An open letter to Franklin Graham (son of the late Billy Graham) from Dan Hawk, Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Ashland Theological Seminary.[Dan Hawk] I write in response to your video message at the recent Rededicate 250 event, and specifically to your use of the Bible to reinforce Right-Wing political talking points.You begin... Continue Reading →
The Road to Santa Marta, by Emile Theresa Smith - Mad Love for the World Daniel Maestre invites me to sit across from him beneath a giant mango tree. The wide branches above shade the whole area beside the kankurua, the sacred house. Three months ago, arsonists destroyed the original kankurua. The new house is... Continue Reading →
Notes by Ken Gray: I am Looking forward to Sunday’s Pentecost service shared between St. Stephen’s Anglican Church and Summerland United Church. We share costs and facilities between us at our historic 1910 location in downtown Summerland. Now a few years into a very special relationship between our congregations, we occasionally gather together for shared... Continue Reading →
[Joan Chittester remains one of the most dynamic and insightful writers on faith and justice today] Today prophets of pietism tell us to "pray for peace" and "pray that God's will be done." And this is certainly important. But they do not demand that we ourselves do something to ensure either. Instead, the professional pietist... Continue Reading →
I have a long relationship with the Requiem by French composer Gabriel Faure. Unlike the bombastic operatic showpiece by Verdi, the intensely dramatic rendering by Mozart, or the massive work by Benjamin Britten, Faure’s Requiem is intimate, melodic, of small scale, and sublime. It whispers, though never shouts. Surely we all want to drift off... Continue Reading →
A sermon for the congregation of St. Stephen, Summerland by the Very Rev. Ken Gray -- Sunday, May 17, 2026 Today I stand before you without my hearing aids. After several years of good service, my hearing aids now require some repair. Thankfully, they are still under warranty. This means a trip for them back... Continue Reading →
A Memory from Jim Palmer on Facebook About eighteen years ago a young woman named Rachel Held Evans contacted me because she was beginning to see Christianity differently and wanted to write about it. She sent me her manuscript, and we worked on her book together. She published four books in total. I got to... Continue Reading →
A reflection by the Rev’d Jon Swales [Extracts] Every church has leaders.Every church has a culture.Even if nobody names it,something is shapingthe life of that community. Culture is the feel of a place. It’s how people are treated when nobody is watching. It’s what gets celebrated, what gets ignored, who gets heard, and who slowly... Continue Reading →
A sermon for the congregation of St. Saviour, Penticton, the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Sunday, May 3rd, 2026, by the Very Rev. Ken Gray JOHN 14:1-14 A few weeks ago, on the 5th Sunday in Lent, I preached on the text from John’s Gospel: “I am the resurrection and the life.” At the time I... Continue Reading →
Following from my posting of a sermon by Sam Rose, the Anglican Bishop of Central Newfoundland, the very distinguished, brilliant, and thoughtful music Matthew Larkin left a good comment. My response is below: Thanks for your thoughts, Matthew. Allow me to broaden the context somewhat. I am not sure that church leaders celebrate the loss... Continue Reading →
