Standing in a Penticton pulpit yesterday I thought aloud about suitable music for the Epiphany season. Today, on the Feast of Epiphany itself I have a suggestion which came to mind during yesterday’s sermon, a text by the English clergyman and theologian John Hanry Newman (1801-1890) who in 1833 wrote Lead Kindly Light enroute to... Continue Reading →
A sermon for the congregation of St. Saviour Anglican Church, Penticton BC on Christmas Eve 2024 -- The Very Rev. Ken Gray We all have our Christmas traditions. My own include hauling out Raymond Briggs books and videos including Father Christmas and The Snowman. I often watch the Alistair Sim version of Charles Dickens’ A... Continue Reading →
How can Advent and Christmas be contemplated in a time of war, asks Richard Sewell, Dean of St. George’s Cathedral, Jerusalem [Reprinted from the Church Times UK and St. George’s College, Jerusalem] THE ancient city of Jerusalem is bordered by two valleys: Gehenna and Kidron. The latter is also known as the Jehosophat Valley in... Continue Reading →
From Who We Are: Four Questions For a Life and a Nationby Murray Sinclair , Sara Sinclair, Niigaan SinclairLearn about this very special book here As we grow oldthe ground we walk onrises upso that,as each of those few momentsleft to uspass byand we grow oldand hair turns greyer stillwe move a bit more slowly.... Continue Reading →
With thanks to Karen Pidcock for the share. This year I do not wantthe dark to leave me.I need its wrapof silent stillness,its cloakof long lasting embrace.Too much lighthas pulled me awayfrom the chamberof gestation. Let the dawnscome late,let the sunsetsarrive early,let the eveningsextend themselveswhile I lean intothe abyss of my being. Let me lie... Continue Reading →
Amidst the seasonal flurry of activity, and given much anxiety of global and national geopolitics, here is a refreshing story, word, and song. Enjoy. “There Will Come Soft Rains” is a lyric poem by Sara Teasdale published in the July 18 issue of “Harper’s” magazine, just after the start of the 1918 German Spring Offensive... Continue Reading →
I am so grateful for readers who send me ideas for blogs and other publications. So thank you Ray Fletcher and Karen Pidcock who each in their own way and time directed me to The Salisbury Organist, Ben Maton. Ben Maton loves music, and sacred music in particular. He loves rural England and the west... Continue Reading →
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 →
An Advent poem from John Bell I have come across John Bell many times since the early 1990s. The person and work of this longtime member of the Iona Community in Scotland, a teacher, theologian, musician, poet, activist, and ecumenical leader has influenced my own ministry in so many ways as both a priest and... Continue Reading →
Growing up as a boy chorister at St. John the Divine in Victoria I remember well the hymns of Advent. “Come thou redeemer of the earth,” “Lo, He comes with clouds, descending,” “On Jordan’s bank the Baptist cry,” with many others. These well populate my musical memory in a wonderful way, though I must say... Continue Reading →
