It’s Carol Service at church this morning. Typically the 4th Sunday of Advent focuses specially on Mary, the “Mary of the Annunciation.” Church today will pay homage mostly to “Mary of the Nativity,” including her pondering of what happened on Christmas Day and afterward. In this space today, I return to Mary of the Annunciation,... Continue Reading →
From SALT, an Emmy Award winning, not-for-profit production company dedicated to the craft of visual storytelling. The article below was first published here. There can be a gauzy, candlelit coziness to Christmas Eve and Day — and that’s all well and good, as far as it goes. Coziness in the midst of December is a fine... Continue Reading →
The politics of humiliation and the God who listened to Mary Many thanks to Betty-Ann Xenis for this suggestion. Derek Penwell on Substack - Dec 12, 2025 Mary asked, “How can this be?” but heaven didn’t call her nasty. Quiet, piggy. Ugly inside and out. Stupid and nasty. Can you hear the beat? Say the... Continue Reading →
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 “feeling a bit sad” because her son and daughter-in-law were unable to join her at Christmas. “I was thinking nobody should be alone at Christmas,” she said. “And I went... Continue Reading →
The Anglican MP and Green Party leader connects Sarah Mullally’s ascent to the power of a progressive Christian Left by Elizabeth May in Broadview Magazine - Dec. 2, 2025 The election of the first woman to serve as the Archbishop of Canterbury, heading the global community of Anglicans, is a historic event. Bishop of London... Continue Reading →
It is hard to identify to which English carols Robert Herrick (1591-1674) refers in his nativity text, What Sweeter Music: What sweeter music can we bringThan a carol, for to singThe birth of this our heavenly King?Awake the voice! Awake the string! When children would reach for their stockingsAnd open the presents they foundThe lights... Continue Reading →
From Following Jesus: A life of faith in a postmodern world - on Facebook from where these images also appear. With thanks to Imelda Kedge for the link From Kurt at followingJesus.org I wrote this for US Thanksgiving in 2013 when our table included those born in the USA, Iraq, Korea, and Ethiopia. With Christians,... Continue Reading →
Two South Okanagan churches, St. Saviour in Penticton, and St. Stephen in Summerland recently helped the Rev. Canon Roger Cooper celebrate 40 years of ordained Anglican ministry. Asked if he had any wisdom to impart to younger ordinands, Roger suggested that “after 40 yrs of ordained ministry, you need a sense of humor, and a... Continue Reading →
Feel free to complete the phrase above with the response: “Here followeth the anthem.” Since the Anglican Book of Common Prayer of 1549 the rubric welcomes and encourages musical creativity and ability in the public services of Morning and Evening Prayer. Visitors to Anglican cathedrals and larger parish churches throughout the Anglican Communion may find... Continue Reading →
Philip Oltermann writing in The Guardian, Mon 17 Nov 2025 -- Click the original article to hear a partial performance and to see other images. Two long-lost organ pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach have been performed in Germany, roughly 320 years after the composer wrote them as a teenage music teacher. Entitled Chaconne in D... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 