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 →
All I can say is I am glad I don’t need to greet strangers as dogs do. While on her daily promenades, our sweet and sassy Labradoodle, Juno spots potential playmates from quite a distance. Typically she crouches down, expecting surrounding plant growth to camouflage her quite visible self to the approaching dog. The two... Continue Reading →
Well actually, JRR Tolkein has been dead for some time. He died on Sept 2, 1973, four years before I held in my hand copies of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. How little I knew how that particular literature would shape my future life. Prior to moving to London, England for musical... Continue Reading →
Erol Ahmed, UNSPLASH I learned today that the latest iPhone will allow us to speak with each other via space satellite. There will no longer be dead zones anywhere on earth. The prophecy of Psalm 139 has therefore come true for our time: Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee... Continue Reading →
Best friends It’s that time of year again, when here in the western regions of North America the air turns colder while the sun stays warm. The intense heat--and this year, what heat!--is over and for us in British Columbia the fires while not extinguished everywhere are smaller and less threatening than two weeks ago.... Continue Reading →
It’s a ritual common for many of us, the Fortune Cookie after Chinese dinner out. I do wonder hwoever, where is the fortune, and what is the cookie anyway. It doesn’t look like any cookie I might make or eat. Highly stylized, with a hard crackable exterior, it looks more like a shell on the... Continue Reading →
It will be necessary to celebrate the Season of Creation this year through the lens of catastrophe. Of course many in poorer areas of the world have done this for decades. Some of us permitted the privilege of travel have observed what is really happening globally. We have heard the pleas and frustrations of our... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 