A stylized black and white image of the U.S. Capitol building beneath cloud-dotted skies. Photo by Nicolas Raymond, Creative Commons licensed. SPOILER ALERT โ Long, but worth a careful read. In the words of Gilbert and Sullivan: โNever, say never.โ Reposted from The Tyee -- Crawford Kilian is a contributing editor of The Tyee. We... Continue Reading →
No long sermon from me today
Amongst other gifts and duties, deacons preach in congregations as they connect us with the wider community In fact, no sermon at all today. As I now only preach on the first and third Sundays of each month today is truly a day of rest. Instead I share a reflection on sermons as an art... Continue Reading →
PBS โ Defunded but not defeated
[Cartoon by Joe Wos] Three simple letters, PBS. Itโs arguably one of the best known and revered acronyms in the US today. Along with CBS, NBC, and ABC three-letter acronyms identified the media landscape throughout my childhood and coming of age in the 1960s and 1970s. Now add to that FOX, CNN, and international sources... Continue Reading →
Taurus and Jeff โ An encampment love story
Almost-six-year-old Labradoodle, Juno, is a famed dog blogger. Follow her here for her thoughts on dog park politics and canine pedigree. I was one of eight or so members of a litter of Labradoodles born at a Kamloops area breeder almost six years ago now. MaPaw and PaPaw came up shortly after we were born... Continue Reading →
Itโs no laughing matter โ Or is it?
Years ago I suggested to a justice-seeking colleague that we should investigate the role of humour in our social and ecological justice advocacy. We can be awfully serious, I said. Off-putting even. She replied that the context โ human rights abuse; the climate crisis; avaricious market hegemony โ didnโt lend itself well to comedic treatment.... Continue Reading →
The Wisdom of Rage
Originally published on July 21, 2025 by our friends at the Center for Action and Contemplation (Richard Rohr) Sikh activist Valarie Kaur traveled to Guatemala to learn about the 20th-century genocide of Mayan Indigenous peoples. While there, she joined CAC teachers in an online event to explore how we might honor and learn from our... Continue Reading →
How to stop the ruthless men who play with our lives and the life of the world
In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, David Brooks gave an answer to a question we are all asking: When will the political chaos in the United States end, and how will that come about? Some place their hope in the 2026 mid-term elections. By that time however congress itself may be so... Continue Reading →
Finding Anna
โImaginative, open-minded and a brilliant musician, the organist and conductor Anna Lapwood is the dream ambassador for classical music.โ-- Gramophone The comments range from savour to sour. A recent Facebook post regarding the amazing Anna Lapwood โ former director of music at Pembroke College, Cambridge and now resident organist of the Henry Willis organ at... Continue Reading →
Celtic spirituality, science, and climate disruption
Diana Beresford-Kroegerโs new book says nature holds the key to a healthy planetby Christopher White in Broadview Magazine -- Originally published Feb. 21, 2025 Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a botanist, biochemist, writer and mystic. Raised in Ireland, she spent her youth immersed in Celtic spirituality and the medieval Irish Brehon laws, which are communal ways of... Continue Reading →
Jury Duty โ Trials and tribulations
[Ken Gray] We just picked up where we left off some fifty years ago. Meeting up with other high school friends at our recent graduation reunion I visited with Tim, one of a few Oak Bay High School friends from 1970-1975. Our conversation ranged from music, to photography, to travel, and in one instance, to... Continue Reading →