[Ken Gray] Asย General Synod 2025 draws to a close I was delighted to learn of a conversation around disability and inclusion. As one who has lived with legal blindness since birth, and given recent acute hearing loss with a subset of arthritis challenges, I am interested to learn of this initiative. Society as a whole,... Continue Reading →
Home at last, thanks to BC Ferries
In this, my last holiday blog, I reflect on the place of BC Ferries in my life. Enjoy. And see you next in Active Pass BC Ferryland With apologies to Ferryland, Newfoundland and Labrador. I grew up in ferry-land British Columbia. While Kathie and I visited the Newfoundland site a few years ago, we both... Continue Reading →
Neoliberalismโs End Game: Accumulation by Another Name
Reposted from James Greenberg on Substack. Jun 27, 2025 -- As always, excellent and timely analysis from James Greenberg, Anthropologist and Social Ecologist How Market Logic, Structural Scarcity, and Political Abandonment Are Hollowing Out the Future The old promises are collapsing. Growth no longer lifts all boatsโit lifts yachts. Progress no longer means shared prosperityโit... Continue Reading →
Kicking back on western maple โ A celebration of fine furniture program graduates
Now fifty years since I graduated from Victoriaโs Oak Bay High School I have fond memories of wood shop class. Lacking an eye for detail coupled with insufficient powers of concentration I particularly loved making bowls on the wood lathe. I likely created more shavings than bowls, but it was wonderful fun. When invited by... Continue Reading →
Time to celebrate โ A special presentation to a young environmental leader
It was a pleasure to visit my former congregation, the Church of the Advent in the parish of Colwood and Langford a few days ago, not only to enjoy lively worship, music, preaching, and community. I attended in order to acknowledge the leadership of a young Anglican, Taylor Gossman. I did so in my capacity... Continue Reading →
Travelogue 2 โ What am I doing on my summer vacation?
One word: Photography. My favourite activity when on holiday is taking pictures, no less so then during our extended staycation in Victoria, a five-week adventure that will end this coming weekend. Home feels good, but itโs been a blast in the meantime. I blogged a few photo shoots here. There are too many more to... Continue Reading →
Wild Dark Hope — A genius book reviewed
Photo by Daan Huttinga on Unsplash [Ken Gray] With thanks to Jesse Zink for this book review I thought something completely different from the geopolitics of the past few days was in order. I really enjoyed the book and would love to see the movie if ever produced. Highly recommended. [Jesse Zink] How do you... Continue Reading →
Timothy Snyder one week after marching in Philadelphia
This is a repost from Timothy Snyder's Substack post published Thursday June 19, 2025 It was a thrill to march at the No Kings Rally in Philadelphia on Saturday with friends and about a hundred thousand people. On the stage, I led a chant of "no kings -- freedom," and I tried to explain three... Continue Reading →
Imagine Studio Cafรฉ — Striving to cultivate creativity, innovation and leadership for all ages and abilities to achieve their full potential
One of the most difficult decisions facing visitors and residents of Victoria is deciding on a favourite coffee shop -- First-world problem for sure. A friend recently directed us to the Imagine Studio Cafรฉ nestled in Victoriaโs historic James Bay neighbourhood. She heard it was good food and drink, and really interesting. She was right... Continue Reading →
Hope and resilience are the enemy of fear
What a beautiful statement by the children of Melissa and Mark Hortman who were assassinated by a domestic terrorist this past weekend Found on Facebook here. โWe are devastated and heartbroken at the loss of our parents, Melissa and Mark. They were the bright lights at the center of our lives, and we canโt believe... Continue Reading →