James Derkits

Originally published in the South Jetty Newspaper Occasionally, I'll start reading a book, and before I can even get halfway through, I've already ordered copies I can share with others. This was the case when I started recently started reading  Meditations with Meister Eckhart. One summer, about 20 years ago, I was working for the forestry industry, and I learned how to pray with God in nature. Not that it was completely new, but there, relatively alone, walking through the woods each day, and meditating next to a waterfall many afternoons, I found myself so blissfully swept up in God's presence that my life was forever changed. The copies I bought, I will share with a with an Advent retreat group.  Each year we gather in the wilderness; it is a time for us to check in, be surrounded by nature, and play lots of music on the porch. I want to share the Eckhart book because he writes about the experience of God in nature, in creativity, and in friendship...

Originally published in the South Jetty Newspaper I became fascinated with the Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) observances when I was a youth minister: one of our adult mentors taught us about it, and we set up a small altar for pictures of loved ones. One parent even made sweet bread, and I think we had candy sculls to share. We placed marigolds on the altar as we told stories of those we remembered. For me it was a chance to learn about their families, including the losses they had suffered. It gave all of us an opportunity to know we were not alone in our grief, and to remember our loved ones are still with us. In our modern culture we either view anything related to death as morbid and hide from it, or we rebelliously make light death in a distanced, general way way. For example, look at all the pirate flags around town. That symbol was taken from Christian art: the scull and crossbones was often depicted at the feet of Christ on the cross, symbolizing his ultimate victo...

originally published in the South Jetty Newspaper After Labor Day, I found myself wanting to do some cleaning and organizing for the seasons ahead. It probably has something to do with school starting back and shifting into a different rhythm of life. It also has to do with a busy summer with lots of guests and travel, and now finally having a chance to catch my breath. Some places, people do spring cleaning that may be historically associated with the Persian new year or churches preparing for Easter; it is probably associated with colder climate zones opening up their homes after a cold and snowy winter. Fall cleaning makes good sense to me here where we live, and it does fit into the school year starting. It also works well with the liturgical year ramping up--walking through those seasons of Jesus' life. Advent doesn't start until December this year, but my mind is already mapping a course to Lent. I'm wondering: "What do we need to study for Sunday school?...

originally published in the South Jetty Newspaper It feels a little early in the year to be talking about the coming reign of God. I tend to talk coming-of-Christ in Advent, the four weeks before Christmas. It's been very much on my mind though in our divided political climate. We are in a difficult situation (which has been growing for some time) leading to a breakdown in any communication. The most extreme voices benefit from the rift, because people tend to want to stop and watch a good fight (which helps sell advertising.) Following the way of Love that Christ taught probably won't make anyone rich because it is a way of sacrifice and self-giving. (With apologies to the ad department of the South Jetty.) I'm praying for God's reign to stir up our hearts to heal our collective wounds: When we pray the Lord's Prayer, in the traditional language version, we pray, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The Lord's prayer...

Ugh. I just renewed my "Safeguarding God's Children" training. It has to be done every few years, and I dread it every time. I've been renewing for about twenty years now, ever since I was a youth minister at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, and working with Camp Allen, and Camp Capers, each Episcopal Camps.  I always dread it, and I'm always glad it is part of our church life. Everyone who works with youth or children, and everyone who has access to our church building takes this course. It is so important because it teaches respectful boundaries with children, youth, and even adults. It also educates our leadership about what to look for to protect against abuse. Particularly child molestation.  The church is one of the few places where intergenerational learning still takes place. Several generations on a journey together: learning and teaching one another about the love of God, and passing down stories of how God has moved through our community. The ...

Originally Published in the Port Aransas South Jetty Newspaper This summer, I am spending three weeks at our three Episcopal camps. I want to share a bit of what I'm teaching, and what we are learning together. I sought our stories from the Bible of people on their journey encountering God, and learning to walk in love. The stories that I recalled probably says as much about me and my theology as about the theme. Abraham, Sarah, and the Strangers (Genesis 18.1-15) In this bizarre story, strangers show visit Abraham and Sarah as they are camped in the wilderness in the shade of some famous oaks. Abraham, following Torah, rushes to prepare a meal for the strangers to show hospitality. Actually Sarah does a lot of that work; it turns out to be the God, or Angels of the Lord. By showing hospitality to strangers, Abraham and Sarah show kindness to God. St. Paul's Encounter with Christ (Acts 9. 1-19) This guy Saul had everything figured out: he knew he was right, and his...

Sermon Preached at Trinity by the Sea Pentecost IV, July 7, 2019 The Rev. J. James Derkits A poem by the Sufi Poet Hafiz If God invited you to a party and said,  “Everyone in the ballroom tonight will be my special Guest.”  How would you then treat them When you arrived? Indeed, indeed! And Hafiz knows There is no one in this world Who is not upon [God's] jeweled Dance Floor.  (from The Gift , Hafiz, ed. Daniel Ladinsky, Penguin Books, 1999) I return to that poem from time to time and try to remember I’m living on God’s jeweled dancefloor, and to wonder if I’m listening deeply to the Spirit's music… I don’t know how much time you spend thinking about the purpose of the church--I hope it's no surprise that I spend a lot.  Summer seems to be a good time for that; one of my friends calls Summer the least religious time of the year, by which he means, quite spiritually, God’s abundance is on parade, the rhythms of the earth point ...

The last time I read the Shel Silverstein book The Giving Tree  it was to a group of young campers out at Mustang Island Family Camp (dwtx.org for more info.) It is a beautiful story that reminds me of God's creative and abundant love. If you haven't read it, I recommend it. The giving tree is just that: she gives and gives supplying for the needs of the boy as he grows to be an old man. It's a story of grace. Homes for Displaced Marlins Celebration I've learned a lot about grace in the past two years. Our church recently dedicated a new stained glass window to the volunteers who came to our aid after the hurricane. It is symbolized by one hand reaching up from a turbulent sea, and many hands reaching down symbolizing those who reached out to us from nearby and far away. Although we are still on the journey toward our new normal after the storm, we have made amazing progress. I volunteered on the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Katrina, and on the East Texas Coast af...

(No spoilers.)     I watched the final episode of Game of Thrones last night and found it appropriate to the show. I won't say it's satisfying or everything I hoped for...I would love another few episodes, or another season even. It was a conclusion to a complex story that my wife Laura and I started with the books: first reading them, then listening to an audio version, then thrilled when the first season was released.    I can't say I recommend it, it's violent and there are a lot of sex scenes in it (one friend even calls it "Dragon Porn.") It's a rich story told in a metamodern way: The heroes are flawed, the evil people have love for others, and there are all these mystical elements throughout. The final season has ended. Winter was coming, then it came, and now it is over.    I listened to my favorite podcast, the Sacred Speaks , recently and learned that term "metamodernism" in John Price's interview of Linda Ceriello. She talke...

On my phone, when someone calls, I get the option to send a message, instead of answering or simply declining. For instance, if I'm in a meeting, and I see my phone ring from someone I was expecting to call, I can send a message in two clicks that reads, "Can I call you later?" My favorite option, though, is, "I'm on my way." I usually send that one to close friends who call me, especially if they live in other cities. A priest friend from Austin called recently to ask about how we were doing Bible study. It was mid week around lunch time. I sent the automatic text, "I'm on my way." He wrote back, "Well hurry, I'm about to order lunch." When I finally called him back, he asked where I was, and I told him I'm in Port Aransas, but I'm still on my way...always, at least while I'm alive, I'll be on my way, never quite arriving. In St. John's Gospel, Jesus make quite a few "I AM" statements. It is an ech...

I still feel grateful to have started my ordained ministry serving with The Rev. Beth Fain as my rector at St. Mary's, Cypress. Beth was at St. Mary's for over 20 years, and she was there for so long, in part, because she follows that commandment about honoring the sabbath and keeping it holy. Not to the letter, but the spirit that "most often broken" of the commandments as she would say. (She now works on the Diocese of Texas staff, and still teaches about sabbath.) We do not live in a culture that honors sabbath. As I've learned, it's about taking time to rest, reflect, and do those things that are restorative; it is spending time with God, in ways that support your own physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual health. For me, that is often running, surfing, writing, and playing music. After Eli gets out of school, it's playing with him. When Laura and I get to take a day together, even better. My sabbath-day happens to be on Friday, and there ...

Remember that you are dust...or sand, and salt, and water, and all sorts of decomposed matter. I got into a conversation with a couple of friends recently about what we are saying to our congregations as we smudge a cross of ash on people's heads and repeat the phrase, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." In one sense it remembers the second creation story in the book of Genesis when God forms the human from the dirt. It also recalls that our bodies are composed of recycled material that died, fell to the earth, fed plants, was processed by our mothers through food, and eventually, that old decomposed material began to form us, and then we started taking in the food (from the dust) and processing it ourselves. It recalls the miraculous quality of our very existence! It helps me to recollect that I've come from the prima materia of the earth, and yes, I will someday return to it again to eventually fertilize another garden for another generatio...

Thank you for taking time to read this, I hope it is worth your time.  We only have 24 hours a day, and if we are living a healthy life, about eight of those hours are spent sleeping. How do you spend the other 16? I have, in the past, led people thought a process of examining (not just a day, but) a week of hours, to determine how they spend their time. It is a way to examine what you actually place value in; similar to examining your finances to create a budget it can help you be intentional about the way your precious time is spent. It's interesting to compare things like how much time is spent watching TV verses how much time is spent in prayer. That may lead to pondering what might be influencing your decisions. The question about time comes up for me, because in my work I am reminded that our time is not infinite; not in this way: the familiar, earthly pilgrimage. It's part of a broader awareness that everything we have is a gift from God. This breath I am breathing i...

I get into the sentimental side of Christmas; that snow covered, Hallmark Movie Channel, Rudolf, and wanting for Two Front Teeth; all of that goes on display in the world earlier and earlier each year. It's fun to put on those tacky sweaters and eat too much turkey. I get into that side of Christmas like most people (though I don't go shopping the day after Thanksgiving.) There is another side to Christmas that is tangent to that worldly, fun, memory-lane sentimental side of Christmas, and it's the Jesus part. Sometimes you can find a little baby tucked away behind the big-ol-Santa statue, but even that little baby can get lost in the fluff of nostalgia. We hear very little of Jesus birth and childhood, and most of that is about what was happening around him--how the world responded to his Incarnation (when God put on flesh.) Jesus started causing trouble the moment he was born. The local authorities were out to get him because he threatened the order of things. There...

I'm not sure when my definition began to crystalize and then change, but it was somewhere around high school. I'm fortunate to have two very loving parents and four older sisters who have always told they loved me. I've never doubted I am loved by my family. For that I am grateful. I have heard love preached about in the Episcopal church my whole life. Love has always been part of my understanding of God (one of my favorite hymns is still "God is Love.") In my teenage years that sense of God's love was definitely more closely related to the Greek word for love "Eros." Eros is the creative, generative, exciting love of a new relationship. It is also the love of the artist for the art. Love is the dancer around the fire, and the excitement of a surfer paddling out on a good day. It feels good, it gets creative juices going, but it comes and it goes. It is fleeting. When two people feel they are not "in love" anymore, Eros has moved on ...

I was in North Carolina for a time this summer, trying to get some time to grieve, and reconnect with my family. I went on almost-daily runs up a little mountain road. Usually it was about a three mile run, sometimes further. Before I would go run, though, I would wake up, make coffee, and go sit on a porch to pray, write, read, and get in touch with what I was feeling that day. Less than eight months after Hurricane Harvey, two of my nieces died less than two months apart. It still doesn't seem real, and I've written about them elsewhere--but that's what I carried with me, and my family and I still carry the grief of losing Beatrice and Erin. On my runs in the Smokey Mountains, I would let that emotion out. When I felt anger, I would allow the anger to surge through me as I pushed forward and wore myself out. When I felt sadness, I would take a slower run, and allow the tears to fall when they were ready. When I didn't know what I was feeling, I would allow the confu...

Twelve years ago, I was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church, in Cypress, Texas, outside of Houston. I grew up in the Episcopal Church and about the time I got my driver's license I was talking with a friend about becoming a priest. From there, there was a lot of testing, questioning, wondering, and the way kept opening through college, after I graduated and worked as a youth minister in downtown Houston, and through three years of seminary, and many discernment meetings throughout; what I sensed in me as a call to priesthood was continually affirmed by my church community, so on January 6, 2007, I was ordained.  The ordination service in our  Book of Common Prayer , reads that I am "to work as a pastor, priest, and teacher, together with [my] bishop and fellow presbyters, and to take my share in the councils of the Church...to proclaim by word and deed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to fashion [my] life in accordance with its precepts...to love and serve the people a...