James Derkits

It is not only because of the problems that would arise with our IRS non-profit and tax status that discussions around the church tend to avoid politics, but that, too, is an important reason. We also avoid "political" conversation because the spiritual conversation, or our spiritual lives, necessarily supersedes particular politics; in other words, a healthy spiritual life should shape our response to the needs of the world around us, and that response can sometimes take the form of one political action or another, no matter our particular political leanings. It is my opinion that real reason we avoid conversation around politics in the church is that (in the best scenario) churches tend to be a mixture of people from different political leanings, and the conversation between people of divergent views has become so broken down that any mention of issues from the political arena quickly become heated. This, I believe, is shaped by our quest for entertainment on television: ...

A couple of weeks ago, we baptized Wes down at Caldwell Pier in Port Aransas. It was actually my second baptism in the Gulf, at that site. The first was a vacationer, and we were just there with his family. This time it was our family: someone from Trinity by the Sea.  Before the first baptism, I called up the Baptist Pastor in town to ask him how it worked. We just didn't get much experience with "living water" baptisms in seminary. Pastor William gave me some advice, and I took it. This time I had a bit of experience, and I had a relationship with Wes. We gathered there on the beach for the first part of the service, then Wes and I waded out together for the actual dunking (the Greek word for dunking is where we get the word baptism .) Wes had been for a run right past that very spot earlier that day. I had been surfing there a day or so before. What we both learned from our previous activities was that there were a ton of jellyfish in the water! I don...

Giving Thanks I only know how to say, “Thank you” in a handful of languages: American Sign, Spanish, German, English, and Greek. I think it is probably one of the most important phrases to learn in a language. The reason I know how to say thank you in Greek is not because I have traveled to Greece. I know how to say thank you in Greek because of my tradition’s practice of hanging on to Latin and/or Greek words for special actions and things. I have mixed feelings about that, to be honest. Sometimes hanging on to those ancient words can alienate people. If someone were on a quest to find God, would she look in a ciborium? (I digress.) Instead of abandoning traditional language, part of my work as a priest is to decode, or translate, when appropriate. The central "code word" for me is "Eucharist." It's what we do every Sunday morning when we gather for worship, including sharing bread and wine in Holy Communion. Eucharist means, "Thanksgiving." Centr...