James Derkits

I recently saw a performance by Shinyribs Russell and heard him tell the background story on his song, " Who Built the Moon ." He told a funny story about a conspiracy theorist's idea the moon was built by someone. I like the song for what it is, never mind the conspiracy. That song went through my head again and again this weekend as the Super Moon rose from the gulf horizon, sailed across the sky, and set over the bay. The moon, "hangin' in the sky, shakin' the oceans, and movin' the tide" has long shaped our human lives. It has helped us mark time, it can guide us in our fishing habits, and it inspires artists, musicians, and fireside philosophers. Life looks different in the moonlight. On Sunday morning, as I finished writing my sermon, I took a break to walk outside to see the Super Moon set, and I caught it hanging in the porch of the church. That night, Laura, Eli, and I went to the beach to watch it rise again. Someone told me it's t...

"Are you a writer?" "Yes." I answered faster than I meant to; I wanted to see if it felt like a lie or the truth. I was sitting on the beach early one morning with a few books and when the stranger asked me, I had been writing in my journal about learning how to pray. Or, about the struggle to keep up the practice of prayer. The previous Sunday in my sermon, I told a story about learning to pray one summer when I worked cruising timber in Jasper, TX. First I prayed in my off time, then while I worked. I had a  deep sense of connection at the end of that summer. After I preached, I feared that I was depending too much on the experience of that summer, over 10 years ago. Where is my story of deep connection from last year? Or from today? When I write, I pray. When I play music, I pray. Even when I ride my bike, I am praying. It's the not doing sort of prayer that I struggle with the most. The sitting still with no tools, not even a prayer book; just stillness...

The heat did not deter the youth of St. Thomas', College Station. ..it made them thirsty, and I bet a few wanted that raincloud to produce and postpone their efforts, and yet they pushed through--on a mission! Trinity by the Sea has a long history of hosting youth groups on the island for mission and for fun. St. Thomas' youth minister, Jordan Smith was down here vacationing a few months back and asked about having his group come to sleep on the parish hall floor for their mission trip. He had to look elsewhere to find showers (showers are very important on mission trips), but it has all worked out. The they arrived Sunday evening, and were ready to work on Monday morning, earlier than I expected. Holy Spirit delayed the start time of the painting project just long enough for them to notice the disarray of the garage they would be painting. Step one: clean out the garage and power-wash the outside. Everything came out, was categorized, and replaced in a new, neat order. T...

Follow Your Curiosity At a recent conversation at Theology on Tap, we were considering the best way to read the Bible. One participant brought the question and everyone quickly jumped in; the consensus was an ambivalent, and hearty “It doesn’t matter, just start reading.” I have been reading a (Non-Biblical) book called Steal Like an Artist. The author suggests that in learning about art of any form, pick someone you really like, and find out as much as possible about that artist and her work. Then find three of her influences, and do the same thing with those. Stick with one interest until you’ve exhausted your curiosity, then dig deeper. That became part of our conversation about how to read the Bible. The Gospels are a good starting point for this practice, because Jesus and the Gospel writers are constantly weaving Hebrew Scripture (Old Testament) into the stories either in quotes or in actions. If you’re curious about Jesus’ forty days in the desert, go back and read a...

There was some mystery, for a time, to a vine that crept up from the greenery near the church; it was hardly noticeable at first. It grew from some compost that was used to pot baby palm trees. It looked like a squash vine to me, so I was expecting a yellow squash or zucchini. Then it grew more and I thought it might be an acorn squash. Then one night (maybe at midnight) it turned into a pumpkin! October seems like it's a long way off, here on the island, yet, a little seed grew up and looks about ready for Halloween. It's bright orange and looks out of place. It makes me smile every time I walk past it. On Sunday, we continued to read through Acts...slowly...deliberately. We used a prayerful way of reading that invites the Holy Spirit to speak through the reading. We were reading the story of Paul and Silas in prison when the earthquake opens the doors and unbinds their fetters. The jailer panics, but discovers that all the prisoners are still there. The jailer ends up get...

May 8 is my baptism day. I was baptized four months after I was born and I remember the experience. I don't have a firsthand memory of it, but I remember it through stories from my parents, sisters, and godparents, and I remember it because I have participated in enough baptisms that I have a sense of what my own baptism was like. The language different from the Baptismal language I know. In 1977 we used an earlier version of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. At my baptism, the minister prayed as followeth: "Almighty and immortal God, the aid of all who need, the helper of all who flee to thee for succour, the life of those who believe, and the resurrection of the dead; We call upon thee for this child, that he coming to thy holy Baptism, may receive remission of sin, by spiritual regeneration..." My baptism was described as a "mystical washing." The language changes, but the practice is the same. In the Didache, a much older prayer book from the first-...

I used to get sucked into this game on Houston highways. It's only a game. There were of course a few times when I was actually trying to get somewhere quickly, when I was running late for a meeting, or a baseball game. But most of the time, when I tried to get ahead, when I tried to find the fastest moving lane, I was just playing the game. I'm sure that game only results in a couple of minutes of early arrival at best. Sometimes I fear like that game taught me too many lessons. I'm afraid it shaped my thinking more than I realized. I'm afraid the lessons were teaching me to see the moments of life like getting through that traffic. The governing question becomes "How do I get through/done with/around this?" As if each moment and encounter in life is not a gift. Now, to be perfectly honest, if a one of those golf carts pulls in front of me while I'm driving through town (especially the rentals) I've been known take a side road to get around them....