James Derkits

I was bummed when I read Bishop Lillibridge's announcement that he would be stepping down as Diocesan Bishop in 2017. Like other humans, I would prefer the things I perceive to be "good" to stay the same as long as possible. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The initial knee-jerk reaction quickly subsided to one of hopeful anticipation. I wondered what he might be called to next. I wondered, too, who the next Bishop of West Texas might be. Then, I felt thankful for his ongoing healthy leadership. Stepping down from being Bishop before he is "required" is a healthy thing. He is not only taking care of himself, his family, and the diocese, but he is living the example of being a leader for a season, and moving on to other things when the timing is right. So, I land on gratitude, once again, for our bishop and his healthy leadership. It also reminded me of a long involved conversation I had with a friend at Collaborative Operating System...

For over a year now, I have been studying sacred stories. Because this is called the "Pastor's Pen" (Column in the South Jetty ) you might be expecting me to focus on THE Sacred Stories of Scripture. Of course those are sacred, but the new stories I've been studying over the past year are the stories of the people of Port Aransas, and of course I've focused mostly on the stories of people connected to Trinity by the Sea, but not exclusively. Some of the most amusing stories were told to me by our own Bill Anderson, before he died in November, about the old days in Port Aransas; stories about Lawnmower Ted who would pull his lawnmower into bars and "play it" like a musical instrument. Bill Anderson's stories usually landed with a diversity of characters getting along, and more: taking care of one another. Lawnmower Ted, the police, old hippies, colorful fisher-folk, and all the others who hung on especially during the sparse winter months in the old d...

Last weekend, one of my big brothers got ordained (biologically, I have four older sisters, no brothers.)  He may not think of himself as my big brother, he's got a little sister to be a brother to, but early on in my life, Rob was, to me, a big brother. He was the acolyte who made me want to be an acolyte. He was one of the "Hiktown Sk8rs" who inspired me to learn to skate. The best thing, though, was that I got his hand-me-down clothes. That helped seal the bond. A couple of times a year, I would get a box or bag of clothes to go through, and as far as I was concerned, everything in there was exactly what I wanted. That meant my mom had an easier time, perhaps, dressing me for church because, "Rob wore this to church." But it also meant I got the occasional skate clothes, which I may NOT have gotten otherwise. I wore a pair of " Jimmy'z " brand pants until they were too short, then I cut them off and wore them as shorts until the waist was too ...

Sometimes I mistakenly think celebrating all 12 days of Christmas will make the Christmas experience seem to last longer; but here it is, Epiphany, just like that. On the 12th day of Christmas, we had a man ( Bishop ) wielding a stick ( Crozier ) at Trinity by the Sea. While Bishop Reed was here, he confirmed one of our High School seniors who will be heading off into the great world across the bay, once he graduates in May. I haven't known him for too long, but I've seen picture of him and his peers when they were just little kids running around the church getting into trouble...sorta like Eli is doing now. I've heard their families tell me how fast they grow up, to try to give me fair warning. Later that same day, I went (across the bay) into Corpus Christi to be part of the regional Epiphany Feast of Lights and Burning of the Greens.  Burning Christmas trees really makes it feel like Christmas is over, there's no going back, only  forward. In the Feast of Light...

In his autobiography, Nelson Mandela wrote, “I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.” I would imagine that some of the "dark moments" for Mandela came during his twenty seven years as a political prisoner during the dark years of apartheid in South Africa.  I had the privilege to spend a little over a month in South Africa during my seminary years; most of my time there I lived at a seminary in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape . Before I headed there, I got to spend a short time in Cape Town, and took a tour of the prison on Robben Island. There many political prisoners were held in the apartheid years, including Nelson Mandela. It was a profoundly moving experi...

The last line of the Christmas Hymn, "O Little Town of Bethlehem reads, "O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!" I tend to forget that last line when I start humming that hymn. Instead, I think of a snow-covered Bethlehem somewhere around midnight, all quiet and still. Then I read the hymn looking for any mention of snow and find nothing. That image came from somewhere else. I have that experience with many things around Christmas: I carry a memories pieced together from the market place, artistic representations, hymns from the church, and the story from Scripture. Then at some point before Christmas, I try to sort through the jumble to find that place in my heart that anticipates a connection with God. That part of me that longs for reconnection with God, who jumped right into creation be with us in the midst of the messiness. I first started paying attention to that hymn, "O Little Town of Bethlehem," during some of my own messiness, when I w...

In a recent sermon, I told a story about having difficulty lighting a candle. Later someone asked me how I found those metaphors for my sermons. I was reminded of a conversation with musician some time when she explained that she wrote songs from what she saw all around her; she could look around a room and write a song about something she saw. I try to find inspiration from what I see around me. A big part of my work is seeing the world differently. I'm not always good at practicing it, but my intention is to pay attention to my life in such a way that I ask, "What spiritual meaning may be drawn from this?" Another way to go about life is to constantly ask "Is that good or bad?" or "Do I like that or not?" Those questions put us in a place of judgement and constant judgement. I know from experience. Questions like, "What spiritual meaning may be drawn from this?" puts me in a posture of learner, and makes me curious about the world aroun...