As I prepare incidental music for the Summerland Singers and Players next Christmas Production, A Christmas Carol, A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry I cannot resist the temptation to substitute Donald Trump for the infamous Ebeneezer Scrooge. I have presented my idea to both cast and director. They have yet to seriously respond to... Continue Reading →
Pray without ceasing . . . Now?!
This prayer by the Rt. Rev. Susan Goff, retired Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, has been shared widely on Facebook. I share it here as an example of genuine prayer and as encouragement to all who find it difficult to pray in this current political climate: My ConfessionGod, I can’t for the... Continue Reading →
All will be well
A sermon for the congregation of St. Stephen, Summerland Anglican ChurchSunday, November 17th 2024The Very Rev. Ken Gray During the 1970s while a student at the University of Calgary my friend, Rod, was a men’s residence supervisor. In those days, bomb threats were common on Canadian university campuses. One day Rod received a call advising... Continue Reading →
Rage + joy need each other
With thanks to Kamloops follower, Carol Edwards here’s a great piece from The Thread, with Jenny Smith - Please read the original post complete with a few poignant poems. Nov 14, 2024 Jenny Smith writes: “Gentle readers, I’m sending you deep love this day. For whatever your body is holding. I’m currently hanging out at... Continue Reading →
This story leaves me smiling
Another episode in our “Little Town of Summerland” series Watching from a distance, it was hard to hear what was happening at the Remembrance Day Ceremony 2024 in our little town of Summerland, for two reasons. As often happens the amplification system could not project sound to the southern-most area of the jam packed Memorial... Continue Reading →
10 things about takenote.ca
Several viewers have asked questions about our work here at takenote.ca As a reprieve from Trumpian politics, we offer the following interview with our founding blogger, that’s me, which has not been edited for length, clarity, or appropriateness. Enjoy. You blog about so many different topics. Where do all these ideas come from? Daily I... Continue Reading →
I plan to attend Remembrance Day ceremonies tomorrow
In small towns like ours here in Summerland, throughout most of Canada Remembrance Day observance is a major event. Shortly before 11:00 tomorrow downtown at the Memorial Park cenotaph literally hundreds of folks of all ages will brave rain, wind, or occasionally snow, all bundled up to join the parade or watch from the sidelines—veterans,... Continue Reading →
Finding our proper place — An ancient scene revisited
Walter Brueggemann is one of the foremost interpreters of the Old Testament of our day. As an American Christian educator he reflects here a day after the recent US federal election. He turns to Holy Scripture and to the prophet Elijah In the wake of the 2024 presidential election and its acute disappointment for many,... Continue Reading →
Andrew Coyne is frightened, and so am I
Shared on Facebook by the author, Andrew Coyne Nothing mattered, in the end. Not the probable dementia, the unfathomable ignorance, the emotional incontinence; not, certainly, the shambling, hate-filled campaign, or the ludicrously unworkable anti-policies. The candidate out on bail in four jurisdictions, the convicted fraud artist, the adjudicated rapist and serial sexual predator, the habitual... Continue Reading →
Resistance
Thanks Jim Hodgson for sharing stories of those who are shaping a response to the incoming Trump administration. I encourage readers to read Jim’s blog in full; I share only extracts below. You are right — the time for grumbling and finger-pointing is over; it is time to develop a response to a new US... Continue Reading →