The Wade Center museum is proud to present an exhibition featuring the life and works of Pauline Baynes,
including new paintings by Ms. Baynes based on Psalm 8. The Psalm 8 illustrations have been
published in a limited edition book entitled Psalm 8: How Excellent is Thy Name,
available only at the Wade Center.
This 30-page hardbound art book is priced at $30.00 (additional $3.50 if shipped). To order, phone 630-752-5908 or
email wade@wheaton.edu
Ruth James Cording, long-time friend and former Wade Center staff member, died May 5th in Escondido,
California at age 96. Ruth was archivist at Wheaton College in the early 1960s when Clyde S. Kilby
first donated a handful of letters and books by C.S. Lewis to the college library.
Beginning with this initial acquisition, Ruth assisted Dr. Kilby in numerous ways during the
early years of the Collection, including serving as a welcoming hostess to many visiting
researchers. Upon her retirement from the College Archives, Ruth worked part-time for the Wade Center.
Her deep interest in the Wade Center authors, and particularly in C.S. Lewis, eventually led her
to write C.S. Lewis, A Celebration of His Early Life (2000)—a delightful volume which uses both
words and images to explore Lewis’s childhood.
Proud of her Welsh heritage, in 1993 Ruth donated the materials which comprise the Ruth James
Cording Welsh Language and Literature Collection in the Wheaton College Special Collections.
A member of The National League of American Pen Women, Chicago Branch, Ruth wrote numerous poems
and articles, and published two other books: The Joy of Remembering Our Guests (1982), and
The Joy of Remembering Our Children (1984).
Ruth was born on May 23, 1911, in Auburn, New York to Edward and Zella James.
She married Edward A. Cording on July 23, 1935 in Auburn, New York.
A graduate of Wheaton College (BA 1933) with a major in literature,
Ruth received the Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award from Wheaton College in October, 1996.
Ruth lived in Wheaton, Illinois for 76 years, before moving recently to California
to be closer to her son Robert.
Ruth was preceded in death by her husband of sixty-two years, Edward A. Cording, and
is survived by three children, Dr. Edward J. Cording (Norma) of Savannah, Georgia,
Robert P. Cording of Valley Center, California, and Dr. Margaret Cording Petty (Thomas) of
Boran-sur-Oise, France; and her grandson, Evan James Cording of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Actor/playwright Tony Lawton delighted Wheaton audiences in January with performances of his
one-man play based on C.S. Lewis's book The Great Divorce. Because of the many
audience members who inquired about how to invite Tony to perform at their churches or schools,
we would like to offer this
link to his website.
Prince Caspian, the second book published in the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis,
first appeared in 1951.
As you are likely aware, on May 16, Walden Media/Disney will release a feature-length film based on Lewis’s book.
In response to the ongoing interest in the Narnian tales, Associate Director
Marjorie Mead and Steering Committee member Leland Ryken have
co-written A Reader’s Guide to Caspian (InterVarsity Press 2008).
This book, like its predecessor A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe
(also IVP), is ideal for use
by reading groups, families, and individuals as a companion to the story itself.
Mead and Ryken provide a guided literary
tour of Lewis's Narnia highlighting characters, setting, framework,
and imaginative background and spiritual themes, as well as a brief biography of
C.S. Lewis. Questions for discussion and reflection round out this helpful resource.
A Reader's Guide to Caspian can be purchased at your local bookstore, in the Wade
Center gift shop (signed by the authors), or
online.
