Many thanks to Lay Minister, Mandy Bath of St. Mark’s Anglican Church, Kaslo BC for sharing her sermon from Sept 209, 2026 We start with a Questionnaire by Wendell Berry: How much poison are you willing to eat for the success of the free market and global trade? Please name your preferred poisons. For the... Continue Reading →
[KJG - I have never read a Stephen King novel. Volunteering at a church book sale however, I see that many, many readers have enjoyed his suspenseful, narrative horror. I did enjoy the movie “Stand by Me,” that was based on his novella, “The Body.” Very much. And for the record, the adjurement towards hard... Continue Reading →
Daniel Lewis, Sept. 16, 2026 The New York Times Annie Dillard, who as a young American writer walked into the woods and came out with a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on the wonders and horrors of creation, the modern classic “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,” died on Tuesday at her home in South Wellfleet, Mass. She was... Continue Reading →
Photographer Tom Hicks was discovered by a rock star, a huge talent, of Led Zeppelin fame and later paired with Alison Krauss. What a fabulous combination. Two brilliant artists, collaborating – Plant wrote an introduction to one of Kicks’ book. Wow. You will ask what does Hicks shoot. Certainly not the North Sea waves of... Continue Reading →
A Poem on Hope It is hard to have hope. It is harder as you grow old, for hope must not depend on feeling good and there’s the dream of loneliness at absolute midnight. You also have withdrawn belief in the present reality of the future, which surely will surprise us, and hope is harder... Continue Reading →
[Some differences between my experiences (and my spelling) with those of Anne Lamott. Still, great words here.] [Anne Lamott] August, ugh, not my favorite month. If I were God’s West Coast representative, I would not have scheduled it, and gone directly from the heat blasts of July—which we would endure with only once or twice... Continue Reading →
Prompted by a fierce attachment to his own pet, Paul Yoon wrote a harrowing yet hopeful novel, set during wartime, told from a canine perspective. By Pamela Newton, in the New York Times, Aug. 2, 2026 For visuals by Erik Tanner visit the link with the full article above. Oscar, a sweet, lumbering 70-pound lab... Continue Reading →
The Politics of Isolation CHARLIE ANGUS / THE RESISTANCE / Substack / JUL 31 There have been countless books written about the political crisis of our time, but one small book stands out. Hyperpolitics, by Belgian historian Anton Jäger, puts forward the thesis that the dramatic failure of left and centrist politics is rooted in... Continue Reading →
Shared from Facebook [Ken Gray - While my own appreciation of the gift of salvation differs considerably now as travel, study, and experience have broadened my own understanding, my indebtedness to John Stott remains intact and significant. He was one of the greatest preachers I ever encountered. As a London-based student from 1977-1979 I attended... Continue Reading →
[Ken Gray] An excellent reflection from Carmen Lansdowne, theologian and former Moderator of the United Church of Canada. Returned from a conference hosted by The International Association for Mission Studies which gathers scholars who have spent their careers thinking about what it means for the church to go outward — and, just as often, repenting... Continue Reading →
