Reading Narnia

One Read has begun. If you missed the announcement last week in the service, we introduced the VBS theme, Journey To The Lamppost, A Narnia Adventure. This VBS theme will be focused on the classic and beloved book written by C.S. Lewis, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. Because people of all ages love this book we are doing an all church reading of this book. It does not matter if you don’t want or cannot be involved in VBS, this is not only a VBS event. A One Read is an event where a collective community reads a single book together. Many towns and cities across the US do this as a community. The concept of a One Read (also called, Big Read, One Book) was started by Nancy Pearl, a Seattle librarian. When asked about the birth of her idea she said,  “It’s based on the idea of community. My idea was that people would come together who would never come together any other way. Literature brings them together because a book touches them.”

This is also our desire for an All Church One Read. That as a community we would be brought together, across ages and have conversations that build deeper community and relationships.

If you have never read the Chronicles of Narnia they are quick delightful books (7 all together) written by C.S. Lewis. Lewis created an imaginary world just around any corner one might stumble across. You never know when you might fall into a painting or wardrobe and find yourself having tea with talking beavers or sailing with a prince or fighting the worst beasts imaginable.

The Opus group will be reading not only The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe but also a few other delightful books written by Lewis between now and mid-July. Also this will be the topic of discussion for one of the evening womens bible study meetings this Summer. There are various groups gathering to discuss this book together, if you are interested in inviting some friends over to discuss this book or having a book club of sorts meet for a time to talk about the themes you might find please take this opportunity to do so.

Starting this Sunday there will be articles about Lewis, Narnia, Fairy-Tales, and the need for imagination at the VBS/Narnia table. We also have books at the table for sale for $5 if you would like to grab an extra copy for your self or a friend. These articles are designed to be helpful for group discussions, family dinner table discussions and gaining an understanding of Lewis and his writing of these books.

I am currently reading, C.S. Lewis’ Letters to Children. This is a delightful short book full of his letters to children about various topics. Many of which include answering their questions about the Narnia books. This is a great book to read along with the Narnia books because it allows you to answer, from the authors perspective, questions children might have about the stories. You will also find many of those letters posted weekly here on the blog, so be checking in for the different One Read resources we will post here.

Enjoy your Summer and we hope you stop by and pick up a book!