"The Origin of Stories: The Inklings and the Christian Scriptures"
St. Giles Church, Oxford, England
Sunday evening, July 3 - Friday evening, July 8, 2022
Registration Form (.pdf)
Pre-registration will open on September 1, 2021
The Inklings were a diverse group composed of both Protestants and Catholics, but they shared a common biblical faith which informed their scholarship, their creative writing, and most of all their daily lives. As we gather together in Oxford, we will explore what the Bible meant for the Inklings, but more so, what it means for us today.
Workshop Overview
Morning Sessions
Morning sessions will be held at St. Giles Church, situated in its own grounds across the street from The Eagle and Child pub where the Inklings met every Tuesday morning for many decades. Just down the street is Somerville College where Dorothy L. Sayers studied and Keble College where C. S. Lewis was in the Officer Training Corps. Our speakers will include Alister McGrath, Judith Wolfe, Colin Duriez, Nigel Goodwin, Rebecca Poe Hays, Don King, Hal Poe, and many more.
Daily Schedule
- 8:30 — Morning Worship
- 9:00 — Plenary Address
- 10:00 — Coffee and Tea
- 10:30 — Second Breakfast (an artistic meal for the soul after having fed the body)
- 11:00 — Plenary Address
- 12:00 — Lunch on your own with new friends
Christianity in the Academy — July 5-7
In the afternoons, we will conduct a summer session of the Christianity in the Academy Conference for college and university faculty members that will allow an opportunity for participants to present academic papers that focus on a faith issue within the presenter's academic discipline. Faculty members are invited to propose paper topics. More information is available in our Call for Papers (.pdf).
Afternoons in Oxford
The afternoons will be given over to relishing all that Oxford offers. Discover the town that fueled the imaginations behind Narnia and Middle Earth. Visit the colleges where the Inklings taught and thought. Walk the gardens and stroll the river paths. Visit the museums and the bookstores. Then go punting on the same river where Jack Lewis spent time in his undergraduate days, and where Rattie and Mole went boating near Toad Hall. Venture forth into the Cotswolds or nearby towns of Winchester, Stratford, Bath, and Salisbury. Have tea at Blenheim Palace or Highclere Castle where Downton Abbey was filmed. — We will also have an academic paper session of the Christianity in the Academy conference.
Evenings in Oxford
The evenings we will provide the opportunity experience the cultural feast available in Oxford as Lewis, Tolkien, and the Inklings did with a variety of concerts and plays. Orchestral concerts, Shakespearean plays, Oscar Wilde revivals, and more fill the summer evenings. Or take the train into London for a play in the West End!
Eating in Oxford
The most important of all social occasions is the meal, and the Inklings certainly did their best to make the most of it, as might be expected of Hobbits. Eat at the favorite haunts of the Inklings, and at some new additions to the Oxford far since their time. And don't miss the sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream!
