Ray Fletcher and I go back a long way, to the winter of 1983. We had both gone north to the Anglican Diocese of Yukon, Ray as a parish priest first in Atlin and later Dawson City. I arrived to join the Yukon Apostolate, an informal order of laity keen to serve the Church in... Continue Reading →
All in the family
A sermon for the Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost, November 9th, 2025 for the congregation of St. Stephen, Summerland by the Very Rev. Ken Gray The original title of Norman Lear’s 1971 TV sitcom All in the Family was Those Were the Days which ended up as the show’s theme song. I can imagine J D... Continue Reading →
Remembering “All My Relations”
[Disclaimer. You will never get me in a sweat lodge. The heat and the smoke would do me in. I know a number of folks, mostly men, who have benefited greatly from such a practice, including the Premier of Manitoba, Waab Kinew. Beyond the lodge itself, the practice of acknowledging “all my relations” teaches us... Continue Reading →
Well done Bishop Stephen
Bishop Stephen London of the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton asks Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to withdraw teacher back-to-work legislation and not use the notwithstanding clause for the sake of democracy Visit the full article from CBC Edmonton including video clips and other links here [CBC Edmonton] The Anglican Diocese of Edmonton is expressing concerns about... Continue Reading →
How to lead prayers in the US Senate — Clergy-craft 101
With thanks to Curtis M Wong writing in the Huffington Post So here’s a clergy gig I have never held, and never will — Chaplain to the United States Senate. What does one say? What can one say? In an effort to surface divine love, before many who are interested more in loyalty to a... Continue Reading →
Meet my friend Bonnie
I met Bonnie a little over a year ago up on the hill at the Summerland Ornamental Gardens on the grounds of the Summerland Research Station. Dressed in jeans and a green shirt her small frame belied her confident energy; she was buzzing around like a Queen Bee (an adult, mated female that lives in... Continue Reading →
An American history lesson of interest to at least one Canadian, me
Posted by Heather Cox-Richardson In his newsletter, Krugman noted that renewables have grown explosively in the past decade, spurred by what he calls a virtuous circle of falling costs and increasing production. That circle is the result of subsidies that made renewable energy a going concern in the face of fossil fuels. Today, he points... Continue Reading →
Win or lose, it’s how the game is played that makes it exciting
As the Jays travel home today for Friday’s World Series game six up 3/2 I cannot resist posting Mark Kingwell’s op-ed in Tuesday’s Globe and Mail. Following my own thoughts on this year’s World Series contest Kingwell takes the analysis further. He identifies the tensions and stresses, the disappointments and delights, the drama and occasional... Continue Reading →
William Morris and St. Stephen Anglican Church, Summerland
An old bridal tale goes: Something old,something new,something borrowed,something blue . . . In a different tone and context, the good book reminds us: No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. (Mark... Continue Reading →
Are there lessons from the Church of England for us in the Anglican Church of Canada?
The report below suggests that in the Church of England at least, a growing number of congregations are moving in a “congregational” direction. This means “low church” where the preaching of the word is prioritized over the sacramental engagement with that Word that is God. Congregationalism also indicates less tolerance for uniformity in practice and... Continue Reading →