Following from my posting of a sermon by Sam Rose, the Anglican Bishop of Central Newfoundland, the very distinguished, brilliant, and thoughtful music Matthew Larkin left a good comment. My response is below: Thanks for your thoughts, Matthew. Allow me to broaden the context somewhat. I am not sure that church leaders celebrate the loss... Continue Reading →
Let’s Save this Organ somehow, somewhere
From Anna Lapwood / Marnie Giesbracht, and others Sadly, plans have been made at the highest levels of the University of Alberta, Canada to remove the 1978 Casavant Memorial Organ from Convocation Hall in the Old Arts Building. These plans were confirmed when Joachim and I (Marnie Giesbrecht) met with Dean of Arts, Robert Wood... Continue Reading →
Thank You Taylor family and the Toronto Blue Jays
Hundreds out for opening of rebuilt baseball field in Summerland Casey Richardson - Apr 18, 2026 / 3:40 pm | Story and photos / Castanet Summerland Click here to view gallery Hundreds of people came out to Summerland's Living Memorial Park on Saturday to celebrate the opening of a special baseball field, more than a... Continue Reading →
How to close a church well — A sermon
Sermon Notes at the Closing of St.Andrews Trinity East from the Right Rev. John Watton, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Central Newfoundland My friends, I’ll be honest. Throughout the three dioceses in Newfoundland and across the country, we will face increased Church closings. It’s hard to talk about, let alone live through it. When... Continue Reading →
Violence begets violence — Some leaders have not learned this yet
Ed Cyzewski Apr 17, 2026 on Substack - With thanks to Norma Hill for the nudge There are a lot of different ways to live your life as a person and to exist as a society. For better or worse, in America, we tend to “live” by the economy and market. There are a lot... Continue Reading →
Such a good news story
Reposted from The Independent Sunday 19 April 2026 NPR (National Public Radio/US) received its largest-ever donation from a living donor this week when billionaire philanthropist Connie Ballmer gave $80 million to the media organization. Ballmer — a former member of the NPR Foundation's board — told the Wall Street Journal that she poured money into... Continue Reading →
Literary guardrails in an AI world
Ken Gray, with materials from CBC News, Apr 12, 2026 Jenna Benchetrit explores AI implications for writers. “Hi; my name is Ken.” “Hi Ken.” “I occasionally use AI.” “Wow; did you make that up yourself Ken? Or did AI help? And if it did, how did AI help you?” “No I did not use AI... Continue Reading →
On the Road again
A SERMON for the congregation of St. Stephen, Summerland, Sunday, April 19th, 2026, the Third Sunday of Easter by the Very Rev. Ken Gray Willie Nelson said it, and sang it, best: On the road againGoin' places that I've never beenSeein' things that I may never see againI can't wait to get on the road... Continue Reading →
“God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war” Pope Leo XIV
How the first American pope is reclaiming Christian values from the Trump administration By Christopher Lamb at CNN Flying to Algeria at the start of his landmark tour of Africa on Monday, Pope Leo had a choice. He could ignore Donald Trump’s extraordinary overnight social media tirade against him, or he could tackle it head... Continue Reading →
Keeping wisdom alive
CAC faculty member Brian McLaren reflects on the person of Benedict of Nursia (ca. 480–547) whose world closely resembles ours today. History, it seems, repeats itself. Hopefully Benedict's solution helps us on our way. Long live wisdom. It’s not hard to imagine a world that seems to be falling apart with political division and corruption,... Continue Reading →