With thanks to Jan Carlson I am pleased to share yet another inventive, practical, and ecosocial initiative developed in our little Town of Summerland. Good people, doing good things, for good reasons, with good and great outcomes for each other, for our community and for creation. Jan writes: The idea was to create a sharing... Continue Reading →
Pant suit politics — Thoughts on campaign fashion
Writing in today’s New York Times e-letter Vanessa Friedman gets to the heart of what has been for me, a nagging question. Why does Kamala Harris always appear in pantsuits? Why is Tim Walz suited in rather uninteresting somewhat old-guy clothing? (He is only one year older than Harris but looks older.) In this presidential... Continue Reading →
Campaign life 73 days out
More memes. They speak for themselves. And Socrates enters the fray, and rightly so. Was he a loser? Not. Our banner image today references Robert Kennedy Jr's campaign abandonment and defection to the Trump Camp. Weird just got weirder. AND NOW, some musical encouragement and entertainment. If the youth vote gets out (GOTV) things could... Continue Reading →
Agonizing Anglicans
With other mainline Christian denominations the Anglican Church of Canada increasingly struggles to maintain ministry especially in rural settings though also in some urban centres. Simple truth: Fewer people invest energy and money in parish churches now, saving their financial commitments for special projects or secular organizations like the Sierra Club or Doctors Without Borders... Continue Reading →
Voices from Israel — Mosaic, or Monolith?
My publication of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s recent advisory statement on the need for Israel to heed the decision of the International Criminal Court drew some very helpful thoughts from a longtime and trusted friend, Lance Weisser. Archbishop Justin Welby says the State of Israel has been “denying the Palestinian people dignity, freedom and hope”... Continue Reading →
Tevye’s dilemma
Sunday, August 18th, 2024A sermon for the congregation of St. Stephen Summerland Anglican ChurchThe Very Rev. Ken Gray Remembering the late, great, Canadian Norman Jewison, who produced the 1971 film based on the earlier Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof, let’s sing Tevye’s song: [TEVYE, spoken]Oh dear Lord, you made many, many poor people. I... Continue Reading →
There will never be another Vera
From a mystery viewer posting on Facebook: Can anyone suggest alternate series to watch? I know there’ll never be another Vera; but I hope there’ll be other series similar (or someone can recommend likewise) which feature a witty, central protagonist like her. Personally, I always thought it’d be interesting to see another series based on... Continue Reading →
The Case of the Disappearing Salad — A Summer-Land Mystery
It was a beautiful kitchen creation; a summer salad; a mix of spinach, chicken, avocado, strawberries, almonds, and cucumber topped off with a poppy seed dressing. And it’s gone . . . On a warm, breezy, summer evening in 2024 Ken and Kathie Gray drove to Sunoka Beach Park, a provincial park just outside the... Continue Reading →
This is Juno’s world — We just live in it
My son sent the above photograph with caption to Kathie and me while we vacationed in Nova Scotia recently. He was caring for our house and for Juno in our absence. He always enjoys Juno’s company and looks forward to the day when he can have his own dog. That day will come, but not... Continue Reading →
Bread for the journey
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Sunday, August 4th, 2024A sermon for the congregation of St. Saviour, Penticton BCThe Very Rev. Ken Gray Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father... Continue Reading →