Further Up and Further In

When people borrow the phrase “further up and further in” from CS Lewis’ The Last Battle, they normally use it to communicate something spiritual, like going deeper into the Gospel or the presence of God. For those who haven’t read the book, the phrase describes the children walking toward the heart of Aslan’s country and Aslan himself, and thus using the phrase as a spiritual metaphor is exactly in line with Lewis’ intent in the book.
 
This newsletter is not one of those moments! I am borrowing the phrase not to communicate something spiritual or profound, but instead to simply say that we need everyone to move “further up and further in” at church on Sunday!
 
As attendance has normalized after the summer, it has been clear that we are beginning to fill up the sanctuary at Gayton. There are still seats available, but if they are buried in the middle of rows or at the front of the sanctuary it becomes very awkward for newcomers to find a place to sit. To fix that, we need everyone to move forwards and towards the center aisle, so that the available seats are at the back of the sanctuary and on the outside edges of the rows. This will make things a lot easier for people who are new (or for those running a bit behind).
 
Further up and further in!
 
(By the way, if any grammarians are suddenly bothered by the fact that CS Lewis used “further” rather than “farther” to describe the literal distance the children walked, be at peace. British English, unlike American English, does not distinguish between the two words.)
 
Steven+