By Bill McKibben โ This article appears in the January/February 2026 issue of Sojourners Magazine โ Subscribe A no sweat, no hills, planet-loving bicycle seems pretty heavenly to me. THERE ARE A few things that seem like magic to me. One is iceโwhen water freezes, suddenly you can glide across the surface of the earth.... Continue Reading →
Crawford and Crossley do it again: Okanagan jazz group excited about release of latest tunes
Keith Lacey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for the Penticton Herald [Keith Lacey] Several of the regionโs most accomplished jazz musicians have once again teamed up to release a new recording featuring their favourite vocal jazz compositions. The Crawford/Crossley Group has been performing and recording together since 2015. At the heart of the ensembleโs work are... Continue Reading →
Inspiration for the New Year
On New Years Day I typically share W. H. Audenโs poem New Year Letter, a truly imaginative and insightful piece I commend to you once again. This year however, I want to share something different, a sort of what I got for Christmas this year kind of report. I have almost finished "Joyride: A Memoir"... Continue Reading →
Within a hair
Another in a series by me. For other chapters see below โWhat clipper did I use last time? Number three, or number four?โ I had procrastinated long enough. Looking like a modern day Einstein, my hair scrambled madly off in all directions, a sort of Labradoodle look with a dry, scratchy beard attached. It was... Continue Reading →
Beyond gratefulness
"The inevitability of death is what makes us love life"--Dianne Rayson The Rt. Rev. Geoff Woodcroft is the 13th bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Ruperts Land in the Anglican Church of Canada having served from 2018-2025. Diagnosed with terminal cancer in October 2024 he went on immediate medical leave then considered palliative. He formally... Continue Reading →
No cats under my Christmas Tree this year โ Seasonal gift suggestions, by Juno
Internationally known dog-blogger, Juno, a six year-old Labradoodle, lives with her humans in Summerland in the BC interior. Meet Sesame (pictured above), a cherished former member of the Gray family household who left them years before my arrival. I am told that in those days, one returned home to two dogs and two cats, a... Continue Reading →
To the Primate, General Secretary, Prolocutor, Council of General Synod, and those whom this may concern:
ย ย ย ย ย [Ken Gray] With many others I was shocked to learn of the termination of the position of National Animator for Youth Ministries a few days ago. While I fully support restructuring initiatives at the national, General Synod level, I am puzzled why the first position to go directly affects the welcoming and support of... Continue Reading →
โI say YESโ โ a Song for the Fourth Sunday in Advent
Itโs Carol Service at church this morning. Typically the 4th Sunday of Advent focuses specially on Mary, the โMary of the Annunciation.โ Church today will pay homage mostly to โMary of the Nativity,โ including her pondering of what happened on Christmas Day and afterward. In this space today, I return to Mary of the Annunciation,... Continue Reading →
Come and get it
Christmas Day lunch at Colwood's Anglican Church of the Advent Reprinted from Victoria News It all started in 2023 when Reverend Sr. Ingrid Andersen was โfeeling a bit sadโ because her son and daughter-in-law were unable to join her at Christmas. โI was thinking nobody should be alone at Christmas,โ she said. โAnd I went... Continue Reading →
Advent Blues and A Blessing
From author and artist Jan Richardson It grows only deeper, this sense of how closely light and dark live together, and how grace imbues the places that are most laden with shadows and unfathomable mystery. The season of Advent impresses this upon us with such intention, with its exquisite weave of stories and images that... Continue Reading →