Kindlings WinterFest 2016: The Legacy of C.S Lewis

Friday, March 4 – Sunday, March 6, Orcas Community Church

— from Meredith Griffith —

This March, Kindlings WinterFest will present lecturer Reverend Earl Palmer on the topic, “The Legacy of C.S. Lewis: A friend for your spiritual, intellectual and creative journey.”

“WinterFest is a lecture series designed to explore ideas that matter for believers and the spiritually or intellectually curious alike,” says Dick Staub, senior pastor at Orcas Island Community Church, which hosts the annual WinterFest event. Every year The Kindlings invite a provocative thinker to Orcas Island for this event.

The schedule runs as follows:

• Friday, March 4 at 7 p.m: C.S. Lewis: Surprised by Joy: An unbelieving Oxford scholar’s reluctant and relational journey to belief.

• Saturday, March 5 at 10 a.m.: Contemplative Worship With Jeff Johnson and Brian Moss

• Saturday, March 5 at 11 a.m.: Merely Christian: A compelling invitation to a larger hope.

• Saturday, March 5 at 7 p.m.: Exploring the Imaginary Worlds of CS Lewis

• Sunday, March 6, at 9:30 a.m.: Lewis’ Timeless Words for a World in Crisis

Former senior pastor at Seattle’s University Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church Berkeley, Reverend Earl Palmer is known for his warm-hearted, insightful, down-to-earth presentations, and renowned as one of the great world-class experts on Christian scholar and author C.S. Lewis. Since Rev. Palmer’s graduation from Berkeley and then Princeton Divinity School, this pastor-scholar and engaging communicator has dedicated himself to understanding Lewis and his relevance for today.

One of the leading public intellectuals of the 20th century, Oxford scholar C.S. Lewis was a British novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, broadcaster, lecturer, and Christian apologist. He held academic positions at both Oxford and Cambridge University. He is best known for his fictional work, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain. During WinterFest weekend we’ll get an overview of a few of his most famous books: Surprised by Joy, Mere Christianity, Chronicles of Narnia, The Great Divorce, and more.

Lewis and fellow novelist J. R. R. Tolkien were close friends and were active in the informal Oxford literary group known as the Inklings. Inspired by the Inklings, The Kindlings movement was founded with the goal to rekindle lively, intelligent, and imaginative discourse in the context of  Christianity and culture.

Everyone is welcome to attend Kindlings WinterFest to join the discussion.

“One of the things I love about Orcas Island is the intellectual and spiritual curiosity of islanders,” says Staub.

All events will be held at Orcas Island Community Church. Suggested donation is $80 for the weekend or $25 for an individual lecture, paid at the door. To register, visit https://orcaschurch.org/events/special-events.