A homily for Maundy Thursday, April 17, 2025St. Saviour Anglican Church, Penticton BCThe Very Rev. Ken Gray So what do Gosford Park, The Remains of the Day, Upstairs Downstairs, and Downton Abbey have in common? Apart from each show’s unique historical meta-narratives, each of these very English period dramas describe “life downstairs,” the loves, duties,... Continue Reading →
Stop, and smell the roses
A sermon for the congregation of St. Saviour Anglican Church, Penticton BC on the fifth Sunday in Lent, April 6th, 2025 — The Very Rev. Ken Gray It is said by those who teach writing that every paragraph should start with a strong opening sentence. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens opens with... Continue Reading →
Adolescence on Mothering Sunday
A sermon for the congregation of St. Saviour Anglican Church, Penticton BCFourth Sunday in Lent — Mothering Sunday, March 30th 2025 — The Very Rev. Ken Gray Happy Mothering Sunday to you all. Since the middle ages, Mothering Sunday has been celebrated in the United Kingdom on the fourth Sunday of Lent. I grew up... Continue Reading →
The return of Jazz Vespers
Jazz Vespers returns to the South Okanagan, in Penticton on Sunday March 2 @ 4 p.m. at St. Saviour Anglican Church, 150 Orchard Ave. in Penticton. Church or no church, newcomer or longtime jazz enthusiast, friends of the band, whatever gets you off your couch, come on out. As for the band, Justin Glibbery is... Continue Reading →
Senior, yes; Elder, no — Chief Clarence Louie on life after 65
Thanks Victoria Laine for sharing a record of this talk. I knew about it; got lazy; and didn’t go. Shame on me. Limlempt Clarence Louie, one of Canada’s most respected First Nations chiefs, recently told a Penticton audience made up of mostly of seniors that growing old is admired and worshiped in his culture. A... Continue Reading →
Are you saved?
A sermon for the parish of St. Saviour, Penticton BCSunday, February 9th 2025 / Fifth Sunday after the EpiphanyThe Very Rev. Ken Gray “Are you saved brother?” 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 →
Mothers, Fathers, and Prophets — Hopes, dreams, and expectations
A sermon for the congregation of St. Saviour Anglican Church, Penticton BC — Sunday, February 2, 2025 — Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple — The Very Rev. Ken Gray Mitzy J Smith, J. Davison Philips Professor of New Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA sets the stage for our... Continue Reading →
Keeping the flame alive
Cónal Creedon is a critically acclaimed novelist, playwright and documentary filmmaker. Many readers will already be familiar with him. I was not, until a writer friend, Norma, shared with me a CBC Radio Ideas special event from McGill University in Montreal. Writing in USA Review Of Books, Kate Robinson describes Creedon’s work this way: “Creedon’s... Continue Reading →
A promise is a promise
A sermon for the First Sunday of Advent -- Sunday, December 1st, 2024For the congregation of St. Saviour Anglican Church in Penticton, BC CanadaThe Very Rev. Ken Gray Sometimes you’ve just gotta sing. A United Church minister friend from many years ago used to say, “they’ll listen when you talk, but they’ll remember when you... Continue Reading →