James Derkits

I am grateful to have had a therapist to be my guide through some difficult times of life, as well as through discernment in early adulthood. One piece of wisdom my therapist shared with me early on was the blessing and curse of longevity. As we age more and more of our loved ones will die along the way. That realist perspective echos the refrain of Ecclesiastes, "all is vanity." It doesn't make losing a loved one easier, but it does provide some orientation for the journey. In addition, it has helped me to value this life as a precious gift.  I also value memories of those who have crossed over to join the "great cloud of witnesses", those loved ones I call saints who are gathered close to God. Intentionally remembering and honoring the saints, both those with a capital "S" whom we share with the wider church community, or those more personal lower case "s" saints has become more important to me longer I live, and the more loved ones I bury....

  Sunday, September 29: Be Salty for Jesus! Reflection for church while my back heals.  Welcome everyone to another church on the beach. Fr. James is dealing with his back injury, and sent this reflection to read, so here it goes.  I spent Thursday morning planning for the next two weeks, anticipating that I might need a medical procedure. As I did so, I marveled at how many amazing leaders we have within our church. I was focusing on the worship service, and leading worship on Sundays is a only portion of what we do as a church community, but it is an important part of what we do. It is where we gather together to reorient to God, to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and to listen for inspiration from Jesus. How fitting that we gather on the beach today to hear Jesus remind us to be salty. Do we have it easier, here beside the sea? We can hardly help but be salty around here. I want to start with that, which is where Jesus lands his somewhat meandering messa...

In the Christian Bible, there are two prominent stories focused on language, although since the Bible we read is in English, translated from Greek and Hebrew all of which is seeking to articulate the ineffable, you could say the whole Bible is about language, but I digress.  The story of the Tower of Babel is a primeval history of why there are so many language groups in the world, and most importantly, it addresses that all-too common theme of hubris: that is when humans think too highly of themselves. There we were, building a tower up to heaven to be on the same level as God, then the confusion happened. All the people were given different languages so they couldn't continue to build up-up-up. We were humbled and scattered. Unless we read those stories regularly, we are likely to forget to be humble and hope on the hubris train again and again and again. The second story focused on language is that delightful story in the book of Acts, when instead of confusion, the gift of...

I'm looking forward to being part of a college student retreat out at Mustang Island Conference Center next month with students from around the state. It's somewhat nostalgic for me because I was active in our college campus ministry, called Canterbury, when I attended Southwest Texas in San Marcos (know today as Texas State.) I was recruited by the chaplain when I was carrying my guitar across campus, and their musician had just graduated.  I still keep up with a number of my Canterbury friends, even though we live across the state and country. In the last century, when I was in college, we would gather every week at St. Mark's, right on the edge of campus for a home cooked meal, worship, and conversation. Sometimes it was just a game night to let our brains rest during finals, sometimes it was learning about contemplative prayer, or having Eucharist with our visiting Bishop. I attended a few retreats with other Canterbury groups, and at one of those we heard from a speake...

Reflection for Morning Prayer July 28, 2024 Trinity by the Sea Some of you may not remember the first time you stepped onto a boat, or more to the point, the first time you fell out of a boat. Most of my falling-out stories are from the San Marcos River misjudging an eddy around a bend, the bow pulled suddenly in the opposite direction from what I expected, then pushed sideways up against a submerged root that gives loft to the bow sending two paddlers into the drink. Fortunately, all of those occasions eventually ended with laughter. Then there are those moments of non-commitment, like standing one foot on a log that had fallen across the river, foot in the canoe, and quickly realizing the mistake. A similar thing can happen on the docks here, at least with smaller boats. Stepping into a boat takes commitment. One foot on land and one in the vessel is a short-lived exercise in balance and stretching beyond the ability of most yogis. Be on land or in the boat, not in both places at o...

A friend was recently serving as chaplain at Mustang Island Conference Center and someone from his church asked to be baptized in the gulf while they were here. He called to ask for advice, and I talked about my experience with beach baptisms and gave a few pointers. It reminded me of when I first moved here and called Pastor William Campbell to ask him the same question before my first beach baptism. Now, I have lost count of how many beach baptisms we have celebrated now. Some still prefer to be sprinkled to being dunked (baptism literally means to be dunked), but either way, standing just off shore on the edge of the gulf which connects to the oceans is a profound place to be initiated into an intentional life in the Body of Christ.  There is an early church text simply called the Teaching , or in Greek, the Didache  which describes baptism in the first century church. The preference is for "living water" such as a stream or sea. If that is not available, it recommends col...