November 16 Meeting of the WPA Chesterton Society

Greetings Friends of G.K. Chesterton,

Our hearty band of WPA Chestertonians will gather on Friday, November 16 for the next installment of The Scrappy Evangelist. We will discuss the selection which begins with section "5.1 Elfland and Chesterton's Recognition of Contingency", and runs to the end of Chapter 3. This is found on pages 222-295, and is roughly the second half of the third chapter.
Please try to read as much of the selection 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 parts that you would like to read-aloud and discuss.)

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

ADDENDUM: MEETING CANCELED

Greetings WPA Chestertonians,

I hope read this while enjoying whatever electrical service you are accustomed to!

I just received a call from the woman who oversees the use of the Community Center, who apologetically let me know that the parking lot and entrance ramp to the Community Center will not get cleared in time for our meeting tonight. Evidently with the severity of the impact of the snow and ice here in Harmony, the Township road crews have been working round the clock to tend to road conditions, and fallen trees. A number from the area are without power.

In light of these developments, I’m disappointed to have to cancel tonight’s meeting. I expect that we will return to The Scrappy Evangelist in January.

Our December meeting is traditionally a more festive event than our regular meeting. Tonight I will be sending out a brief survey to determine what the group thinks our December festivity should look like this year.
Also, our next meeting is scheduled for December 21. Hopefully, the third Friday night’s proximity to Christmas is not to much of a difficulty. When you receive the survey email, please respond with your thoughts as soon as possible, so we can get our plans in place in a timely manner.

Blessings,
Vicki                           

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

Friday, August 17, WPA Chesterton Society Meeting

Greetings Fellow Friends of G.K. Chesterton,

As announced at the July meeting, our August meeting will consist of reading the completion of Chesterton's biography on Saint Thomas Aquinas (chapter 8), as well as a viewing of Bishop Robert Barron's "Pivotal Players" film documentary on Saint Thomas. To accommodate the technology need for the film, we will meet at 7:00pm at my home instead of the Community Center. This will also provide an air-conditioned environment for the August evening this Friday night. Feel free to contact me if you need directions.

Please bring refreshments to share, and bring $20 if you haven't already paid and you would like to participate in our group buy of the "Scrappy Evangelist" book we will be reading this Autumn. (See the July meeting post in this blogspot for more information about the book.)

Please RSVP by text (724-272-1742) or email (wpachesterton@gmail.com) if you plan to attend.

July 20 Meeting of the WPA Chesterton Society

Greetings WPA Chestertonians,

We will gather on July 20, 2018 for our next-to-last session on Chesterton's biography St. Thomas Aquinas. Please read chapters 6 and 7 in anticipation of our discussion. We will gather in the Village of Middle Lancaster at the Community Center. Bring something to share with the refreshments table, and come anytime after 7:00PM. We will begin our discussion at 7:30PM, and finish up around 9:30ish PM   

*Please note: For the remainder of this year, we will be meeting on the third Friday evening of each month. This is a shift from the second Friday sequence we have had in the past.  

We will finish our discussion of the St. Thomas Aquinas book at our August 17 meeting, therefore... (drum roll) ... starting in September, we will begin reading and discussing the book The Scrappy Evangelist by Fr. Paul Rowan. We will read this through the autumn months, hopefully finishing before Christmas.

The Scrappy Evangelist is available on the internet for $22.11 (Amazon Prime) and half that for a Kindle edition. As a local Chesterton society affiliated with the ACS, we qualify for a 30% discount on the $24.99 cover price of the book if we purchase 10 copies, or more. I would like to organize a group purchase of the book from the American Chesterton Society. I estimate that with the tax and shipping this would come to about $20 per book. I personally need 2 copies, so if 8 more folks would commit to giving me $20 dollars for the book at our July or August meetings, I can place the order in time for our September meeting. Please email me and/or bring your money to the meeting if you are interested in participating in the group buy.

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 

 Any questions or comments, please feel free to email Vicki at wpachesterton@gmail.com

 

June 15 Meeting of the WPA Chesterton Society

Greetings, Friends of G.K. Chesterton,

Today marks the 144th birthday of "our man". Happy Birthday, Gilbert! Whether it be to wonder at a raindrop, reflect on the mystery of a cosmic paradox, raise a glass of conviviality with friends, or sit on the floor catching buns in your mouth with some children, take a moment to remember and celebrate GKC with an expression of Gratitude, or an act of Charity.

And while we're in the spirit of remembering and celebrating, we will gather in the Village of Middle Lancaster at the Community Center on June 15th, just one day after the 82nd anniversary of G.K Chesterton's birth to eternity... for the next installment of St. Thomas Aquinas. We will discuss chapters 5 and 6. 

Bring something to share with the refreshments table, and come anytime after 7:00PM. We will begin our discussion at 7:30PM, and finish up around 9:30ish PM. 

Any questions or comments, please feel free to email Vicki at wpachesterton@gmail.com

*Please note: For the remainder of this year, we will be meeting on the third Friday evening of each month. This is a shift from the second Friday sequence we have had in the past. 

May 18 Meeting of the WPA Chesterton Society

Spring Greetings Fellow WPA Chestertonians!

Our May meeting will be held on Friday May 18th, the third Friday of the month*, in the beautifully renovated Community Center in Lancaster Township, Butler County. 

We will be continuing our discussion of The Dumb Ox, Chesterton's biography of St. Thomas Aquinas, with a discussion of the last half of chapter 3 and all of chapter 4. Please consider joining us, even if you haven't made it for the beginning of the book. As you will see, in this book Chestertonian gems abound. If you can read the selections before the meeting, make some notes and come prepared to share your joys as well as your struggles. 
  
Bring something to share with the refreshments table, and come anytime after 7:00PM. We will begin our discussion at 7:30PM, and finish up around 9:30ish PM. 

Any questions or comments, please feel free to email Vicki at wpachesterton@gmail.com

*Please note: For the remainder of this year, we will be meeting on the third Friday evening of each month. This is a shift from the second Friday sequence we have had in the past. 

March 9 Meeting of the WPA Chesterton Society-CANCELED

Greetings Fellow Chestertonians,

 The WPA Chesterton Society NOT will meet this Friday March 9. The combination of a weather forecast for a “wintery mix” of rain, snow and ice, and a number of regulars not able to attend, lead me to think that it’s best if we cancel this Friday’s meeting.
 
We will plan to meet Friday, April 13 for the next two chapters of G.K. Chesterton's biography of St. Thomas Aquinas, "The Dumb Ox". 
We will discuss Chapter 2, "The Runaway Abbott", and then we will read together Chapter 3, "The Aristotelian Revolution".

It is possible that the renovation of the Middle Lancaster Community Center will be completed by our meeting date in April, but until I get the “all clear" from the township, we’ll plan to meet here at my house, just north of the Community Center, off of Rt. 19. (Email/text or call me if you need an address or further directions.)
If necessary, I will revise the location once I know that the Community Center is open. 

Bring something to share with the refreshments table.

Come after 7:00PM. We will begin our discussion at 7:30PM, and finish up around 9:30PM.  Any questions or comments, please feel free to email Vicki at wpachesterton@gmail.com