C. S. Lewis Tour--Cambridge

We began our visit to Cambridge with a lecture from the Rev. Dr. Malcolm Guite, Chaplain of Girton College. Malcolm is also a poet, published author, and Anglican priest. You can access his web site here: Malcolm Guite. Malcolm spoke to us about C. S. Lewis' inaugural lecture at Cambridge on November 29, 1954. Malcolm's talk was delivered in the very room where Lewis gave his first lecture as Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature.

After Malcolm's lecture, we walked to the other end of the Cambridge city centre to view Lewis' college, Magdalene. As Lewis did at Oxford, so at Cambridge, he attended chapel services regularly in term time....

On our second day in Cambridge we took a morning walk along the River Cam, led by Malcolm Guite, to the village of Grantchester.

Upon arriving in Grantchester we made our way to The Orchard where we had tea and scones while listening to Malcolm read various bits of poetry, including his own.

After tea at the Orchard we walked next door to the Old Vicarage where the poet Rupert Brooke (1887-1915) once stayed. There is a lovely statue of Brooke in front of the house....

A couple of Brooke's poems have become quite well-known and often recited. One of these is entitled, "The Old Vicarage--Grantchester" and contains these lines....

God! I will pack, and take a train,And get me to England once again!For England's the one land, I know,Where men with Splendid Hearts may go;And Cambridgeshire, of all England,The shire for Men who Understand;And of that district I preferThe lovely hamlet Grantchester.

The poem ends with these lines....

Stands the Church clock at ten to three?And is there honey still for tea?

Thus, after viewing the outside of the Old Vicarage, we made our way up the street to the Church of St. Andrew & St. Mary. As many will know, this is where the BBC/PBS television series is filmed, as was evident upon entering the church....

Of course, the even more well known "church" in the area is King's College Chapel, whose boy choir is heard by radio around the world on Christmas Eve through the broadcast of their Nine Lessons & Carols service. Upon seeing this chapel for the first time, Lewis said it was beautiful beyond hope or belief....

A visit to Cambridge would not be complete without punting on the River Cam...

from which vantage point one gains gorgeous views of many of the colleges including Kings....

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C. S. Lewis on Homosexuality

Arthur Greeves In light of recent developments in the United States on the issue of gay marriage, I thought it would be interesting to revisit what C. S. Lewis thought about homosexuality. Lewis, who died in 1963, never wrote about same-sex marriage, but he did write, occasionally, about the topic of homosexuality in general. In the following I am quoting from my book, Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C. S. Lewis . For detailed references and footnotes, you may obtain a copy from Amazon, your local library, or by clicking on the book cover at the right.... In Surprised by Joy , Lewis claimed that homosexuality was a vice to which he was never tempted and that he found opaque to the imagination. For this reason he refused to say anything too strongly against the pederasty that he encountered at Malvern College, where he attended school from the age of fifteen to sixteen. Lewis did not rate pederasty as the greatest evil of the school because he felt the cruelty displa

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C. S. Lewis Tour--London

The final two days of our C. S. Lewis Tour of Ireland & England were spent in London. Upon our arrival we enjoyed a panoramic tour of the city that included Westminster Abbey. A number of our tour participants chose to tour the inside of the Abbey where they were able to view the new C. S. Lewis plaque in Poets' Corner. Though London was not one of Lewis' favorite places to visit, there are a number of locations associated with him. One which I have noted in my new book, In the Footsteps of C. S. Lewis , is Endsleigh Palace Hospital (25 Gordon Street, London) where Lewis recovered from his wounds received during the First World War.... Not too far away from this location is King's College, part of the University of London, located on the Strand, just off the River Thames. This is the location where Lewis gave the annual commemoration oration entitled The Inner Ring on 14 December 1944.... C. S. Lewis occasionally attended theatrical events in London.

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A Prayer at Ground Zero

Christmas Day Thought from Henri Nouwen

" I keep thinking about the Christmas scene that Anthony arranged under the altar. This probably is the most meaningful "crib" I have ever seen. Three small woodcarved figures made in India: a poor woman, a poor man, and a small child between them. The carving is simple, nearly primitive. No eyes, no ears, no mouths, just the contours of the faces. The figures are smaller than a human hand - nearly too small to attract attention at all. "But then - a beam of light shines on the three figures and projects large shadows on the wall of the sanctuary. That says it all. The light thrown on the smallness of Mary, Joseph, and the Child projects them as large, hopeful shadows against the walls of our life and our world. "While looking at the intimate scene we already see the first outlines of the majesty and glory they represent. While witnessing the most human of human events, I see the majesty of God appearing on the horizon of my existence. While

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Will Vaus

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