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.

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Charn_Tim had the pleasure of going to the C.S. Lewis Foundation’s summer conference this year, and I asked him to write a little bit about his experience. He writes:

The C.S. Lewis Foundation held its triennial 2 week major international conference, Oxbridge Summer Institute, from July 28th to August 11th at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England. About three hundred attendees from varied backgrounds gathered at Oxbridge for a time of fellowship and nourishment of mind, body, and spirit with renowned scholars from the arts and sciences, preachers, business professionals, and literary, visual, and performing artists. Throughout the two week institute these scholars, artists, and professionals addressed this year’s conference theme “The Self and the Search for Meaning” from unique perspectives.

In addition to dynamic teaching, attendees experienced grand artistic performances, including an evensong at the ancient and prestigious Ely Cathedral, a dramatic solo version of Lewis’s classic The Great Divorce by professional actor Tony Lawton, and a full scale orchestral performance with the Institute’s choir. Also offered was a guided tour of C.S. Lewis’ Oxford home, called the Kilns, which has been rebuilt and maintained by the C.S. Lewis Foundation and has now been converted to the C.S. Lewis study center.

Even if one did not participate in Oxbridge 2008, it is still possible to experience some of the great teaching and performances, because all sessions were recorded and will be appearing on the Oxbridge 2008 website within the next month. Furthermore, original papers read in the afternoon academic paper sessions will be submitted to the C.S. Lewis Foundation’s online journal, In Pursuit of Truth, with many expected to appear in upcoming journal issues. And watch for the next Oxbridge Summer Institute, expected in 2011!

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Dr. Devin Brown recently served as the Scholar-in-Residence for a weeklong Summer Seminar at The Kilns, C.S. Lewis’s home just outside of Oxford, England. The seminar was put on by the C.S. Lewis Foundation, which purchased The Kilns in 1984 and has restored it to its 1930s appearance.

The seminar was composed of fourteen participants from all walks of life who came to live and study in Lewis’s home. In addition to the daily classes which were taught by Dr. Brown in The Kilns’ library, the group was able to tour Lewis’s college, worship at the church he attended, and eat at The Eagle and Child—the pub which hosted the weekly meetings of the Inklings, the writing group composed of Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and their friends.

Lewis moved into The Kilns in 1930 and lived there until his death in 1963. It was the first and the only home he owned.

Read the rest at Asbury.edu

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The Angelican Communion News Service reported that CS Lewis’ Oxford home, The Kilns will be recieving a Blue Plaque that will commemorate the home as an important historical landmark. Below is an excerpt from the article

“We have very stringent rules and only award blue plaques for the highest level of achievement,” says Eda Forbes, secretary to the Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board ahead of the unveiling this week of a special plaque at The Kilns, the home of the scholar, author and Christian thinker C.S. Lewis, who died in 1963.

Today, Lewis’s work continues to touch the lives of millions, not least through Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia films. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe came first and now Prince Caspian, the second movie in the series, is on general release in the UK. This month has also seen the publication of a new edition of C.S. Lewis’s 1942 bestseller, The Screwtape Letters, in which a senior devil writes words of advice to a junior devil. In all, Lewis wrote 40 books, most of which are still in print. His sales to date total around 100 million copies in 35 languages.

Lewis lived at The Kilns, now in Lewis Close, Headington, Oxford, from 1930 to 1963 and it was there that he wrote many of his works, including the Narnia series of books, based on four children who lived with Lewis and his family as evacuees during the Second World War. Today in The Kilns, now a Christian study centre owned and restored by the California-based C.S. Lewis Foundation, a period wardrobe stands in the hallway in the very place where one stood in Lewis’s day. It was a wardrobe that gave the Oxford don the idea for a gateway through which his young characters could enter the magical world of Narnia.

Walter Hooper, Lewis’s former secretary and literary advisor to his estate, will unveil the C.S. Lewis blue plaque on Saturday 26 July at 10.30 a.m. Sir Hugo Brunner, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire and chairman of the Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board, will explain why his board decided to designate The Kilns as an historic landmark to mark the contribution of C.S. Lewis to scholarship and literature. Stan Mattson, founder and president of the C.S. Lewis Foundation, will also speak on the importance of Lewis for today and introduce Oxbridge 2008, the Foundation’s two-week conference that immediately follows Saturday’s blue plaque event.

Others who have indicated they will attend the ceremony include the Lord Mayor of Oxford (Councillor Susanna Pressel), the chairman of Oxfordshire County Council (Councillor Tony Crabbe), the chairman of South Oxfordshire District Council (Councillor Colin Dawkes) and the chairman of the Oxford Civic Society (Mr Tony Joyce). Professor David Clary, president of Magdalen College, where Lewis taught, is also expected to be present.

Read the rest at the Angelican Communion News Service.

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This summer offers a rare opportunity for you to spend one week at The Kilns, the beloved home of C.S. Lewis in Oxford, England!

Imagine living in the same charming brick cottage where C.S. Lewis lived for most of his adult life, and also to:

· Grow in your own spiritual journey through lectures, discussion and reflection in the peaceful setting of The Kilns and around England

· Experience the historic settings of Lewis’ spiritual journey and conversion story, including Addison’s Walk at Magdalen College

· Feast on the fellowship and delightful offerings from the kitchen at The Kilns; take afternoon tea on the lawn beneath blossoming fruit trees; and find the perfect Cornish pasty at the Covered Market in Oxford

· Share this adventure among new friends eager to engage the times with a vibrant living faith

You’ll find all this and more at the Summer Seminars-in-Residence at The Kilns.

Act now to reserve your place at the table and to experience this unique opportunity!

Week I
July 5 – 11, 2008

Dr. Chris Mitchell Director, Marion E. Wade Center and Professor of Theology,
Wheaton College

Register Now!

Week II
July 13-19, 2008

Dr. Devin Brown Author and Professor of English,
Asbury College

Register Now!

For detailed seminar descriptions and registration information, please visit the Summer Seminar website or call toll-free 1-888-CSLEWIS.

For an unforgettable inside visit to the world of Lewis’ Oxford and Cambridge, this most uniqe program offers the definitive experience. You simply won’t want to miss it!

* Program details are subject to change.

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From Steve Elmore of the C.S. Lewis Foundation:

The C.S. Lewis Foundation is pleased to announce the Southeast Regional C.S. Lewis Conference. Come join us in Nashville on May 5 as we engage the world of C.S. Lewis in the good company of Lewis scholars Joseph Pearce, Stan Mattson and Andrew Lazo. Together we will explore Lewis’ life and works, discovering the essential role of faith in our own quest for joy.

Also featuring professional dance and music performances, a new Disney film documentary on Lewis’ life, and a special Narnia program for children. Don’t miss this day of learning, worship, and fellowship for the whole family! Register now! Visit our website www.cslewis.org or call toll-free 1-888-CSLEWIS.

“Faith Set Free: C.S. Lewis and the Quest for Joy” also includes performances by the Ad Deum Dance Company of Houston with guest vocalist Stacy Jagger and screening of new Disney documentary C.S. Lewis: Dreamer of Narnia. May 5, 2007.

More Conferences/Seminars:

C.S. Lewis Summer Conference, San Diego, California – “Finding the Way: C.S. Lewis as Pilgrim Guide in an Age of Pluralism” – Together with leading Lewis scholars Paul Ford, Malcolm Guite, and Diana Glyer plus Lambs Players, Steve Mays and Christians of every communion, we will study C. S. Lewis’ writings to discern what it means to be faithful to Christ in a world of increasing religious and philosophical diversity. Enjoy a full program of teaching, worship and performance in this beautiful city by the Pacific! June 28-July 1, 2007.

C.S. Lewis Summer Seminars-in-Residence at The Kilns, Oxford, England. Week-long, small-group seminars addressing relevant themes in C.S. Lewis’ former home in Oxford. July 7-13, 15-21, & 28 – August 3, 2007.

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A Northern Ireland CS Lewis fan has come forward with a letter from the author which he stumbled across in a public auction. The Co Down man, who wishes to remain anonymous, came across the find in a Belfast auction some years ago, but has now dug it out to have it inspected in the wake of the global success of the CS Lewis film, The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe.

He said: “I found it among a lot of items which appeared to be a house clearance and it was actually sitting in a copy of one of his books, The Screwtape Letters. “It is nice to have it as he is a writer I greatly respect. “It was written from his home, The Kilns in England, to a lady in Belfast during the 1940s and he was simply telling her about the publication date for his next book. “I have read various biographies about him and was aware that he used a reference number on every letter he wrote, and this one is no exception.” Former chairman of the CS Lewis Centenary Group, James O’Fee, said: “When CS Lewis first became famous he would have been getting hundreds of letters every day and it was his policy to reply to each one by return post. “Although this doesn’t sound like a very substantial letter, it just shows you that such items can turn up in the most unexpected places.”

[By Philip Bradfield]

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