September 20th Meeting of the WPA Chesterton Society

Greetings Fellow Chestertonians,
At our September meeting we will begin our Autumnal reading of The Four Faultless Felons. This book can be purchased from the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton and is available from a variety of internet sources, both new and used.
We’ll be discussing this book throughout the fall months. In September we will discuss the sections “The Prologue of the Pressman” and the six chapters for “The Moderate Murderer”. Reading the selections ahead of the meeting is warmly recommended.
Please note: Recently, astute group member Grettelyn Darkey, pointed out that there were a large number of "spoilers" in the introduction of the particular edition of 4FF that she had purchased. I pass this information along to serve as an ALERT. You do not need to read the introduction... in fact, if you have the edition with a lengthy introduction by Martin Gardener, I would strongly recommend against reading the introduction! If you would like a warmup before jumping onto the stories, this short overview from Dale Ahlquist is a nice alternative, and it offers insights... certainly not anything that would spoil the reading of Chesterton. Otherwise, skip the intro and dive right into Chesterton's Prologue of the Pressman. 
Speaking of Chesterton's Detective fiction, the last weekend in September marks the annual Chesterton Conference in Rochester, NY hosted by the Rochester Chesterton Society. This is a one day conference held this year on Saturday, September 29 on the campus of St. John Fischer College. The speaker line up looks excellent, as usual. Email me for more information, or if you are interested in ride-sharing. This year the the especially fun sounding theme is:

whodunnit?  
GK Chesterton and the origins of detective fiction

ROCHESTER NY CHESTERTON SOCIETY
16TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
SPEAKERS: ~Joseph Pearce, Author~Dale Ahlquist, Society of GK Chesterton~
~Kevin O’Brien, Theatre of the Word, Inc. ~The Flying Inn Players, Reader’s
Theatre at its finest~
Saturday, September 28th, 2019

As usual our WPACS 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 usual 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

August 16 Meeting of the WPA Chesterton Soceity

Greetings WPA Friends of G.K Chesterton,

On August 16th, next Friday, we will gather at the Community Center in the Village of Middle Lancaster. I will give you a report of the recent Chesterton Conference in Kansas City, we will discuss the latest news about the cause for Chesterton's sainthood, and we will read and discuss two Fr. Brown mysteries; the first Fr. Brown story Chesterton published, and the official last Fr. Brown story. 

We will read The Blue Cross, and The Insoluble Problem.  

Both of these stories are available in a number of formats on the internet, and are printed in the Penguin Book edition titled The Complete Father Brown, and can be viewed/read on Martin Ward's website linked above.
  
In September we will begin our Autumnal reading of The Four Faultless Felons. This book can be purchased from the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton and is available from a variety of internet sources, both new and used.

 *Please note: In appreciation to the municipality for allowing us to meet there free of charge, our group is running a little fund raiser to donate a baby-changing station to the Lancaster Township Community Center. There will be a small collections box at the meeting for any contributions you feel inclined to deposit there. Please consider participating in this "pro-life" expression of Chestertonian gratitude. I have gotten some generous contributions so far, and we are better than half way to the goal. (We need about $200.) I am hoping that we can collect enough to accomplish this by September. If you want to participate in this effort, please bring your contributions to the August meeting on the 16th.

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 usual potluck of refreshments, with the discussion beginning at 7:30. The meeting will wrap up sometime around 9:30 pm.
If the weather next Friday should become extremely warm, I will pursue an alternative meeting place with air-conditioning. Check here and on Facebook for updates, or make sure I have your email if you want last minute updates coming to your inbox. 

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

July 19th Meeting of the WPA Chesterton Society

Greetings Chestertonians,

After a hiatus of posting the meeting information on this website (thankfully, not a hiatus of our meetings), I am hopeful that going forward you will find all the pertinent information about our upcoming meetings conveniently located here. Unfortunately, Facebook has been less than helpful, as it will no longer allow links from our page to this site. I can continue to post limited meeting information there, but this "blogspot" webpage will be the place for comprehensive meeting information for the time being.

We will meet this Friday evening for the completion of Knight of the Holy Ghost. This book has proven to be a very readable overview of Chesterton's life and his writings. Please join us for the conclusion, even if you haven't been able to be a part of the discussion so far. I have copies of this book available for $13 if you know someone who needs one.

In August on the 16th, we will read and discuss two Fr. Brown mysteries; the first Fr. Brown story and the official last Fr. Brown story. We will read The Blue Cross, and The Insoluble Problem. Both of these stories are available in a number of formats, and are printed in the Penguin Book edition titled The Complete Father Brown, and can be viewed/read on Martin Ward's website linked above.

In September we will begin our Autumnal reading of The Four Faultless Felons. This book can be purchased from the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton and is available from a variety of internet sources, both new and used.

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.

 *Please note: In appreciation to the municipality for allowing us to meet there free of charge, our group is running a little fund raiser to donate a baby-changing station to the Lancaster Township Community Center. There will be a small collections box at the meeting for any contributions you feel inclined to deposit there. Please consider participating in this "pro-life" expression of Chestertonian gratitude.
 
Any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at wpachesterton@gmail.com

Feb 15 Meeting of the WPA Chesterton Society

Feb 15 Meeting of the WPA Chesterton Society

Greetings  Friends,

We will complete our discussion of the Scrappy Evangelist at the February meeting. We will read most of the “Conclusions“ sections at the end of chapters 4 & 5 at the meeting. I encourage everyone to make note of any particular sections of the book that you want to discuss before we wrap it up. Please try to read as much as you can before the meeting.

Winter Weather Reminder: Since the main entrance to the Community Center is undergoing reconstruction, we will be exclusively using the handicap ramp until the project is completed later in the year. Unfortunately, in icy or snowy conditions, the ramp may be impassable. I will monitor this carefully during the winter and early spring. If a change to the meeting time or place is necessary due to weather, I will post the information here on this blogspot page, and on Facebook by 5:00PM the day of the meeting. I will also attempt to email or text those who have let me know that they plan to attend. It might be a good idea to check your inbox before leaving home these Western PA winter months...!
 
As usual...Our meetings are 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. To enter an address into your GPS, plug in 113 Kings Alley, Harmony, PA 16037. Kings Ally is off of Rt. 19 approx. 4.5 miles north of Zelienople, and 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.) 

The Handicap Entrance doors on the east side of the building will open at 7:00 PM for our usual smorgasboard of potluck refreshments. The meeting will wrap up sometime around 9:45 pm. 
 
...and as always, feel free to email me at wpachesterton@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments.

January 18 Meeting of the WPA Chesterton Society

Greetings  Friends,

We will begin the New Year 2019 by resuming the discussion of The Scrappy Evangelist by Fr. Paul Rowan. We will read the Concluding Remarks for Chapter 3 (found starting on page 284), and then we will discuss approximately the first 50 pages of Chapter 4 (pages 297-348). We will not read more than sections and passages of these 50 pages. As time permits, we will read together the Concluding Remarks section of Chapter 4. Please try to read as much of Chapter 4 as you can (especially the first half) before the meeting.

Winter Weather Reminder: Since the main entrance to the Community Center is undergoing reconstruction, we will be exclusively using the handicap ramp until the project is completed later in the year. Unfortunately, in icy or snowy conditions, the ramp may be impassable. I will monitor this carefully during the winter and early spring. If a change to the meeting time or place is necessary due to weather, I will post the information here on this blogspot page, and on Facebook by 5:00PM the day of the meeting. I will also attempt to email or text those who have let me know that they plan to attend. It might be a good idea to check your inbox before leaving home these Western Pa winter months...!
 
As usual...Our meetings are 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. To enter an address into your GPS, plug in 113 Kings Alley, Harmony, PA 16037. Kings Ally is off of Rt. 19 approx. 4.5 miles north of Zelienople, and 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.) 

The Handicap Entrance doors on the east side of the building will open at 7:00 PM for our usual smorgasboard of potluck refreshments. The meeting will wrap up sometime around 9:45 pm. 
 
...and as always, feel free to email me at wpachesterton@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments.

December 21 Meeting of the WPA Chesterton Society

Greetings Fellow WPA Friends of G.K.Chesterton!

We will be looking forward to keeping Christmas in Chestertonian style (waking up, and discovering why we keep Christmas) at our Friday, December 21 meeting.

We will meet at the Community Center in the Village of Middle Lancaster for an after-dinner pot luck* of Chestertonian Christmas "gifts" (an abundance of festive refreshments and beverages) along with Chestertonian Christmas "benedictions" (readings, discussion, and some poetry). The readings will be provided or forwarded before the meeting.

*[Please bring contributions to the festivities. Any snacks, desserts, fruits, cheeses, charcuterie, savories, or beverage contributions will be appreciated. Coffee, teas and paper products will be provided.]

The Handicap Entrance doors on the east side of the building will open at 7:00 pm. Hopefully, this starting time will allow plenty of time for each of us to have had dinner before coming to the meeting. If any of you are interested in meeting somewhere locally for an early dinner before the meeting, mention it when you email me.

The meeting will wrap up sometime around 10:00 pm.

Please email me as soon as possible (wpachesterton@gmail.com) if you plan to come. This will allow me to forward you further pertinent details.
As usual...Our meetings are 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. To enter an address into your GPS, plug in 113 Kings Alley, Harmony, PA 16037. Kings Ally is off of Rt. 19 approx. 4.5 miles north of Zelienople, and 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.)

...and as always, feel free to email me at wpachesterton@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments.

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