Friday September 21 Meeting

Greetings Fellow WPA Chestertonians,
 
We will gather for our regular meeting on Friday, September 21, at the Community Center in Lancaster Township.

That evening, we will begin our exploration into Fr. Paul Rowan's book The Scrappy Evangelist. We will discuss the Preface, Forward, Acknowledgement, Introduction, and the first TWO Chapters ("A Biographical Sketch", and "The Submerged Sunrise of Wonder") Please try to read as much of these chapters before the meeting, since it is a lengthy selection, and we will not have time to read aloud more than various sections from the text. (As you read, make note of the selections that you would like to read-aloud and discuss.)

The Scrappy Evangelist is available for purchase directly from the American Chesterton Society, and qualifies for a member discount if you are a member of the ACS. *If you participated in our group buy, I have your book and would be happy to work out a pick up/ meet up somewhere convenient for both of us. Please contact me by email or text to make these arrangements.* It is also available on the internet for $22.11 (Amazon Prime) and half that for a Kindle edition.


Here is the description of the book from the ACS website:

How do we defend the faith in today’s world? Where are the connecting points with an audience that does not like or does not even care about religion? What will prevent us from being merely reactionary? Surprisingly, the best strategy may come from a writer who anticipated our present problem a hundred years ago: G.K. Chesterton.
In this scholarly, yet scrappy approach, English Priest and Former Boxer Paul Rowan masterfully makes the case of how Chesterton can be used to develop a new apologetics to engage the post-modern age.

“As an apologist Chesterton was nothing if not counter-cultural, yet what emerges wonderfully from these pages is his great human warmth and Catholic generosity of spirit. G.K. is not merely a captivating figure from the past, he is also – as again and again we are reminded in this thoughtful and compelling study – a necessary contemporary at a time of great confusion, a thinker, a celebrant of the faith, a radiant apostle still one step ahead of us.”
– Father Paul Murray, OP

 Consultor to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Vatican

“Recent popes have summoned Christians to an evangelization “new in its ardor, new in its methods, and new in its expression” (Pope John Paul II). This is exactly where the inspiring figure and personality of G.K. Chesterton, together with his writings and bon mots, can assist Christians both in their own growth and in their witness to others.”
– Philip Egan, Bishop of Portsmouth, England

“Father Rowan…puts Peter in dialogue with Pan.”
– Charles J. Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta

“Chesterton fights in the heavy-weight division, and rains devastating blows of logic and common sense. Father Rowan gives us a ringside seat.” – Dale Ahlquist, President of the American Chesterton Society 

As usual our meeting will be held in the Village of Middle Lancaster, at the Lancaster Township Community Center located on Kings Alley and Community Center Drive, in Butler County PA. Kings Ally is a right turn off of Rt. 19N, approx. 4.5 miles north of Zelienople, just past the Zion Lutheran Church. (The Community Center is a former one room school house, adjacent to the ball fields at Bauder Park.)  
The doors will open at 7:00 pm for our potluck of refreshments, with the discussion beginning at 7:30. The meeting will wrap up sometime around 9:30 pm.
 
Any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at wpachesterton@gmail.com