A sermon for the parish of St. Saviour, Penticton BCSunday, February 9th 2025 / Fifth Sunday after the EpiphanyThe Very Rev. Ken Gray โAre you saved brother?โ I used to hear this question a lot some years ago. It was spiritual lingua franca when I was coming into adulthood in the 1970s. Christians, especially evangelicals,... Continue Reading →
Enter the poet: HOPE
Every activist needs a poet. Very few are poets; certainly Iโm not; I donโt sit still long enough; my powers of observation are limited. Like chess, I find poetry overly demanding of my short social media-distracted attention span. To engage poetry I must concentrate: Read the text out loud, several times if necessary; savour the... Continue Reading →
Jane helped build this house โ Alternatives to Anger 001
This blog is the first of a series suggesting how we can all do good things during this crazy time in our communities. Watch this space. My new friend, Jane, helped build a house, an โEarthshipโ in Zuni, New Mexico by connecting with Earthship Biotecture, an agency she discovered in 2015. Earthship is a sustainable... Continue Reading →
Small, hard, and full of meanness
Mary Oliver in 2008, and for today Of The Empire We will be known as a culture that feared death and adored power, that tried to vanquish insecurity for the few and cared little for the penury of the many. We will be known as a culture that taught and rewarded the amassing of things,... Continue Reading →
Lovers in a dangerous time
A sermon for the congregation of St. Stephen SummerlandSunday, January 19, 2025Andrew Stephens-Rennie, Director of Missional Renewal, Anglican Diocese of Kootenay[Bold emphasis KJG] [Andrew Stephens-Rennie]Between the word that is spoken, the word that is heard, and the word that is lived, may your name be praised O God, our Strength and our Song. Amen. You... Continue Reading →
Jeff’s question
My colleague and friend, Jeff, recently emailed the following question to me: โHi Ken -- just wondering how you're doing these days? So much terribly difficult stuff going on, all at once. We are struggling with it -- working a lot through the emotions, especially grief and frustration. Around here, most everyone is experiencing that.โ ... Continue Reading →
This is my final blog โ on cruising
Readers of this blog, and of this blog, are likely sick of this particular thread. I join you in frustration. That said, the comments below, while hardly unique, take the conversation further and in interesting ways. They deserve publication โ but thatโs it. No more comments on cruising. I do have another couple of subjects... Continue Reading →
New yearโs Northern Lights
What a great way to start the new year, every year, but especially this year, early on New Yearโs Day 2025, a walk in the woods enjoying a Northern Lights display. My friend and colleague, Louise, lives in Smithers, the Gem of Northern British Columbia. Despite warmer temperatures than normal this year, snow lay on... Continue Reading →
Makes the heart glad โ Environmental Expo at Church of the Advent in Colwood, BC
I totally get it! When things change for me, other changes follow. When clergy leave a parish (or cathedral) things they valued sometimes disappear. (Trust me on this.) Joseph had led the people of Israel during times of famine. His prophecy of good and bad times was fully realized. As a result he enjoyed the... Continue Reading →
Everything is compromise?
Response to my earlier blog Everything is Evil has been deep and swift. I have received comments and suggestions from more readers of this blog than any other. Thanks to everyone who has contributed. This blog includes a wide variety of responses, each in their own way wrestling with the ethical and physical issues related... Continue Reading →