The Conference on Christianity & Literature

Membership and Information

The members of the Conference on Christianity and Literature believe that distinct benefits may be derived for Christian teachers of literature and the institutions they serve by a closer affiliation and believe that CCL is an excellent way to provide that bond. The stated purposes of CCL are to promote high standards of Christian scholarship, sponsor a publication that serves as a forum for scholarly discourse, support Christian approaches to college teaching, and foster Christian fellowship. Membership in CCL is open to all who are interested in its purposes and programs. Membership includes a subscription to the quarterly  journal, Christianity and Literature, and information about conferences and other functions sponsored by CCL's seven regional organizations.

Membership/subscription rates for individuals are $25/year, $45/two years. Students and retired faculty members may join for the special rate of $20/year, $35/two years. Canadian and other foreign subscriptions are an additional $10 per year or $18 for two years.  (All rates are in U.S. currency).

You may begin or renew memberships online through PayPal by following this link to our online payment page. You may also pay by mail. To do that, download the subscription form and follow mailing and payment information on the form.

CCL Officers and Committees

The CCL elects a president, vice president, secretary, and a treasurer, who serve as the executive committee, along with nine directors. Seven of those directors are elected as representatives by members of their respective CCL regional organizations, and two are at-large directors elected by all CCL members. Executive committee members serve two-year terms; directors are elected for three-year terms. John Cox of Hope College is the current CCL president.

CCL Regional Organizations

Seven geographical organizations exist in CCL. Each organization elects a director to serve on the CCL board and may sponsor regional conferences and other functions. CCL members may participate in conferences or other functions from all regions.

CCL History

The CCL had its beginnings in 1950 when when Elva McAllaster at Seattle Pacific College mailed colleagues “A Newsletter for Christian Teachers of College English.”  Today, the organization sponsors a quarterly journal with refereed articles and literary reviews, annual regional conferences, and writing contests and awards. More details.

Strengthening the Foundation

The Conference on Christianity and Literature isis a thriving organization with a clear sense of mission and a committed and active membership that does a lot with a little. In order to strengthen CCL's foundation for the foreseeable future, the board is seeking to establish a substantial endowment for the first time in the organization's history. The fund drive to set up the endowment is called "Strengthening CCL's Foundation." The purpose of the endowment is to strengthen CCL financially by providing annual interest income beyond membership dues. More details.

 

 

 

Questions to Tammy Ditmore (tammy.ditmore@pepperdine.edu)

In the Latest  Issue of Christianity & Literature:

  Thoughts
     on the
    Afterlife

            John Ruff  

Driving home Friday I
   pass a man
mowing the grass
in front of a small
   blue house
just north of
    the morturary--

a dead ringer for
   my dead
colleague, David,
   professor
and fomer chair
of the department
   of theology.

By the time I turn
   down Evans
I'm wondering what
   if it were
really him, an
   eminent liturgist
spirited back one
   hot afternoon

in August to be a
   procession
onto himself, straight
   row up
and straight row back,
   no music
but from the mower,
   no incense

but the smell of
   fresh-cut grass.
What a blessing
   it would be
to break a sweat again-
to dwell again in
   the ringing

of that inaudible
   bell when
the mower quits--
   it makes me
think the afterlife
   might not be
so bad if once in
   a while they

send us back do do
   some odd job.
Then I remember
   those refugees
from high school
   who come back
to watch the
   homecoming game

they starred in the
   previous year--
how lost they look
   in the twilight
beyond the end zone
   with no where
else they'd rather be.

     Winter 2008