James Derkits

At a recent Tuesday 4:45 service, I was given a beautiful new cross made of silver, and created by artist Jody Foshee. She is a member of the Creek Nation, which is where we get the Creek Nation Alleluia chant we just sang, and use often in our service. The cross is based on our altar cross, which has me thinking about Roy Fridge, the artist who made that beautiful cross out of found pieces of driftwood.  If you aren’t familiar with our crosses and candle sticks, I encourage you to stop by and take a look at them sometime; meditate with them. They are beautiful and uniquely Port Aransan, not another set in the world. Roy fridge , the artist who made them, was living in a hermitage he built on property owned by the Sharp family in the 60’s. He paid $1 a year for rent. When we built the church in 1964, Milly Sharp approached Roy about making the crosses and candle sticks. His other works of art that I’ve seen are captivating--he was interested in boats and shamanistic ritual. ...

For the past three years, I have preached the Gospel Easter Morning including a pop song. The first year it was Widespread Panic's Diner . Last year Prince's I Would Die For You , and this year, the Grateful Dead's Ripple. Music is so inspiring to me, and it is an easy connection to relate to God, Resurrection, and new life through some of my favorite songs, even when they don't use traditional church language. Easter Morning 2023 My earliest impression of the Grateful Dead was as a pre-teen, staying the night at long time friends of my parents and sharing a room with Monroe their son. Earlier in the day Monroe had sent me down a fairly steep hill on his old bike which had no brakes. I managed to stop by veering off the road into the open arms of a magnolia tree. Monroe was so cool. So that night, after having some Neapolitan ice cream we watched MTV. If you remember MTV, you’ll understand how excited he was that a music video of one of his favorite bands, the Grateful ...

 Let us pray. God our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new start. Give them strength to hold their faith in you, and to keep alive their joy in your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. I intended to refer only to a small part of this prayer, but the whole prayer, from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979 , is so rich I decided to share the whole thing. Whether you have children living in your household or not, it's a good prayer to use as our world continues (generation after generation) to be unsteady and confusing.  On a recent Sunday, we celebrated our Day School ministry. I want to continue that theme, and say thank you to our teachers who incarnate the love of Jesus Christ in caring for and teaching the childr...