I love back-to-school week! A little while ago, I talked about the First Days of School in my Garden Gate Summer Note. A “Garden Gate Summer” is my own term for that blessed return of summer, even as the earth is tilting away from the sun. I love student nervousness and open questions, new clothes and pep rallies, varsity games and the inevitable staple of a new academic year: a bouncy castle (that’s one of my superstar past students cheering at centre in this archival photo, international dodgeball sensation Halen Skye).

We are certainly not experiencing anything like what old folks around here used to call an Indian Summer–though I am still holding on to hope and have bought tickets to an outdoor Twenty One Pilots concert on PEI’s North Shore tomorrow. I mean, one of my favourite bands in the world coming to the land of Anne? How could I miss it. They’ll be joined by Down With Webster, Kaleo, and a host of local bands. The Saturday night show closes with Sombr–a kind of newish emo vampire pop singing, heavy on the brooding–and, of all people, Natasha Beddingfield. I will prepare for four seasons of weather and try to keep up with my punk son and niblings. Here is a taste of 21 Pilots heading back to school:

It is all a bit ambitious. I’m absolutely wiped from all of the minute and major moments of connection in classrooms and on campus this week. My screen is increasingly filled with slides and spreadsheets. And I also have a weekend crowded with chances to talk about my new book, The Spiritual Imagination of C.S. Lewis.

Right now, I’m planning a discussion with the Harbor Online Community tonight at 7pm ET. My cousin, the newly doctored Rev. Dawn Dickieson, is one of the leaders of this innovative and inviting gathering of the curious and the faithful.

I met with one of the Harbor book clubs a couple of years ago to talk about The Screwtape Letters, and it was a highlight of the season for me. My sense is that not a few of the folks in that community have been hurt within the church or in the countless casualties of the current culture war, where spiritual life is challenged, coerced, merchandized, politicized, negated, or caricaturized.

My hope is that what I write about and talk about will help us see how C.S. Lewis–without ignoring his context or making him a plaster saint–helps us see further and imagine spiritual life in ways that are greater than we ever knew.

You can find the full Instagram post from @onlineharbor below. The Harbor website will get you connected if you would like to join in, or send me a note.

And, I have my first on-the-ground book launch! The generous folks at the Summerside Rotary Library are opening up a space for me to talk about The Spiritual Imagination of C.S. Lewis. I’m impressed to say that there will even be tidbits, refreshments as they call it. There’s more of a story about Summerside for me to tell sometime. For now, if you happen to be within striking distance of Summerside, PEI, we’d love to see you Sunday at 2pm.

Now, I’m back to editing video, answering advising emails, and thinking about the best way to set up tonight’s discussion. All the best to you, dear reader!