North Carolina

The Life and Works of C. S. Lewis: Inspiration, Belief and the Power of Language

Program No. 21023RJ
See the world through the eyes of C. S. Lewis as you join experts to view and discuss rare materials, hear a broadcast from his Oxford days and have a virtual visit of his England home.

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At a Glance

Enjoy a comprehensive survey of C. S. Lewis’ life and work. Led by a noted Lewis scholar, focus on his extraordinary imagination and how he presented a rational basis for Christian faith, powerfully, persuasively and delightfully developed in books and movies that have achieved worldwide popularity.
Activity Level
Easy Going
All facilities are in one building, with approximately 300 yards walking required; a few stairs. Outside areas are mountainous, with inclines and uneven terrain.

What You'll Learn

  • In addition to selections from his letters, journals, poems, fiction and non-fiction, view and discuss important new video productions and gain perspectives on the ideas, thoughts and opinions of the 20th century’s most popular Christian author.
  • Hear a rare broadcast of one of Lewis’ talks on BBC radio during WWII when he was at Oxford, including material that later appeared in his book on theology, Mere Christianity, considered a classic of Christian apologetics.
  • Take a “virtual” exploration of Lewis’ home — The Kilns — in Oxford, England, and learn about newly discovered love sonnets written to Lewis by his wife, Joy Davidman.

General Notes

The Retreat Difference: This unique, often basic and no-frills experience at a Road Scholar Retreat includes opportunities for early morning exercise, interaction with the local community for insight into local life, an authentic farm-to-table or locally sourced meal, a live performance or event, and a value-priced single room. Opportunities are available for traveling companions to attend a different program at Montreat during the same week. Due to the nature of this program, listening devices are not available.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
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Don King
Don King led seminars on C. S. Lewis at the Kilns — Lewis’ home just outside Oxford — for the C. S. Lewis Foundation in 2004, 2009, 2019, and 2023. A professor of English since 1974, he has written books including "C. S. Lewis, Poet: The Legacy of His Poetic Impulse," "Out of My Bone: The Letters of Joy Davidman," "The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis: A Critical Edition," and "A Naked Tree: Joy Davidman’s Love Sonnets to C. S. Lewis and Other Poems."

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Profile Image of Don King
Don King led seminars on C. S. Lewis at the Kilns — Lewis’ home just outside Oxford — for the C. S. Lewis Foundation in 2004, 2009, 2019, and 2023. A professor of English since 1974, he has written books including "C. S. Lewis, Poet: The Legacy of His Poetic Impulse," "Out of My Bone: The Letters of Joy Davidman," "The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis: A Critical Edition," and "A Naked Tree: Joy Davidman’s Love Sonnets to C. S. Lewis and Other Poems."
Profile Image of Tracy Bailey
Tracy Bailey View biography
Tracy has been on the program staff of Montreat Conference Center since 1986. She began working with Elderhostel programs in 1989, and in 1997 assumed the additional role of on-site coordinator. A native of the area, she graduated from Asheville-Buncombe Technical College in 1981. Her favorite hobbies are hiking, pottery and reading. Tracy married Sam in 2007, and added three daughters to her family. In addition to her own grown children, she and Sam have been foster parents since 2010. They have four grandchildren.
Profile Image of Zachary Rhone
Zachary Rhone View biography
Zachary Rhone specializes in fantasy, science fiction, and the work of authors J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, and George MacDonald. Outside his specialties, he has an insatiable epistemophilia which urges him to read and learn across disciplines. In addition to research writing, Dr. Rhone is an active technical and creative writer. He is a sub-creator who enjoys building worlds, designing and playing tabletop games, preparing all kinds of foods and beverages, growing things, singing, and songwriting.
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
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6 days
5 nights
15 meals
5 B 5 L 5 D
DAY
1
Check-in, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation
Montreat, NC
D
Assembly Inn

Activity note: Inn check-in from 3:00 p.m. Remember to bring your name-tag (sent previously) and your original vaccine card(s).

Afternoon: Assembly Inn check-in 3:00-5:30 p.m. Pull up to the Assembly Inn porch to unload, then park your vehicle in any designated spot close to the Inn or by the lake and check in. Program Registration. After you check in and have your room assignment, join us at the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing the up-to-date schedule that reflects any changes, other important information, and to confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in. Feel free to relax in your room, meet and enjoy fellowship with other participants in the beautiful lobby, or stretch your legs with a walk around the campus before dinner. You will be sharing this week at the Inn with the Presbyterian Military Chaplains group.

Dinner: Dinner will be served from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. All meals are served buffet-style in our Galax Dining Room, or if you prefer, enjoy a meal outside in our Tea Garden or on Wharton Porch! We are able to accommodate most dietary restrictions requested by our guests. Below are just some of the options that might make up each of your dinner meals. •Fresh salad bar •Baked chicken •Roast beef •Broiled fish •Mashed potatoes •Assorted vegetables •Assorted desserts •Iced tea •Regular & decaf coffees. We do bus our own dishes at each meal.

Evening: Orientation: 7:00 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will also meet the instructor. This is a Road Scholar Retreats program. Programming at Retreat locations includes opportunities for light morning exercise, interaction with members of the local community, a farm-to-table meal, and evening entertainment. Sleeping and dining facilities are in one building, with approximately 300 yards walking required. On some evenings, there will be entertainment such as a concert, dance, or storyteller followed by opportunities for fellowship in the lobby of the Inn. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. We’ll finish up around 8:00 p.m. with some “get to know you” activities and then have refreshments and fellowship in the lobby. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.

DAY
2
C.S. Lewis Early Life, Norse Influence, WWI & Oxford
Montreat, NC
B,L,D
Assembly Inn

Activity note: Classroom based program. Join us in the main lobby from 7:30 - 7:45 for early morning stretches with Martha Nelson. Walk around Montreat for those who are interested.

Breakfast: (early morning coffee out around 6:30 a.m.) Our breakfast buffet is served from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room. Is breakfast your favorite meal of the day? If so, you're in for a treat this week! Breakfast options change daily, incorporating lots of your favorites... biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, grits, hash browns, French toast, pancakes, oatmeal (not the packaged kind either), and lots of others. Standard offerings include fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, granola, baked pastries, orange juice (and another juice option). Fresh coffee or hot tea will start your morning off right! Join us in the main lobby from 7:30 - 7:45 for early morning stretches with Martha Nelson.

Morning: During the early morning course, we will explore Lewis’s early life, especially his imaginative life, including the worlds of Boxen and Animal-Land that he and his brother, Warren, invented, mapped, and peopled. We'll have a mid-morning refreshment break and then return to class for the lecture and discussion about the gradual erosion of his Christian faith and his embracing instead of “northernness”—that is, a fascination with Norse mythology.

Lunch: Lunch is served from 12:30 - 1:30 in the Assembly Inn Dining Room

Afternoon: Afternoon course will trace Lewis's imaginative life during WWI and through his days as an undergraduate and later fellow at Oxford University. 3:30 Walk Around Montreat (guided tour of grounds) or free time

Dinner: Dinner will be served from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room

Evening: Our evening program will feature a local musician/band or or a storyteller. The remainder of the evening is at leisure, with activities in the lobby of the Inn for fellowship.

DAY
3
Christian Conversion, 30s & 40s, Chronicles of Narnia, Hike
Montreat, NC
B,L,D
Assembly Inn

Activity note: Classroom based program. Join us in the main lobby from 7:30 - 7:45 for early morning stretches with Martha Nelson. Hike in the mountains this afternoon for those who are interested.

Breakfast: Another great Breakfast buffet, served 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room

Morning: During the morning course, with Don King, we'll have a careful exploration of Lewis's conversion to Christianity and how his imagination played a key role in the process. Mid-morning, we'll have a refreshment break and then return to class for an examination of Lewis's imaginative life through the 1930s and 1940s, noting in particular the important books where we find Lewis's imagination impacting his approach to Christian apologetics, including The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce.

Lunch: Lunch is served from 12:30 - 1:30 in the Assembly Inn Dining Room.

Afternoon: During our afternoon course, we will focus upon Lewis's later imaginative writings, especially The Chronicles of Narnia. 3:30 Enjoy a hike in the mountains or Free Time

Dinner: Dinner will be served from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Evening: 7:00 - 8:00 evening program: Evening programs are typically a fun event -- a dance, a concert, or a storyteller games/cards/tv available in lobby for fellowship.

DAY
4
Joy Davidman's Influence, Free Aft., Lewis's Oxford Home
Montreat, NC
B,L,D
Assembly Inn

Activity note: Classroom based program. Join us in the main lobby from 7:30 - 7:45 for early morning stretches with Martha Nelson.

Breakfast: Breakfast is served from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room.

Morning: During the early morning course, with Don King, we will consider how Till We Have Faces and The Four Loves may have been influenced by his great love, Joy Davidman. We'll have a mid-morning refreshment break and then return to class. In part, we will examine some of Joy's letters written during this time that reveals Lewis’s daily writing schedule and other related matters.

Lunch: Lunch is served from 12:30 - 1:30 in the Assembly Inn Dining Room.

Afternoon: Free time. This period of time has been set aside for your personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Please note that the period scheduled for free time is subject to change depending on local circumstances and opportunities for independent exploration.Free time to explore the area!

Dinner: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room. We will enjoy a farm-to-table meal.

Evening: Evening course offers a "vrtual exploration" of Lewis's home--The Kilns--in Oxford, England.

DAY
5
Discussion of a BBC Radio Broadcast by Lewis during WWII
Montreat, NC
B,L,D
Assembly Inn

Activity note: Classroom based program. Join us in the main lobby from 7:30 - 7:45 for early morning stretches with Martha Nelson.

Breakfast: Buffet Breakfast is served from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room. !

Morning: During the early morning courses, with Don King, we will hear and discuss a rare broadcast of one of Lewis's talks on BBC radio during World War II, when he was at Oxford, including materials that later appear in his book on theology, Mere Christianity, considered a classic of Christian apologetics. Mid-morning, we'll have a break with some refreshments and fellowship.

Lunch: Lunch is served from 12:30 - 1:30 in the Assembly Inn Dining Room

Afternoon: Afternoon course continues our discussion of C S Lewis. 3:30 - 5:30 free time

Dinner: Dinner will be served from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room

Evening: We’ll gather for a last evening together as a group (probably a concert), followed by an opportunity for games/cards/TV in lobby for fellowship. Prepare for check-out and departure after lunch tomorrow. Sign up for a box lunch if you have to leave Montreat before lunch tomorrow.

DAY
6
Discussion of Lewis's Legacy, Lunch and Departures
Montreat, NC
B,L

Breakfast: Breakfast, 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room.

Morning: During our final morning courses, will offer an overview and wrap up of the implications of Lewis’s imagination on his work as a Christian apologist. We will conclude by considering what might be Lewis’s “legacy” as a writer in the future. For instance, we will consider the questions: “Which of Lewis’s books will people probably still be reading a hundred years from now in 2113? Why? We'll have a mid-morning refreshment break and opportunity to check out of your room (checkout required by 11 a.m.). Class will continue until noon, then we'll have lunch and say our goodbyes.

Lunch: Lunch is served in the Assembly Inn Dining Room (Box lunches will be available for those who cannot stay through lunch, if they were requested on Thursday)






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