The Sacramento Chesterton Society was inaugurated June 19, 2012, at St. Stephen the First Martyr Catholic Church. With the exception of two virtual Zoom meetings in 2020, we have met every month since our inception. Anywhere from 5 to 12 people were showing up for meetings, until 2020. Since then our number has doubled, possibly due to an increased need for sane conversation! We chose Tremendous Trifles as the first book for discussion, which worked very well for a group that includes some people who have read Chesterton for years, as well as several whose exposure to GKC was limited, and even some who had never read anything by Chesterton, but were interested in learning more. “Tremendous” gave small bite-sized exposure to many ideas Chesterton elaborates on in other works; it was also a good exposure to his style of writing. Since then we have read Orthodoxy, What’s Wrong With the World, Heretics, The Man Who Was Thursday, The Ball and the Cross, Napoleon of Notting Hill, Fr. Brown stories, and many essays, to name a few.
We currently have anywhere from 18 to 24 people at our monthly meetings. Random snacks, beverages, and sweets inevitably show up, although not planned. We never lack for conversation, and everyone is enthusiastic about reading and talking about Chesterton’s ideas. We continue to welcome newcomers and curious one-time visitors with open arms. G.K. is worth sharing!
For more information, please email Spencer and Anne.