James Derkits

Though I had heard the quote before, what really brought it to light for me was hearing a woman put the lines to music, and make it her own; then teach the song to a group of us as a "paperless" song, so that it became our own as well: "In my end is my beginning, in my beginning is my end; in my end is my beginning, in my beginning is my end." Those sung words, turned around, and repeated  again and again come from T.S. Elliot's Four Quartets (Part II: East Coker) Now, they ring in my ear, sung from my heart at the many ends and beginnings of things. Things like a year, or a life. Today I will officiate a funeral for a woman I barely knew. To sit with a family, to instantly get to know them with no hope for small talk, but to jump right into questions like: "What story do I need to hear about your mother/wife/sister?" is an impossible balancing act. Seeking the path between a church-every-week-cradle-Episcopalian sitting in the rocking chair, the...

On a recent conference call, I was led in a meditation of arrival; instead of picturing a conference room, where we were all seated around a table, the facilitator walked us into his home, and painted a mental image of his living room, where we all gathered around the fireplace with Mr. and Mrs. Claus on the mantle. I settled into a comfortable chair, accepted a mug of eggnog, and became comfortablly present for a conversation about the Collaborative Operating System . Once fully present, the facilitator talked about this cross-cultural festival time. I've been trying to pay attention to the universal experience of this more-dark-than-light time of year (in the Norther Hemisphere) for the past several years. He reminded us of the Scandinavian Yule Log traditions, many of which include taking a piece of the log for next year's kindling or scattering the ashes in a garden for next year's fertilizer. I was drawn once-again to the Advent Wreath, the light of which grows ...

As we finally arrive at Christmas, after the four-week journey of Advent, I am thankful for my inherited tradition of waiting until December 25th to begin celebrating Christmas. That doesn't mean we miss out on all the festivities, it means we get 12 days of Christmas, so the party lasts all the way until Epiphany on January 6th. That's what the song "The 12 Days of Christmas" is about. Over the years that song has held symbolic meaning for Christians celebrating the Incarnation of Christ, and like all poetry and music, the song points beyond itself to something greater. This year, I would like to offer a Port Aransas rendition of "The 12 Days of Christmas," and invite you to have fun pondering what the symbols might mean for you in your own spiritual journey. (Rather than offer their meaning here...that would be to simplistic.) It is truly a gift to live in a place so full of Spirit, and abounding in opportunities to bump into the mysterious presence of God...

I'm away on retreat this week. I'd invite you to say a prayer for me, and in this Second Week of Advent, reflect on  how you might carve out time for yourself to spend some prayer-time with God. It can be as simple as turning off the television and lighting a candle. Keep awake. 

Well, I managed to dodge Black Friday once again this year. It's really not difficult, I just go to the fridge for a left-over turkey sandwich, and the next thing I know the chaotic race to be the fist to buy the most is over. This year, I was fortunate enough to spend time I might have been shopping playing with Eli on a little Holy Tridiuum ("three days") that gets much more attention than even THE Holy Tridiuum of Good Friday to Easter Morning. make-shift swing we strung up at his grandmother's house with his great-grandmother (97) watching. I actually don't think I know anyone who participates in the Black Friday rush, but maybe I do. The most interesting thing about Black Friday, to me, is that it is becoming a day of cultural holy obligation. Americans are developing a whole holy calendar around shopping for Christmas. From Black Friday to Cyber Monday, there is what any Ancient would recognize as a I'm not advocating for more cultural ...