James Derkits

The autumn is a season of death. I recently did a whirlwind week of travel across Texas and then up to North Carolina. On my journey I was inspired again and again by the presence of death and how it was celebrated. It is our constant companion no matter what attitude we take toward it. My week of travel started with a funeral and a wedding on the same day; both are occasions to celebrate life in the midst of death. A funeral is an apparent connection, perhaps. The funeral was for a friend of mine who I've known since high school. The exact cause of her death was unknown, but the influence of her life on others is obvious. A church in Houston was full of people who's lives she touched, changed, and inspired. As I said goodbye to my friend, and mourned with her family, it made me want to live. The next stop was a wedding on a hill country river. Once again, it was the occasion of life in the midst of death. Both the bride and groom will one day die.  And during the ceremony, t

I've gotten away from using our book of Holy Women, Holy Men at our weekly Wednesday Eucharist, in favor of using the upcoming lectionary, so I've missed learning each week about the saints we celebrate on a weekly basis. Today a Lutheran Pastor friend walked in talking about an English day of remembrance for Guy Fawkes . Not wanting to be out anglicized by my German brother-in-Christ, I quickly thumbed through my Holy Women, Holy Men, and was relieved to find that I hand't completely forgotten about Mr. Fawkes, because, of course, he isn't in there. November 3 and November 6, though, are the feast days of Richard Hooker and William Temple , two church leaders who have long given me inspiration, and who's writings have helped me continue to be vulnerable enough to ask the deep questions I need to ask, and to continue my spiritual journey in the context of the Episcopal Church. The things I remember about these guys is that Hooker gave us the three-legged-sto