View of the sunset from Northfield.

Part of a lecture on the Great Awakening and the history of the Connecticut River Valley by Rev. Dr. Leslie Fairfield.

Tags: C.S. Lewis College, Massachusetts, Northfield, Vacation with a Purpose

Nan Rinella and Dave Powell, great-grandson of DL Moody

I went back to college. Not to the University of Colorado or UCLA, like in the sixties, or even to West Texas A&M in the nineties to study for a second career. This was back on campus for a vacation of sorts, if you call a ten-day sabbatical working at giving an abandoned campus a facelift in preparation for its rebirth, a vacation?

It was a sweaty but satisfying endeavor. Five years have passed since the former school vacated. Plaster has cracked; wallpaper peeled, pipes burst, dirt amassed, and cobweb invaded. Graffiti screamed from the walls of the basements, books cried for attention, and cabinets and closets begged to be emptied. Into this chaos marched the volunteers. But first there were dorms to be cleaned, beds to be made, bathrooms to be scrubbed, and food to be prepared.

Reminiscent of the “Vacation With A Purpose” that resurrected The Kilns, volunteers came from all over in order to roll up their sleeves to clean, organize, categorize books, diagram floor plans, and other elbow-greasing chores to beautify the buildings on this magnificent campus. These pilgrims were joined by a battalion of locals, who are so delighted with the new future of their beloved campus they enlisted in the grand effort, and in no small way.

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Tags: C.S. Lewis College, Camp Allen, Massachusetts, Nan Rinella, Northfield, VWAP

Our dear friend and event speaker Malcolm Guite just invited me to link to a post on his blog related to this year’s Summer Seminar at The Kilns.  Malcolm spent an afternoon with a group of seminar participants at the Orchard in Granchester.  After receiving an unexpected and very welcome gift from Jerry Root, Malcolm was inspired to post a poem he wrote called “Tree and Leaf.”  Read about it on his blog.

And don’t miss out on Malcolm speaking at the 2010 Southwest Regional Retreat!  He’ll be joined by Louis Markos, Randy Alcorn, David McKechnie, and several others.  Performing will be Noel Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul, & Mary fame) and Ad Deum Dance Company.

Tags: Ad Deum Dance Company, David McKechnie, Louis Markos, Malcolm Guite, Noel Paul Stookey, Peter Paul & Mary, Randy Alcorn, Southwest Regional Retreat, Summer Seminars

Inside of the theater in Dolben Library:

Work being done on Moore Cottage:

Repainting a building on the Northfield Campus:

Tags: C.S. Lewis College, C.S. Lewis Foundation, Massachusetts, Northfield, Vacation with a Purpose