Reflections of a Canadian Churchman

The Portrait of my Grandfather, Frank Rason Sketeched during the Second World War at the Astoria Club in Amasterdam by W. Sealtiel, 44 Paramaribost On my wall hangs a portrait, sketched in charcoal and coloured pencil.   It is a portrait of my maternal grandfather, Francis James Rason (1923-1997).   During the war he was stationed in Belgium, the Netherlands and in England (the latter being where he met my grandmother).   In the 1940s, while in Amsterdam, he had his portrait done, twice in fact.   I first learned of this portrait when I was a teenager and began to ask my grandmother about our family history. She began to show me old photographs, particularly photographs of her family back in England, photographs of her parents and grandparents, some of which have now come into my possession.   Then she told me she wanted to show me something special that she thought I’d find interesting.   She reached into her closet and pulled out a cardboard paper ...

On Christmas Carols in November   The Rev. Daniel F. Graves Why are people so angry about Christmas carols in November?   Word has gone around the internet that Shoppers’ Drug Mart has decided, in response to customer feedback, to nix playing Christmas carols this month.   How sad.   To my way of thinking, there’s nothing quite like Christmas carols in November. As I write this, Athena is practicing carols on her flute.   On Monday, we begin choir practice for our December 16 th “Festival of Lessons and Carols,” and oh how I love to hear them played and sung.   There is nothing quite so soul-stirring as the strains of music extolling the birth of our Saviour.     It seems as if we in the liturgical tradition have become hostages to the liturgical year.   Even as I am writing these words there are doubtless many liturgical fundamentalists out there bemoaning the fact that Christmas carols are now being played and sung in malls, ...