December 12, 2013 Meeting of the WPA Chesterton Society

Greetings WPA Chestertonians and Friends!

Mark your calendars on Thursday December 12th for the next gathering of the Western PA Chesterton Society. Since today marks the last weekday of “Ordinary time” in the liturgical calendar, December 12th will find us squarely into Advent. This will be our traditional December meeting… which means conviviality, festivity and Chestertonian reflection on the Incarnation of our Lord… but definitely not your typical “Christmas Party”.

We will meet at the Community Center in the Village of Middle Lancaster at 7:45 PM for after-dinner refreshments and beverages along with readings, poetry, and possibly the reading of a brief drama. the Lancaster Township Community Center located on Kings Alley and Community Center Drive, in Butler County PA. Kings Ally is off of Rt. 19 approx. 4.5 miles north of Zelienople, just north of the Zion Lutheran Church and just south of East Lancaster Road. (The Community Center is a former one room school house, adjacent to the ball fields at Bauder Park.) Please plan to have had your dinner before coming to the meeting.

For any who wish to meet locally for dinner before the meeting, I have made a reservation at the Log Cabin Inn on Rt.19, which is less than a quarter of a mile from the Community Center. We will gather at the Log Cabin at 5:30pm. Our reservation is for 5:45pm. Please send me an email confirmation by Sunday Dec. 8 if you will join the group for dinner. 

The refreshments at the meeting will be a potluck of fruits, cheeses, desserts and festive beverages. We will each need to bring contributions to the refreshments and beverages. Paper products and coffee/teas will be provided. Please let me know by email no later than Dec. 8, what items you will plan to contribute. 

The December meeting agenda is as follows.

We will read and discuss a short piece by G.K.Chesterton titled “Christmas Books”. This was published as a chapter in Chesterton’s book Criticisms and Appreciations of the Works of Charles Dickens which is viewable on the internet here. (Please do not feel that a you need any extensive knowledge of Dickens to enjoy this selection. Chesterton reference to Dickens in “Christmas Books" is primarily to Dickens' very popular tale “A Christmas Carol”.) If you are able, please print a copy of “Christmas Books" to bring along. There will be a limited number of copies available at the meeting.

The poetry reading will consist of "Incarnationally themed" poems that we will each bring along to share. Poetry by Chesterton (or others that are associated with him) is encouraged.

If time permits, we will read a play called “The Christmas Gift" written by Frances Chesterton and published in the book How Far is it to Bethlehem: The Plays and Poetry of Frances Chesterton , edited by Nancy Carpentier Brown. This very “pro-life” little play was originally written to be performed by the young children befriended by Frances Chesterton in the Chesterton home at Beaconsfield. There will be parts to be read. Copies of the script will be provided, but if you have a copy of the book, please bring it along.

We will wrap up our festivities around 9:45 PM. 

In closing, has anyone you know ever wondered, "Just what do you do at the monthly meetings of the WPA Chesterton Society?” The obvious answer to the questions is “We have fun”, but if your friend or family member needs more proof of how reading and discussing G.K.Chesterton can be so much fun, then please bringing them along. 

 

Hope to see you on Thursday, December 12!

Vicki Darkey

wpachesterton@gmail.com