GroshLink

On Monday, December 12, Tom will host a breakfast with Robert Ives, Ph.D. (Ecclesiastical History, Manchester University, England). 

When it is always winter and never really Christmas: Jesus' birth and the Harried Christmas Racket.
Monday, December 12, 6:30 am
Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church, Elizabethtown, PA

RSVP by Thursday, December 8 on the Facebook event page or by contacting the Groshes.

The program will also include student testimonies and an invitation to invest in the work to which God has called Tom & Theresa Grosh IV as part of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

Abstract:

CS Lewis had a long dislike for what he called "Xmas", the secular part of Christmas, the buying of gifts and the sending of cards, which he called a distraction from celebrating the birth of Jesus in a manger. But there are other sides to his view of the real Christmas. In the years following World War II, many Americans would send Lewis food packages at Christmas. Those he was always thankful for, and he would share the food with friends at the college. And then, of course, there are the scenes in 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' where it is always winter and never Christmas, until Aslan returns, and Father Christmas arrives. How shall we put all this together?

In case you're not already familiar with our speaker: Bob is retired from the pastorate (pastor emeritus of Grantham Brethren in Christ Church) and from teaching at Messiah College. As a pastor, speaker, and teacher, he has given significant attention to the work of C.S. Lewis.

By God's grace, Bob moved from church goer to follower of Christ through InterVarsity's ministry at Drexel. While attending Fuller Seminary, he worked as an InterVarsity staff person and met Nancy (his wife) at Campus by the Sea (an InterVarsity camp). To return to the student world some of what it had given him, Bob has spent his years of ministry in the context of higher education. He served students at Boston's Park Street Church, Philadelphia's 10th Presbyterian Church, and the Campus Church at Messiah College. In addition, Bob has been a great encouragement to our labors in South Central PA. What a joy to partner across the generations of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's ministry. To God be the glory!

PS. If you're in the area, please mark your calendar for Thursday, March 15, 6:30 pm, Acorn Farms, when we'll host an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship dessert and Christian Scholars gathering with David C. Downing, Ph.D., R. W. Schlosser Professor of English at Elizabethtown College & author of several books on C.S. Lewis. You may remember David launched our Christian Author Series at Elizabethtown Public Library by speaking on his newly released novel Looking for the King: An Inklings Novel (2010).