jean and his family as they mourn. If you&#8217;d like to make a gift in honor of Stan, please visit our <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/give">donation page here.</a>]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/mattson-tribute/">A Tribute in Memory of Dr. J. Stanley Mattson (1937-2024)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog">Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis</a>.</p>
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			<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">7893</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>For Lewis Reading Day, 2023</title>
		<link>https://www.cslewis.org/blog/for-lewis-reading-day-2023/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Beckmann]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Nov 2023 09:49:23 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.cslewis.org/blog/?p=7759</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>When C. S. Lewis gave his famous &#8220;De Descriptione Temporum&#8221; speech at Cambridge University, he described himself as a &#8220;dinosaur&#8221; partly because his education had been of the older type, where it was expected that a youth read the classics in the original Greek or Latin.&#160; Though he went on to teach Philosophy and English [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/for-lewis-reading-day-2023/">For Lewis Reading Day, 2023</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog">Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="940" height="788" src="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Untitled-design.png" alt="" class="wp-image-7760" style="aspect-ratio:1.1928934010152283;width:431px;height:auto" srcset="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Untitled-design.png 940w, https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Untitled-design-300x251.png 300w, https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Untitled-design-250x210.png 250w" sizes="(max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A depiction of the planet, Mercury.</figcaption></figure></div>


<p class="has-black-color has-text-color">When C. S. Lewis gave his famous &#8220;De Descriptione Temporum&#8221; speech at Cambridge University, he described himself as a &#8220;dinosaur&#8221; partly because his education had been of the older type, where it was expected that a youth read the classics in the original Greek or Latin.&nbsp; Though he went on to teach Philosophy and English Literature at Oxford, he could easily have taught the Classics and the languages.&nbsp; One of his teachers said Lewis was more talented in his translation work than any other student he had known.&nbsp; Though his career went elsewhere, Lewis never left his love for the Classics in his heart.&nbsp; One recalls that passage in <em>Surprised by Joy</em>, when an important step toward his eventual conversion to theism occurred as he picked back up the <em>Hippolytus, </em>and that old enjoyment resurged in his heart.</p>



<p class="has-black-color has-text-color">Another indication of Lewis&#8217;s love for the Classics is his lifelong practice of reworking different mythological themes or stories in his poetry and prose.&nbsp; His most famous would surely be <em>Till We Have Faces</em>, the re-telling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche.&nbsp; There are, of course, a lot of classical mythology references in the Narnian Chronicles &#8211; figures such as nymphs, fauns, centaurs, and even Bacchus himself, pop up here and there.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p class="has-black-color has-text-color">On this first annual C. S. Lewis Reading Day, I would like to point the reader to the reworking of classical myths in Lewis&#8217;s poetry.&nbsp; I like to call these mini-narratives the &#8220;forgotten stories&#8221; of C. S. Lewis.&nbsp; They are delightful.&nbsp; In the book <em>Poems</em>, you will find stories such as &#8220;Pan&#8217;s Purge,&#8221; &#8220;Pindar Sang,&#8221; &#8220;The Magician and the Dryad.&#8221;&nbsp; My favourite is &#8220;The Birth of Language.&#8221;</p>



<p class="has-black-color has-text-color">You will recall that the god Mercury (the Greek, Hermes) was the god of rhetoric, communication, language, travel, speed, etc.&nbsp; The planet closest to the Sun, Mercury, is named after him, being the planet that speeds in its orbit the quickest of the rest.&nbsp; Lewis wonders about the identity of the planet with Mercury, and he wonders how the words we speak emanate from the deity.&nbsp; His imaginative answers to these questions are versed in &#8220;The Birth of Language.&#8221;&nbsp; </p>



<p class="has-black-color has-text-color">Echoing his Platonism, Lewis imagines our words originally born as living creatures on Mercury.&nbsp; They are living flames, engendered by the Sun.&nbsp; In semblance, they carry wreathed rods and &#8220;sandals fledged with wings&#8221; &#8211; the origin of the appearance of the god himself.&nbsp; They eventually travel to earth, chilled and shrunken by the cold they encounter.&nbsp; But, just as the apple tree in the Professor&#8217;s back yard would sometimes sway to the winds of Narnia, so these words will sometimes remember their origin.&nbsp; The occasion on which this occurs reveals the literary point Lewis is making with the poem. I&#8217;ll not spoil it for you.</p>



<p class="has-black-color has-text-color">Will you read Lewis today with us?&nbsp; If so, adventure into his poetry.&nbsp; The flame of Mercurian genius is there to be found.</p>


<p>————————–<br />
Please note that the content and viewpoints of Rev. Beckmann are his own and are not necessarily those of the C.S. Lewis Foundation. We have not edited his writing in any substantial way and have permission from him to post his content.<br />
————————–</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-6597 alignleft" src="http://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/me-video-library-cropped-300x159.jpg" alt="" width="217" height="115" style="float: left;padding: 10px 10px 10px 10px" srcset="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/me-video-library-cropped-300x159.jpg 300w, https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/me-video-library-cropped-1024x542.jpg 1024w, https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/me-video-library-cropped-250x132.jpg 250w, https://www.cslewis.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/me-video-library-cropped.jpg 1607w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 217px) 100vw, 217px" />The Rev. David Beckmann has for many years been involved in both the Church and education. He helped to start a Christian school in South Carolina, tutored homeschoolers, and has been adjunct faculty for both Covenant College and the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga.  He founded the C.S. Lewis Society of Chattanooga in 2005. He has spoken extensively on C.S Lewis, and was the Director of the C.S Lewis Study Centre at The Kilns from 2014-2015.  He is currently a Regional Representative for the C.S. Lewis Foundation in Chattanooga.</p><p>The post <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/for-lewis-reading-day-2023/">For Lewis Reading Day, 2023</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog">Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">7759</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Announcing our Writer’s Conference and other events through 2025</title>
		<link>https://www.cslewis.org/blog/announcing-our-writers-conference-and-other-events-through-2025/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[cslewisfoundation]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 28 Oct 2023 20:54:13 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.cslewis.org/blog/?p=7731</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Dear Friend, Greetings! We hope you are enjoying these cooler autumn days and that the upcoming holiday season will be a blessing for you and your families. We regularly pray for our friends, supporters, and speakers. If you have a prayer request, simply reply to this email and let us know. &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;- We are excited [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/announcing-our-writers-conference-and-other-events-through-2025/">Announcing our Writer’s Conference and other events through 2025</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog">Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>Dear Friend,</p>



<p>Greetings! We hope you are enjoying these cooler autumn days and that the upcoming holiday season will be a blessing for you and your families.</p>



<p>We regularly pray for our friends, supporters, and speakers. If you have a prayer request, simply reply to this email and let us know.</p>



<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>



<p>We are excited to announce our <a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296886/434897377/-1510865067?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">May 2024 C.S. Lewis Writer&#8217;s Conference</a>! We currently have an email waitlist where you can sign up for informational updates and notification on an official website as soon as it&#8217;s up and running. Read below for dates, details, and the waitlist sign-up link.</p>



<p>We would like to highlight other upcoming events in 2024 and 2025, along with several new books from friends of our community.&nbsp;</p>



<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>



<p>Please partner with us today by<a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296887/434897378/1829150488?f=001FC39HmTgKmaptvJUJqxcyEGapv1Pm-QKeNOZIx5IEHhIcfRfMHPThLGu7laGXTHvzokykPa34O7R8rHUjH37cmPKzOWKVfj3ONGdr_dPvAlTlMZLxSoODXGHkd9dKqjCKhyvv710EtGA9psM8MBqdPGQNfroYzoUJ399-BtIKCRkBBjp3txTLYvkGARDFIv-qCm3vPMU0Mbuu_xk6M9Vzg==&amp;c=1kt3zd5-W0-NGLXN2cMjf6khY4KdWWFVtvWu3s9cYQyG4c04RcN2pw==&amp;ch=52bOKZlrKyfveZ-W4tRvTi2p5maPFW3tHkTZc6RcKwBzVfXdQ5czOg==&amp;nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> </a><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296888/434897379/1829150488?f=001FC39HmTgKmaptvJUJqxcyEGapv1Pm-QKeNOZIx5IEHhIcfRfMHPThF1SJ9UHTM69G3SgI-r4654pQ0uHXbQJqvHoyuQR26wyoXVxCXZcmXwWcENjJrYwL3qp65UZ9OX5n6O-xZg-q3e3_Jap30jna6C7Q_BrNnZF&amp;c=1kt3zd5-W0-NGLXN2cMjf6khY4KdWWFVtvWu3s9cYQyG4c04RcN2pw==&amp;ch=52bOKZlrKyfveZ-W4tRvTi2p5maPFW3tHkTZc6RcKwBzVfXdQ5czOg==&amp;nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">making a gift towards our upcoming programs and outreach</a>.</p>



<p>Join our community in encouraging and equipping Christians to live out their faith in the world of ideas and the arts.</p>



<p>Your gift will support the work and ministry of the C.S. Lewis Foundation and the regular preservation and upkeep of C.S. Lewis&#8217;s beloved home, &#8220;The Kilns.&#8221;</p>



<p>Thank you!</p>



<p><strong>Steven Elmore</strong> President</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The C.S. Lewis Writer&#8217;s Conference</strong></h2>



<p><strong><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296889/434897380/-1510865067?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cultivating a Writer&#8217;s Life</a></strong></p>



<p><strong>May 2 &#8211; 4, 2024</strong></p>



<p><strong>Join us at Glen Eyrie, amid the dramatic backdrop of the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, for the C.S. Lewis Foundation&#8217;s first Writer&#8217;s Conference co-hosted by <a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296890/434897381/1338135408?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cultivating Oaks Press</a>!</strong></p>



<p>Our keynote speakers include:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296891/434897382/1338135408?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Lancia E. Smith</strong></a>, Publisher and Executive Director of Cultivating Oaks Press</li>



<li><strong><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296892/434897383/-851606824?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Steve Laube</a></strong>, literary agent and President of The&nbsp;Steve Laube&nbsp;Agency</li>



<li><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296893/434897384/-668680639?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Sally Clarkson</strong></a>, best-selling author and co-founder of <strong><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296894/434897385/631662601?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Whole Heart Ministries</a></strong></li>



<li><strong><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296895/434897386/2105456889?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jonathan Rogers</a></strong>, author of The Wilderking Trilogy and host of <strong><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296896/434897387/-1247777548?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Habit Membership</a></strong> and <strong><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296897/434897388/969486264?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">podcast</a></strong></li>
</ul>



<p>We&nbsp;currently have an email waitlist where you can sign up for informational updates and receive a notification once the conference&#8217;s official website and registration are up and running.&nbsp;</p>



<div class="wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex">
<div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-element-button" href="https://www.cslewis.org/writers/"><strong>Sign Up Here</strong></a></div>
</div>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>2024 &#8211; 2025 Upcoming Events</strong></h2>



<p><strong>We have several important dates on our calendar for 2024 and 2025.</strong> Please be sure to mark your own calendars for one (or all!) of these events:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>May 2 &#8211; 4, 2024: <a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296899/434897390/-1510865067?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The C.S. Lewis Writer&#8217;s Conference: <em>Cultivating a Writer&#8217;s Life</em></a></strong><em><strong>&nbsp;</strong></em>(Colorado Springs, CO)</li>



<li><strong>July 20 &#8211; August 3, 2024: The C.S. Lewis Summer Seminars&nbsp;</strong>(Oxford, England)</li>



<li><strong>November 1-3, 2024: The C.S. Lewis Conference &amp; Faculty Forum, co-hosted by <a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296900/434897391/251589130?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The C.S. Lewis Study Center</a> </strong>(University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA)</li>



<li><strong>July 24 &#8211; 30, 2025: The C.S. Lewis Summer Institute </strong>(Belfast, Ireland)</li>
</ul>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>From Friends of our Community</strong></h2>



<p>Several friends of our community have recently released books about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, while another is about to launch a play about these two authors. Here are some brief descriptions about each project:</p>



<p><em><strong>~ <a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296901/434897392/285272536?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A Narnian Vision of the Atonement: A Defense of the Ransom Theory</a></strong></em><strong>&nbsp;by Charles Taliaferro:&nbsp;</strong>How can we have redemption or atonement (at-one-ment) with God? Ancient Christians proposed a ransom theory, according to which God pays the ransom for us through heroic self-sacrifice so we can be liberated from the power of the demonic, sin, and death. This theory is widely rejected by philosophers and theologians, yet C. S. Lewis boldly portrays atonement in precisely such terms in his seven-volume The Chronicles of Narnia. In this book, philosopher Charles Taliaferro defends the integrity and beauty of redemption in these stories and offers a Narnia-inspired Christian theory of atonement.</p>



<p><strong><em>~ <a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296902/434897393/372356323?ref_=ast_author_dp&amp;nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tolkien&#8217;s Faith: A Spiritual Biography</a> </em></strong><strong>by Holly Ordway: </strong>Tolkien described <em>The Lord of the Rings</em> as “a fundamentally religious and Catholic work” and declared, “I am a Christian (which can be deduced from my stories).” Yet he insisted his writings were not allegories, and Middle-earth is loved by millions who do not share his religious beliefs.&nbsp;How were his faith and his fiction related? Holly Ordway answers that question biographically, focusing on Tolkien’s spiritual development, a dramatic story that previous accounts of his life have left largely unexplored.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong><em>~ <a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296903/434897394/-870466587?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Major and the Missionary: The Letters Of Warren Hamilton Lewis And Blanche Biggs</a> </em>by Diana Pavlac Glyer: </strong>After the death of his brother, Warren Lewis lived at The Kilns in Oxford, edited his famous brother&#8217;s letters, and did a little writing of his own. Then he got a letter from a stranger on the far side of the world. Over the years that followed, he and Blanche Biggs, a missionary in Papua New Guinea, shared a vibrant correspondence. These conversations encompassed their views on faith, their politics, their humor, the legacy of C. S. Lewis, and their own trials and longings. Their letters paint a colorful portrait that illuminates not only the particulars of distant times and places, but the intimate contours of a rare friendship. <strong><em><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296904/434897395/1375410086?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lewis and Tolkien</a>:</em> </strong>Set in Oxford, England in the autumn of 1963 at the famous “Rabbit Room” of the Eagle and Child Pub, this play centers around C.S. Lewis (author of The Chronicles of Narnia) and J.R.R. Tolkien (who wrote The Lord of the Rings). Filled with humor, rousing debate, and reconciliation, the two men learn the true value of their friendship with a little help from a few pints of beer and the energetically curious barmaid, Veronica. Starring Philip Crowley as Lewis and Michael Beattie as Tolkien. <a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296905/434897396/1375410086?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tickets on sale now for October 27 &#8211; December 3</a>.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!</strong></h2>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="&quot;Baseball, Enchantment, and Children’s Literature&quot; - A Conversation with David Bentley Hart" width="1140" height="641" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YGDwcP0_6b8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296906/434897397/-803653937?v=YGDwcP0_6b8&amp;nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Please enjoy one of our newest videos</a>,&nbsp;a recording of our webinar with David Bentley Hart, &#8220;Baseball, Enchantment, and Children&#8217;s Literature.&#8221;&nbsp;</p>



<p>While you&#8217;re watching this recording, please&nbsp;<a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296907/434897398/1829150488?f=001FC39HmTgKmaptvJUJqxcyEGapv1Pm-QKeNOZIx5IEHhIcfRfMHPThLGu7laGXTHv73VInbdXMNpx-PwhZcQwXn9KSbqDcgdKxAqQFkNKLgTJ891xbfZlRRczDSxH3Kjz5dLK5b4BwqYWKbdRUhfuJYwS2GxtPAH4W2dQ18A9uK9vpx1-t7PyUY4fkItrB6z_&amp;c=1kt3zd5-W0-NGLXN2cMjf6khY4KdWWFVtvWu3s9cYQyG4c04RcN2pw==&amp;ch=52bOKZlrKyfveZ-W4tRvTi2p5maPFW3tHkTZc6RcKwBzVfXdQ5czOg==&amp;nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe to our channel</a>&nbsp;to get automatically notified whenever we add a new video.&nbsp;And if you like one in particular,&nbsp;feel free to click the &#8220;like&#8221; button&nbsp;as it&#8217;ll trigger YouTube to recommend the video to others! For more information on our in-person events and online webinars, please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/72296908/434897399/1829150488?f=001FC39HmTgKmaptvJUJqxcyEGapv1Pm-QKeNOZIx5IEHhIcfRfMHPThNVcZ2Oz8g4Z1XdtCuQkhqIDid3hOEQ4hXcgFlZn5K6CXSWQVD7_rouS6CFMwC7u8zNDvImJylhFdRoOAiWyQq3qlTQY3M6Xiw==&amp;c=1kt3zd5-W0-NGLXN2cMjf6khY4KdWWFVtvWu3s9cYQyG4c04RcN2pw==&amp;ch=52bOKZlrKyfveZ-W4tRvTi2p5maPFW3tHkTZc6RcKwBzVfXdQ5czOg==&amp;nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAxNi8xLzEwNDQxMSIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICJjZmVkMjdmYy1lOTc0LWVlMTEtYjAwNC0wMDIyNDgzMmViNzMiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogInN0ZXZlbkBjc2xld2lzLm9yZyINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=j_Pj0KQbivhZXFzwrmlLC1d6gl0m865HbjtK2ThlOqo=&amp;emci=56024666-4e73-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=cfed27fc-e974-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=13844450" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.cslewis.org</a>. We hope you can join us in celebrating faith, reason, and imagination in the company of friends.&nbsp;</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Donate to the C.S. Lewis Foundation</strong></h2>



<p>Inspired by the life of C.S. Lewis, we invite you to partner with us to equip and encourage Christians to make a difference by being salt and light to the culture around them.&nbsp;Know that your generous contribution will be given directly in support of programs, both at home and in the field, with the vision to restore a vital Christian presence throughout the world of learning and the culture at large.</p>



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<p>The post <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog/announcing-our-writers-conference-and-other-events-through-2025/">Announcing our Writer’s Conference and other events through 2025</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cslewis.org/blog">Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis</a>.</p>
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