James Derkits

My heart is still struggling over the horrific shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, TX. It is not far from where I live and it is in the diocese my church is a part of...last night I was playing music with close friends, preparing for a show we are playing on June 21 to support one of our parishioners and to bring our community together. It's something I've been trying to do as much as possible since COVID: bring people together. Work on relationships, love our neighbors, reconcile on the personal level.  Then as we were winding down the rehearsal, I got a text from my wife about a shooting at an Episcopal church potluck supper. The church is outside Birmingham, Alabama. Two parishioners were killed, one is in the hospital as I write.  Last night and this morning, I looked up  St. Stephen's , and was able to read and watch some of the messages from their rector, The Rev. John Burruss, and a message from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry (who visited their church not l...

Published in the South Jetty a week before the election.  What brought you to Port Aransas, and what has kept you here? The original attraction for me was the beauty of nature all around us. The beach and bay; the dunes and night sky. Once we moved here, not all that long ago in 2012, I came to know this amazing community. People helped one another out, residents and visitors supported our youth and still do. I suppose the gift of nature alone would have nourished my soul, but my family and I really stayed because of this amazing community. We feel so fortunate to get to live here, and I understand why people are attracted to spending time here. We were here for five years before Hurricane Harvey and I am grateful for those years of getting to know my church and community so that when we were in the recovery trenches, we could build up from those relationships.   I value community and relationships because I have found that strong relationships make it possible to not onl...