“Imaginative, open-minded and a brilliant musician, the organist and conductor Anna Lapwood is the dream ambassador for classical music.”-- Gramophone The comments range from savour to sour. A recent Facebook post regarding the amazing Anna Lapwood — former director of music at Pembroke College, Cambridge and now resident organist of the Henry Willis organ at... Continue Reading →
A sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, July 20, 2025 for the congregation of St. Stephen, Summerland — The Very Rev. Ken Gray Every once in a while I stumble across some very beautiful language, sometimes poetry, sometimes prose. It’s good, if after one hearing I want to go back and hear it again,... Continue Reading →
Noted dog-blogger Juno lives with the MaPaw and PaPaw in Summerland in the BC interior from where she publishes an extensive set of dog blogs dealing with, well, dogs and other creatures. I love my dog toys. Mapaw buys them for me on special occasions — Christmas, birthdays, and every time she sees something colourful,... Continue Reading →
Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s new book says nature holds the key to a healthy planetby Christopher White in Broadview Magazine -- Originally published Feb. 21, 2025 Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a botanist, biochemist, writer and mystic. Raised in Ireland, she spent her youth immersed in Celtic spirituality and the medieval Irish Brehon laws, which are communal ways of... Continue Reading →
[Ken Gray] We just picked up where we left off some fifty years ago. Meeting up with other high school friends at our recent graduation reunion I visited with Tim, one of a few Oak Bay High School friends from 1970-1975. Our conversation ranged from music, to photography, to travel, and in one instance, to... Continue Reading →
[First, a disclaimer] Truth be told, the correct phrase is “I will” and not “I do.” In the movies, couples say I do; in Anglican rites the response is I will. The former is considered by many as relating to one point in time; the latter to an enduring commitment and experience over time. For... Continue Reading →
A Sermon for the congregation of St. Saviour Anglican Church, Penticton BC - Sunday, July 13 2025 – The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – The Very Rev. Ken Gray Mainstream media has not focused on a very special event that occurred a few days ago in New York City; church media certainly has however. the... Continue Reading →
Reposted from Charlie Angus / The Resistance Jul 11, 2025 "By almost any measure, anyone born after 1990 is finding themselves in a new geological era, navigating a world fundamentally different from the one Baby Boomers and Gen Xers inherited. The chances of anyone alive today experiencing a year as relatively cool as 1996 are... Continue Reading →
Since October 2024 Summerland United Church (SUC) has shared costs and facilities with the congregation of St. Stephen Anglican Church on our site at 9311 Prairie Road in our beautiful little town of Summerland in the BC interior. The move has enabled SUC to make their former property available for an innovative affordable housing project.... Continue Reading →
[Ken Gray] I have long admired the writing of Barbara Kingsolver. From her debut novels The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven, her early non-fiction essay collection High Tide in Tucson, her novel The Poisonwood Bible, and most recently the epic Pulitzer and Women’s prize winning Demon Copperhead I have enjoyed her intelligent and insightful... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 