St. Sebastian Chesterton Society

A NEW YEAR OF CHESTERTON!

2011-12-19T10:47:00.000-05:00

There was a cozy gathering of Chestertonians last night at the rectory. There was a fire in the fireplace and refreshments provided by Mr. A. It was a larger group than expected because there were a number of cancellations. Somebody had a daughter get married the same weekend as a meeting (again) and somebody's sister came in from out of town for one night the same night as a meeting (again) and somebody else said they had an emergency but we know it was because he did not read the first book. (If it was serious I hope all is Okay.)

Welcome to our newest member even though his name is not Matt, John, or Mike. I suppose we can start to branch out a little bit.

The next meeting will be January 29th at the rectory. We will be discussing the second "book" of our book. If you need a copy please see the previous post.

Merry (almost) Christmas!

December meeting UPDATE

2011-12-05T21:41:00.002-05:00

There was no date that everyone could agree on as good for our December meeting (herding even this few Chestertonians is like herding cats), but the least worst date seems to be December 18. Therefore, we will meet December 18 at 7:00 PM in the rectory. We'll start The Napoleon of Notting Hill. I haven't seen it even, but I imagine we can get through chapter 1 before then. The text is available on Project Guttenberg in multiple formats here, or you can purchase it through Amazon (yes, I realize the irony of directing a bunch of budding Distributists to that website).

December meeting

2011-11-16T10:53:00.002-05:00

It is now time to decide when we will hold the December meeting of the St. Sebastian Chesterton Society. Since we had a road trip for the November meeting (details on Fr. V's blog here), we couldn't conveniently decide on a date. Not all of us have Magic Phone. Possible dates are 12/4, 12/11, and 12/18. We must also decide what the topic will be. I've been hankering for a novel, and when I mentioned this to Matt A, he responded:

Two of Chesterton's novels that I really enjoyed are The Napoleon of Notting Hill and The Flying Inn. The first is a celebration of localism, which features a futuristic London that is broken up into shires. Adam Wayne, the hero of the novel, defends Notting Hill and specifically Pump Street against the threat of take-over by big government types. It's a funny, thought-provoking read. The Flying Inn is also set in a futuristic England in which Islam has taken over and outlawed alcohol. The heroes of the story take kegs of booze around England in a cart (hence the name!), allowing the faithful to drink their fill. Another funny novel, but it raises serious questions about the aggressive nature of Islam and its clash with Christianity. Some of Chesterton's depictions of how Islamic leaders changed the laws in England are positively eerie in light of modern events.

The Man Who Was Thursday is another popular novel, though I did not are for it as much.

So, any other ideas? Please post comments or email the group and we will decide that way.

Ahlquist on Local Radio

2011-11-07T08:35:00.004-05:00

Via Mr. Macik, Headmaster of the Lyceum:

Tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. on 1220 WHK, I will be a guest on ‘From the Median, A Report from the Frontline of the Prolife Movement” hosted by Molly Smith as she interviews Dale Ahlquist. See the information below if you would like to listen to the program.

See this link for scheduling information.

November Meeting / Road trip

2011-10-12T21:29:00.004-04:00

At the last meeting of the St. Sebastian Chesterton Society, the voting members present decided to hold the November meeting at the Lyceum event on November 12 at 7:30 PM (details in this flyer. If you are interested in attending, please email me (mattwyszynski1{at}gmail{dot}com)by October 19 so that I can arrange for tickets.

This Just In....

2011-10-05T12:03:00.001-04:00

Dale Ahlquist announces:

Attention!

The 31st Annual G.K. Chesterton Conference will be Aug. 2-4, 2012, at the Silver Legacy Hotel (and Casino) in Reno, Nevada.

It will be the 100th anniversary of Chesterton’s novel, Manalive.

To celebrate, we will be showing the world premiere of the movie, “Manalive”, directed by Joey Odendahl and starring Mark Shea and Kevin O’Brien.

Featured speakers are Dale Ahlquist and Joseph Pearce

And also: Mark Shea and Kevin O’Brien. And Joey Odendahl himself.

We will also have Jason Jones, the producer of the movie “Bella”.

Julian Ahlquist will be speaking on “Chesterton and Aristotle”

Ralph Wood of Baylor University will be speaking on his new book “Chesterton and The Nightmare Goodness of God.”

The theme of the conference will be a pivotal line from Manalive: “Break the Conventions. Keep the Commandments.”

Playing a major role in the hosting duties will be the Chesterton Society of Nevada, led by Sharon Parker. We’re hoping to have the Bishop of Reno say Mass for us at the Cathedral, which is only two blocks from the hotel in downtown Reno. The area features lots of wonderful things to see and do, including beautiful Lake Tahoe, historic Virginia City, a variety of art galleries, family friendly activities (safari zoo, water park, Exploratorium), and a monastery and a convent. That’s right. What did you think you’d find in Reno?

It will be the best conference we’ve ever had.

We’re going to establish the schedule very early and make registration available very early and publicize the event very heavily for the coming year. But let’s start getting the word out right now.

Dale Ahlquist

President, American Chesterton Society

Dale Alquist in NE Ohio

2011-10-01T08:49:00.001-04:00

I just received word that Dale Alquist will be in the area on Saturday, November 12. More information is on this flyer.

October Meeting

2011-09-15T13:20:00.004-04:00

At next month's meeting, we will again be discussing distributism and continuing with G.K.'s The Outline of Sanity. Our readings are available in this pdf. We'll meet October 2 at the rectory at 7:00 PM.

Chesterton Conference in Rochester

2011-09-07T10:30:00.003-04:00

The Rochester Chesterton Society is holding a conference on October 1, 2011. More information can be found at their site.

September meeting

2011-08-22T13:33:00.004-04:00

We finally finished Orthodoxy. While it was an enjoyable ride, I think we're all relieved to have finished.

Our September meeting will be the fourth (the Sunday before Labor Day) at 7:00 PM in the rectory. We'll start wrestling with distributism. Matt A. selected the two readings. The first is an intro to the theory found at this link. The second is the first chapter from G.K.'s book Outline of Sanity. I've made a pdf that is available at this link.
UPDATE 9/1/11: As Mike H said a week ago, the first link did not work. It is now fixed. Sorry!

August meeting

2011-07-18T10:58:00.004-04:00

The July meeting was a great success, though fewer members than normal were able to attend.

The next meeting will be held August 7 at 7:00 PM at the rectory. We will be reading the last chapter of Orthodoxy. Since we'll be finishing the book, please come with suggestions for the next month's reading.

July Meeting

2011-07-13T12:29:00.002-04:00

July's meeting will take place Sunday, July 17 at 7:00 PM in the rectory. We'll be discussing Chapter VIII of Orthodoxy, "The Romance of Orthodoxy".

Passion Thursday Mass at St. Sebastian

2011-05-11T08:08:00.005-04:00

Fr. Pfeiffer, one of our own Chestertonians, celebrated Mass in the Extraordinary Form on Passion Thursday, 2011. This is the Mass that Chesterton knew and loved.

All the children of the parish school assisted. Thanks to school mom Kelley Sassano for these great pics!

May meeting

2011-04-12T11:39:00.003-04:00

May's meeting will be held May 15 at 7:00 PM. We'll continue with Orthodoxy. The chapter for May is "The Paradoxes of Christianity".

April Meeting

2011-04-08T18:09:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the late post. The next meeting is Sunday, April 10 at 7:00 PM. We'll be discussing chapter 5 of Orthodoxy.

March Meeting

2011-03-07T12:57:00.003-05:00

The February meeting of the society was a success; we welcomed two new members. The discussion was lively, but we all agreed that two chapters of Orthodoxy was too much to cover in an hour.

The next meeting is scheduled for March 13 at 7:00 at the rectory. We'll be discussing chapter 4 of the work.

Sad news in Chillicothe

2011-02-09T08:55:00.003-05:00

The Chesterton Society of Chillicothe has suspended its meetings because of lack of membership. The founder is thinking about meeting in Cincinnati or in Dayton. If you're from those areas and interested in starting a Chesterton Society, please contact Bob Cook.

2011 Chesterton Conference

2011-01-26T19:46:00.002-05:00

This year's annual Chesterton Conference will be held in St. Louis August 4-6. More information at this link.

February meeting

2011-01-10T09:41:00.003-05:00

The January meeting of the Society was a great success. We welcomed two new members to the group and spent an enjoyable evening discussing the first chapter of Orthodoxy.

The next meeting will be February 20 at 7:00 PM and we will discuss chapters two and three of the book.

January meeting

2010-12-14T12:13:00.006-05:00

To start off 2011, the St. Sebastian Chesterton Society will begin Orthodoxy. In order to help keep us all on the same page, the membership present at the December meeting decided that everyone should use the same edition, published by Ignatius Press. It is available directly from the press, or through Amazon.

The January meeting will be January 9 at 7:00 PM in the rectory. We will be discussing the first chapter or Orthodoxy. (If you're feeling heretical and not yet convinced you should commit to Orthodoxy, the first chapter is available in Amazon's "Look Inside" feature.)

December meeting

2010-12-06T10:14:00.003-05:00

The December meeting of the St. Sebastian Chesterton Society will be Sunday, Dec. 12 at 7:00 PM in the rectory. This month we will discuss

Please email Matt Wyszynski (mattwyszynski1[at]gmail.com) if you would like pdfs of the readings.

Rescheduled meeting-Sunday 11/21 at 7:00

2010-11-18T20:48:00.002-05:00

November Meeting

2010-11-11T10:45:00.001-05:00

The next meeting of the Society will be this Sunday, November 14 at 7:00 PM in the rectory. John Anderson has picked out the reading, "Introduction to the Book of Job". As usual, email if you would like a pdf of the reading.

November Meeting

2010-10-25T10:26:00.002-04:00

The October meeting of the society went well. Four members attended, and the discussion at first focused on ignorance about the Middle Ages (as GK wrote about in the selection for the month) and continued with ignorance in general. It was a lively meeting.

The November meeting will take place November 14 at 7:00 PM. The good Fathers Valencheck and Pfeiffer have once again extended their hospitality and offered to host the meeting at the rectory. John Anderson will select the month's reading.

In addition, the group also discussed the possibility of starting a more ambitious reading project, perhaps Orthodoxy, through the winter months. Any advice or feedback will be appreciated.

October Meeting

2010-10-17T13:33:00.006-04:00

The October meeting of the St. Sebastian's Chesterton Society will be Sunday, Oct. 24 at 7:00 PM in the rectory. Fr. V. picked this month's reading "Getting to know the Middle Ages". If you would like a pdf of the article, email mattwyszynski1(at)gmail(dot)com.

September Meeting

2010-09-09T21:30:00.004-04:00

The September meeting of the St. Sebastian Chesterton Society will be held on Sunday, Sept. 19 at 7:00 PM at the parish rectory. We'll be discussing two of the Father Brown short stories from the collection The Innocence of Father Brown:

Please contact Matt Wyszynski [mattwyszynski1 (at)gmail(dot)com] if you'd like a pdf of these stories.

July meeting

2010-07-08T22:02:00.002-04:00

The July meeting of the St. Sebastian Chesteron Society will be held July 11 at the parish rectory. John Anderson chose three short essays to discuss.

1) Why I am a Catholic

2) The Revival of Philosophy

3) Philosophy for the Schoolroom

They can be found at the American Chesterton Society site, or if you email mattwyszynski1(at)gmail.com, a pdf of each essay will be sent to you.

June meeting

2010-06-12T21:12:00.003-04:00

The June meeting was a success! Again we have four people attend and a lively conversation over G.K.'s "The Crusade." In honor of D-Day (a modern day Crusade?) we shared a bottle of French wine.

The July meeting will be held on July 11 at 7:00 PM. Hope to see you there.

June meeting

2010-05-25T11:37:00.003-04:00

The St. Sebastian Chesterton Society's next meeting is slated for June 6 at 7:00 PM in the loggia of the rectory, weather permitting (whether the weather is permitting or not, we will still meet).

Fr. V has picked this month's selection.
http://chesterton.org/gkc/historian/crusade.html
Enjoy!

May meeting

2010-05-04T22:26:00.005-04:00

Last night was the second (or third, if you count the play as a meeting) meeting of the St. Sebastian Chesterton Society. Membership has doubled in just two months! That is phenomenal growth! Welcome to our two new members! (Three if you count Sebastian, everyone's favorite dog that lives in a rectory on Mull Ave.)

We followed the typical meeting plan. Fr. V. picked out a great poem that we used as an opening prayer. You can view it on his blog. We then discussed the two essays selected for the month's meeting, "Philosophy versus Literature" and "In Defence of Detective Fiction." The essays formed the backbone of our discussion about how a Catholic can (and should?) read literature, a subject near and dear to Matt's heart.

The June meeting is slated for Sunday, June 6. Fr. V. will be choosing the reading selection, and we'll post more here later.

G.K. in Akron

2010-04-27T13:48:00.003-04:00

I forgot to post pictures of G.K.'s visit to Akron on Easter Monday 2010! Here is one that come courtesy of Fr. V. The show went well and was well attended, especially considering that we didn't have much time to spread the word. Thanks to all who came.

May meeting

2010-04-26T11:15:00.006-04:00

The St. Sebastian Chesterton Society will meet Monday, May 3 at 7:00 PM in the St. Sebastian rectory (476 Mull Avenue). The topic of discussion will be (or at least start from) two related Chesterton essays "A Defence of Detective Stories" and "On Philosophy versus Fiction". Please drop a line to Matt Wyszynski (mattwyszynski1[at]gmail[dot]com) if you'd like to have copies of these essays emailed to you.

Chesterton Show!

2010-03-23T09:43:00.001-04:00

There will be a one man play about G. K. Chesterton on Easter Monday at 7PM at St. Sebastian Parish in Zwisler Hall. Admission is free (though you may make a donation if you wish.) We local Chestertonian fans are sponsoring this event to help kick off our Chesterton Society. See more here. Please come and drag along friends - help introduce Chesterton to others.

G.K.'s Theology of the Body

2010-02-16T15:47:00.000-05:00

"All that talk about the divinity and dignity of the human body is stolen from theology, and is quite meaningless without theology. It dates from the Garden of Eden, and the idea (which I happen to hold firmly) that God created Man in His own image. But, if you remove that religious idea, there is no more sense in saying that every human being is lovely than in saying that every hippopotamus is lovely. It is a matter of taste; and many of us, after watching a sufficient number of human beings at Brighton [ed. note: or any twenty-first century American beach], might prefer the hippopotamus"

"On Dress and Decorum" in All Is Grist

Groundwork

2010-02-16T14:22:00.000-05:00

The West Akron Chesterton Society held its first meeting, opening with a prayer. The first piece of business was to change the name to "The St. Sebastian Chesterton & Friends Society" to reflect that the group will be based as St. Sebastian Parish, though membership will not be limited to parishioners. Next, a general meeting format was decided on (prayer, recap of the previous meeting, brief presentation of the night's topic, discussion, closing prayer).

Stay tuned for future meeting dates and topics.

Inaugural Meeting!

2010-01-31T13:40:00.000-05:00

Please mark you calendars for the first meeting of the West Akron Chesterton Society. We will be meeting at 476 Mull Ave. (aka St Sebastian Parish Rectory) on February 15 at 6:30 PM. We will discuss general issues and future plans.

We're up and blogging

2010-01-27T06:35:00.000-05:00

Stay tuned to this blog for more information about the West Akron Chesterton Society.