It’s Carol Service at church this morning. Typically the 4th Sunday of Advent focuses specially on Mary, the “Mary of the Annunciation.” Church today will pay homage mostly to “Mary of the Nativity,” including her pondering of what happened on Christmas Day and afterward. In this space today, I return to Mary of the Annunciation,... Continue Reading →
A sermon for the congregation of St. Stephen Anglican Church, Summerland BC, on the Third Sunday of Advent, December 14th 2025 She would not get out of my way. Maddening, and frustrating to me, there she was; and so she remained, right in front of me. Admittedly, I am not the most patient of persons;... Continue Reading →
It is hard to identify to which English carols Robert Herrick (1591-1674) refers in his nativity text, What Sweeter Music: What sweeter music can we bringThan a carol, for to singThe birth of this our heavenly King?Awake the voice! Awake the string! When children would reach for their stockingsAnd open the presents they foundThe lights... Continue Reading →
From Following Jesus: A life of faith in a postmodern world - on Facebook from where these images also appear. With thanks to Imelda Kedge for the link From Kurt at followingJesus.org I wrote this for US Thanksgiving in 2013 when our table included those born in the USA, Iraq, Korea, and Ethiopia. With Christians,... Continue Reading →
A short story by Ken Gray From a distance, the amber box on the shelf before me tells no story whatsoever. A beautifully crafted box of coloured strips is no mere bookend. Someone had taken a lot of time to assemble something beautiful for . . . God? Possibly hollow, I have no idea what... Continue Reading →
From author and artist Jan Richardson It grows only deeper, this sense of how closely light and dark live together, and how grace imbues the places that are most laden with shadows and unfathomable mystery. The season of Advent impresses this upon us with such intention, with its exquisite weave of stories and images that... Continue Reading →
Feel free to complete the phrase above with the response: “Here followeth the anthem.” Since the Anglican Book of Common Prayer of 1549 the rubric welcomes and encourages musical creativity and ability in the public services of Morning and Evening Prayer. Visitors to Anglican cathedrals and larger parish churches throughout the Anglican Communion may find... Continue Reading →
Another in a series of original short stories. Enjoy “Between the vestibule and the altar, let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep.” (Book of Job) I wasn’t weeping, but I felt a little funny. There I was, dressed in Alb and Stole, standard clerical dress for ministers of many Christian denominations, on a... Continue Reading →
Philip Oltermann writing in The Guardian, Mon 17 Nov 2025 -- Click the original article to hear a partial performance and to see other images. Two long-lost organ pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach have been performed in Germany, roughly 320 years after the composer wrote them as a teenage music teacher. Entitled Chaconne in D... Continue Reading →
Both COP30 and the Tapiri closing service described below are now history. There are however excellent suggestions named below for action following COP, suitable for all regions as the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action (2025-2034) continues. Six days of intensive dialogue among faith communities concluded on 16 November with... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 