A sermon for the congregation of St. Stephen, SummerlandSunday, October 18th, 2026 | The Twenty-First Sunday after PentecostThe Very Rev. Ken Gray Names are important. I like to be called by my name and I expect you do also. I have no idea why I am named Kenneth John. Kenneth Reid lived across the street... Continue Reading →
โEvery act of art is an act of resistance — This will not stand!
On Saturday, October 3, the Power to the People festival, organized by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, took over the stage at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. On two stages were rock, alternative, and hip hop royalty, joining together to remind Americans... Continue Reading →
Preaching, preachers, and privilege
I have always loved preaching, both as a listener and a presenter. As a young adult I read books by British preachers Martyn Lloyd Jones and John Stott, both in the evangelical tradition, with great interest. As a music student in London I attended All Souls, Langham place, the flagship of British Evangelicalism in the... Continue Reading →
“White supremacist organizing is on the rise, and we must do more to fight it”
[CBC News] โB.C. politicians and leaders are denouncing an apparent gathering of white nationalists on the Tk'emlรบps te Secwรฉpemc reserve, just east of Kamloops. Tk'emlรบps te Secwรฉpemc Kรบkpi7 Rosanne Casimir says the nation received reports Sunday morning of a gathering of roughly 30 men, donning white face masks and black caps, standing together around the... Continue Reading →
“Discipline and constant work are the whetstones upon which the dull knife of talent is honed” โ Stephen King, on writing
[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 โStand by Me,โ that was based on his novella, โThe Body.โ Very much. And for the record, the adjurement towards hard... Continue Reading →
What are you doing in your parish for the Season of Creation this year? A Canadian collection
All Saints Cathedral, Halifax NS [This is a living document. Additional images and stories will be included as they are received.] Anglican activist and ecological animator extraordinaire, The Rev. Marian Lucas Jeffries (Team Leader of the Environment Network of the Diocese of Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island) sent a note to her clergy colleagues asking: โWhat... Continue Reading →
RIP Wendell Berry
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 thereโs 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 →
Pay attention! That’s all!
Original art on the Gray Family living room wall by Victoria artist Lisa Hebden 10 Quotes From Mary Oliver, the Patron Saint of Paying AttentionBy Jenna Barnett in Sojourners, Apr 14, 2025 I like to think of the late poet Mary Oliver as the patron saint of paying attention. She taught us to not take... Continue Reading →
๏ปฟโWe are all oneโ โ A greeting from Marion Newman for Indigenous Peoples Month and Day
[Ken Gray] As I continue my own healing and reconciliation journey both in church and in community I was so pleased to stumble across a Facebook post from critically acclaimed and award-winning mezzo-soprano Marian Newman. As I preside today at an Anglican service here in Summerland honouring Indigenous Peoples Day I will share some of... Continue Reading →
Arlene Dickinson should include herself in this list
Reposted from Facebook I've often thought about what it truly takes to be Michelle Obama. To stand in the most scrutinized spotlight in the world, absorb hatred and cruel criticisms (that would seriously break most of us), and somehow still show up every single day with grace, purpose, and dignity. Or Melinda Gates, who's rebuilding... Continue Reading →