Such a cloud of witnesses

A sermon for the congregation of St. Stephen Anglican Church, Summerland BC - Sunday, August 17th, 2025 โ€” The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost - The Very Rev. Ken Gray A woman approached me after a sermon I recently preached in Penticton, quite upset, as I intentionally contrasted the love of the Good Samaritan with the... Continue Reading →

Testament

Anas al-Sharif with his daughter, Sham, and son, Salah. Photograph: Facebook โ€˜If these words reach you โ€ฆ Israel has succeeded in killing meโ€™: the last words of a journalist killed in Gaza Anas al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera reporter, was killed along with four other journalists by an Israeli airstrike last Sunday night. This is the... Continue Reading →

Finding the sweet spot

No sermon from me today but a beautiful reflection from our friends at the Center of Action and Contemplation. I have read it several times, each time finding something jarring, beautiful, and different. Dr. Gary Paul Nabhan describes how Jesusโ€™ parables invited listeners to find wisdom in their daily agricultural circumstances . . . Nabhan... Continue Reading →

The meat in the belly of my brother

A sermon for the congregation of St. Saviour Anglican Church, Penticton BC โ€” The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, August 3rd  2025 โ€”The Very Rev. Ken Gray Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." I remember the death of my motherโ€™s parents, my grandparents, Maxwell... 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. Itโ€™s 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 →

Itโ€™s 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€” didnโ€™t lend itself well to comedic treatment.... Continue Reading →

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