The following post is from Cole Matson, one of our Scholars-in-Residence at The Kilns.  Taken with permission from his blog The Unicorn Triumphant, Cole’s post gives his reaction about the recent C.S. Lewis College announcement and his ideas on the relationship of the arts, Great Books, and Christianity at the future college. Thank you Cole for the very thoughtful post!

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Note: Cole Matson’s ideas, including those about the future curriculum of C.S. Lewis College, are his own and do not necessarily represent those of the C.S. Lewis Foundation or C.S. Lewis College.

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I have just returned from a week-and-a-half’s vacation with my family in India. We went from Delhi to Jaipur to Corbett National Park to Nainital in the foothills of the Himalayas. (Let me just say that the sunsets up there are absolutely gorgeous, and I could happily live as a hermit for a summer in sight of those snowy peaks.) I returned to Oxford with family in tow on Sunday to the sight of snow covering the ground. It looks like we’ll be having a white Christmas here at the Kilns!

(Picture snapped yesterday morning) Photograph by Cole Matson.

I also arrived home to some news so good I’ve been sharing it with folks left and right:

Announcing the founding of C.S. LEWIS COLLEGE!

You heard that right, folks. After years of work, one of the C.S. Lewis Foundation’s two major physical projects – the other being the running of the Kilns and its programs – finally has a home, and a proposed start date. And I – and the other friends of the Foundation with whom I’ve spoken – couldn’t be happier.

On the website linked to above, you’ll find information on the Dec. 16th announcement, including videos from the press conference with the participating organizations, and an information video on the plan for the College. There are also press documents and FAQs, as well as links to the venture’s partners.

(Picture from new C.S. Lewis College campus. Photography by Sharon LaBella-Lindale. More pictures available here.)

C.S. Lewis College is exactly the kind of college I was looking for as a high school senior interested in both professional-level theatre training and a solid foundation in the liberal arts within a Christian academy. I didn’t find such an environment at the time (though I have since been informed of smaller Christian colleges that I have been told have excellent theatre programs, such as Benedictine College in Kansas), so I was split between my two top choices. One was Wheaton College, which my father, grandfather, and several other family members had attended and loved, and which impressed me with its commitment to a solidly intellectual Christian environment and the warmth and fellowship of its students and faculty. The other was New York University, which had an academic culture that was the polar opposite of Wheaton’s (just how much so I was to find out later), but which had one of the top undergraduate professional theatre training programs in the country. Wheaton did not even have a theatre major. So, on the advice of my father, I chose NYU. My father knew that I wanted top-level training, and I think he also knew that he did not have to worry about me losing my faith in NYU’s strongly secular environment.

I’ve often wondered if I made the right choice. I was greatly challenged by my teachers, made good friends, Read the rest of this entry »

It is with genuine sorrow that we announce to the family of the C.S. Lewis Foundation that Robert “Bob” Lehnhart passed away on August 17, 2009 in a boating accident in the Pacific off Juneau, Alaska, the home of one of his and Mary’s children and grandchildren.

On Saturday, August 29, 2009, a memorial service was held for Bob at Presbyterian Church of the Master, his and Mary’s church in Mission Viejo, California.  In a warm and moving service, many hundreds of people from all over the world celebrated “a life well-lived.”  Bob and Mary’s three children and nine grandchildren testified to Bob’s love for Christ, his compassion for the poor, his irrepressible humor and good will, and his passion for his family.

Bob had been involved in the activities and strategic planning of the C.S. Lewis Foundation for over ten years.  Bob first attended Oxbridge ‘98, following which he and Mary participated in many events of the Foundation.  Bob was for several years a strong member of the Steering Committee for the C.S. Lewis Foundation’s Faculty Forum, a program dedicated to networking and supporting Christian faculty and administrators in advancing the renewal of Christian thought and creative expression throughout the world of learning.

Bob had a remarkable career in Christian ministry.  After completing his baccalaureate degree at Bryan College and subsequent flight training, Bob joined Missionary Aviation Fellowship in 1959 and actively flew in support of Christian missions in Brazil and Ecuador for several years.  He then served in leadership positions in the MAF home office for several years.  After a few years in the business world, Bob returned to non-profit leadership, in 1984 becoming the Founding President of Air Serv International, a humanitarian MAF spin-off organization providing in-country light aircraft transport services for the international relief and development community in remote famine/civil war stricken areas in Africa.  He retired from Air Serv in 1994 and obtained his Master’s degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University.  He taught International Relations at Concordia University, Irvine and Vanguard University, Costa Mesa.

In addition to his volunteer work with the C.S. Lewis Foundation, Bob was active in his church and in local community service organizations aimed at helping the poor and disenfranchised.  He was also an active mentor and counselor to many in service and Christian ministry.  Indeed, the C.S. Lewis Foundation was a major beneficiary of his wealth of wisdom and vision.  We pray God’s mercies and blessings upon Mary, Bob’s children, and his grandchildren during these difficult days.