Thanks to Rick McCutcheon and countless others—including life coaches, real estate agents, counsellors, therapists, wanna-be poets and I think a few Quakers—for this lovely poem, not my words, but fine words which speak to me as I approach six months of retirement. As I watched my Territorial Church discern online today how to move forward... Continue Reading →
Portrait of the author - LIE - Sam Knight, Unsplash Well it came sooner than expected, though the timing is excellent. While I am only sixty-three and a half years old, today I joined my first seniors exercise class. Now they don’t advertise it as a “seniors” class. It’s described as something to do with... Continue Reading →
Isabel Lake, Kamloops BC; photo by the author So on Thanksgiving, at least here in Canada, what do talk show hosts, Facebook posts, greeting cards, emails and the opening moments of phone calls have in common? “Happy Thanksgiving everyone!” To this chorus I add my own “Happy Thanksgiving” to all readers and sharers of this... Continue Reading →
Spoiler alert! This blog is co-written with my humans though the opinions expressed, and discoveries noted are entirely my own. My humans actually have a lot of time to co-write with me, as they are now both retired. Six months! Wow. When retired, the gaze of humans shifts, from that of the workplace where home... Continue Reading →
Wikimedia commons The limits of patriarchal language notwithstanding, the pipe organ really is the King of Instruments. In physical size, in sound variety and capacity, in visual impact, in impressive console arrays, the English Cathedral organ (with variants all around the world) is impressive and majestic. My two earliest childhood memories were the sound of... Continue Reading →
S. Francis, in the shadow of the Andes, Lima Peru. Photo by the author Francis, we need you more than ever, right here, everywhere, through all time and right now. Through your physical presence centuries ago, you disturbed and challenged your Church, inviting those who paid attention to what was really happening, who remained faithful... Continue Reading →
In those places where they sing, well, they sing! And thank goodness they do, and that singing is finding its way back into the worship life of faith communities after pandemic restrictions. The result is not yet uniform throughout North America, though previously muted voices are finding vocal space once more. In churches music is... Continue Reading →
The white plastic wrapped box was smaller though heavier than I expected. Life is full of surprises, sometimes delightfully so. Cycling over to the local postal outlet I was actually nervous to meet this new member of my photographic equipment family. Was it worth the money? Will it meet expectations? Will it really make a... Continue Reading →
What do we want ~ CLIMATE JUSTICE When do we want it ~ NOW Such was the call and response chant which rang out this past Friday along a downtown Kamloops route hoping to catch the attention of local officials and anyone who would listen. Organized by the Valleyview Secondary Environmental Club participants spanned more than just... Continue Reading →
Well someone has to lose. At all levels, federal, provincial and municipal in Canada, elections are typically designed to identify one winner, and the rest, well, losers. We all hate that word, especially since Donald Trump made it the symbol of his life ontology and political strategy. In our first-past-the-post electoral system, and even in... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 