Please check the schedule to see what time each session is being held
Early Arrival Add-On Sessions
C.S. Lewis 101: Life
Leader: Andrew Lazo
Time: 2:45 PM Friday November 6th
Explores the biographical milestones, upbringing in Northern Ireland, and formative years of C.S. Lewis.
The Pantomime Demon and the Real Trap-Door
Leader: Jason Smith
Time: 2:45 PM Friday November 6th
This session explores Uncle Andrew’s machinations and their relevance to today’s transhumanist movement. Using as our guide Lewis’ assertion in The Abolition of Man that magic and applied science are “twins… born of the same impulse”, we will trace his prophetic warnings about mistaking science for religion through The Magician’s Nephew and the Ransom trilogy, briefly survey where society stands today on these matters, and discuss what Christians should do in response.
C.S. Lewis 101: Works
Leader: Andrew Lazo
Time: 4:00 PM Friday November 6th
Breaks down major themes and the context behind Lewis’s influential fiction and non-fiction writings
Book Discussion Group on The Magician’s Nephew
Leader: Lori Arnold
Time: 4:00 PM Friday November 6th
Have you read The Magician’s Nephew in anticipation of the retreat this year? Are you excited to talk with other conference attendees about The Magician’s Nephew and its place within The Chronicles of Narnia? Early arrivals are invited to join a book discussion group led by Dr. Lori Arnold, an English professor and experienced discussion group leader. The goal of this breakout session is to provide an opportunity to join with other Lewis enthusiasts in discussing the delightful book that is the focus of the retreat this year.
Saturday Morning Breakout Sessions
Special Lewis Themed Session
Leader: Andrew Lazo
Time: 11:00 AM Friday November 7th
TBA
Bearing Witness (Live Stream Session)
Leader: Lancia Smith
Time: 11:00 AM Friday November 7th
What does it mean to truly bear witness to Christ in our everyday lives? This session will explore how, as Christians, we can reflect Christ more faithfully through our words, actions, relationships, and the way we live out our faith. Together, we’ll consider what it looks like to point others toward Christ—not simply by what we say, but by how we live.
Great Books Sessions 1: Selections from Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzche
Leaders: Jason Smith and Lori Arnold
Time: 11:00 AM Friday November 7th
Lewis fondly remarked, “When one has read a book, I think there is nothing so nice as discussing it with some one else – even though it sometimes produces rather fierce arguments.” The C.S. Lewis Great Books Sessions celebrate just that kind of community which arises from reflective reading and good talk.
In the spirit of the Inklings, readers from a wide range of experience and familiarity with Lewis’s works meet together to delve deeper into the concepts that Lewis presents. Led by experienced Lewis teachers, these roundtable discussions sparks all kinds of productive, intriguing, and inspiring conversation about the classic texts that constitute the “great conversation” of Western Civilization.
Reading for Session 1: Selections from Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
Educators Session
Leader: TBD
Time: 11:00 AM Friday November 7th
TBA
Singing Creation: Participating with Aslan
Leader: Amber Salladin
Time: 11:00 AM Friday November 7th
An interactive session for those who are interested in joining in with their voices.
Saturday Afternoon Breakout Sessions
Courage, Dear Heart: Finding Consolation in the Face of Suffering
Leader: Christin Ditchfield Lazo
Time: 3:00 PM Friday November 7th
C.S. Lewis knew firsthand about pain and suffering, loss and grief and despair — and the silence that can sometimes follow our prayers. Drawing from The Magician’s Nephew, The Problem of Pain, A Grief Observed, and other writings, we’ll explore what it means to bring our lament honestly before God, to seek the comfort that sustains us, rest in the grace that carries us, and find the courage and hope to persevere.
From Testimony to Telling the World: Our Stories as a Reflection of the Great Story
Leader: Steven Elmore
Time: 3:00 PM Friday November 7th
The creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration – is the source of all of our stories, from our individual testimonies to the stories we write for others. Together, we will explore the link between His story and ours. In this session, we’ll identify the wide range of testimonies each of us possesses of God’s work in our lives, so that we might be better able to share those stories with others, both inside and outside the Church.
Great Books Sessions 2: Passage from Magician’s Nephew
Leaders: Jason Smith and Lori Arnold
Time: 3:00 PM Friday November 7th
In the spirit of the Inklings, readers from a wide range of experience and familiarity with Lewis’s works meet together to delve deeper into the concepts that Lewis presents. Led by experienced Lewis teachers, these roundtable discussions sparks all kinds of productive, intriguing, and inspiring conversation about the classic texts that constitute the “great conversation” of Western Civilization.
Reading for Session 2: The Magician’s Nephew
Communication Strategies for Teachers: Lessons from C.S. Lewis
Leader: Steven Beebe
Time: 3:00 PM Friday November 7th
Teaching is a communication process. Whether you teach online, in person, first grade, or graduate students, the essential process of teaching others is the same: you use communication strategies to achieve your instructional goals. C. S. Lewis was an excellent educator known for his exacting skills both in tutorial sessions and when captivating student attention in the lecture hall. What are lessons about teaching that we can learn from C. S. Lewis? How do Lewis’s teaching strategies link with the latest instructional communication principles and practices? Using lessons from C. S Lewis, as well as applications of instructional communication principles, this session explores practical ideas to enhance your skill as an educator.
The Forge of Friendship: Visual Arts That Grow Connection
Leader: Kirk Manton
Time: 3:00 PM Friday November 7th
This session covers those who are interested in the visual arts side of things. What does it look like to grow in connection when your job is meant to stay behind the scenes?