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Memphis C.S. Lewis Society
Minutes
Nov.3, 19961. The meeting began at 7:00 P.M. in the Brockwell Room at Memphis Theological Seminary. Present were: Barry Anderson, Ken Pfohl, Larry Lacy, Bob and Judith Oliver, Bill and Ann Marty, Dennis and Cydney Beets, Knick and Sandie Knickerbocker, Rich Cook, and Randal Leslie. After a time of refreshments and socializing the formal meeting began with a collect for All Saints Day from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.
2. Knick Knickerbocker, a member of the faculty at Memphis Seminary, welcomed everyone to the meeting and suggested that each person introduce her/himself and say when and under what circumstances she/he began to read Lewis. This was done with interest and good humor on the part of all.
3. Dennis Beets, convener of the meeting, explained that this was an organizational meeting with participants invited to make decisions about whether we wanted to begin a Memphis C.S. Lewis Society and, if we did, to discuss such questions as the name of the society, the purpose of the society, when we want to meet, where we want to meet, format of the meetings, qualifications for membership, by-laws, a steering committee, officers, and dues.
4. It was immediately agreed that we would proceed with the organization of the society. With that decided, the following decisions were made:
a. The name will be the Memphis C.S. Lewis Society. Knick and Sandie Knickerbocker will check with a lawyer regarding the legal use of this name and about the non-profit status of the organization.
b. Membership will be open to anyone who has an interest in Lewis. Those at the meeting were asked to submit names of people who should receive a notice of our next meeting.
c. Barry Anderson, Larry Lacy, Knick Knickerbocker, and Dennis Beets were named as a committee to draft a statement of purpose and by-laws for the society and to make suggestions about dues.
d. Dennis Beets was elected as President and Knick Knickerbocker as Secretary, to serve through the January meeting. At the January or February meeting, officers will be elected for 1997.
e. For the present, the Society will meet at Memphis Seminary. Suggestions for other places to meet included Windsor's Restaurant, Anderton's Restaurant, and The Unicorn Restaurant. It was also suggested that we might meet in the homes of members.
f. The meetings will be monthly on the second Sunday night of the month. There will be a social time from 7:00 to 7:30, with the meeting beginning at 7:30 and lasting for about one hour. We will begin each meeting with a collect from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.
g. There was much discussion about the format of the meeting. It seemed to be the consensus that the standard format will be the discussion of a particular writing b Lewis. However at times papers ma be presented, quest speakers may be invited, and audio-visual material may be used. Sometimes we may have "issues from the floor" raised for discussion.
5. The plans for the next two meetings are as follows:
a. Sunday evening, Dec. 8th, we will meet in the Brockwell Room at Memphis Seminary. Each person will select a favorite passage from Lewis' writings to read and comment upon.
b. Sunday evening, Jan. 12th, we will meet in the Brockwell Room at Memphis Seminary. Larry Lacy will lead a discussion of Till We Have Faces. He suggested that we may all obtain a copy of the same edition so that page references will be the same. The edition suggested is the paperback edition published by Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich: ISBN 0-15-690436-5.
6. Other information that was shared with the members included:
a. Barry Anderson said that the periodical "VII" is published by the Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois 600187-5593, and considers the works of George MacDonald, G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Owen Barfield.
b. Rich Cook offered to be the "Web-Master" for the Society and investigate the use of the Internet.
c. It was suggested that we might develop a bibliography of works by and about Lewis.
d. Dennis Beets will notify the New York C.S. Lewis Society of our existence. For those who might be interested in joining the New York C.S. Lewis Society, the address is: The New York C.S. Lewis Society, c/o Clara Sarrocco, 84-23 77th Avenue, Glendale, NY 11385. Subscriptions to the Bulletin of the New York Society are $10.00 per year.
7. The meeting was adjourned to the refreshment tables.Respectfully submitted,
W.E. Knickerbocker,
Acting Secretary |
