James Derkits

Seven sacraments of the Coronavirus with prayers for each. 1. Give Blood             I dwell in Christ, this is my blood given for you.   2. Wear Mask/Social Distance/Wash Hands           May this be a sign of my love for others.   3. Stay Home           Lord, let me be still and know that you are God.   4. Practice Compassion           Jesus, teach me to love as you love.   5. Create/Learn Something New           I open my heart to you, please work through me, O God.   6. Communicate           May my conversation be laced with your Holy Spirit.   7. Manage your Health           O God, I thank you for my health, guide me to be a good steward of my body. PDF of Printable Bookmark...may take some creative folding. This is my blood, given for y...

Originally Published in the South Jetty Newspaper During this new reality, when new things come at us seemingly every day, I sometimes I forget what day, or even what season it is. Then I step outside and get hit in the face by the wind from Poseidon's hair dryer, and remember this is still summer in the Coastal Bend! Years ago, when life seemed simpler, I read in a book of reflections, "Summer is the least religious season, when rituals give way to recreation and leisure." Summer is a time of abundance, from the harvest of crops to our bountiful waters. Maybe the deer freezer starts to run low, but even that bounty may be enjoyed as the fall approaches.  It's those cooler months lead me more inward; to a more contemplative place perhaps. The long season after Pentecost draws to an end; Advent starts a new year and tips us toward Christmas. That is the time when our religious practices really draw me in. My prayer practices tend to be renewed in that time, and I follo...

I love reading scripture. That may seem like a cliche coming from someone in my line of work, but it hasn't always been the case, so I feel I can say it now with some authenticity. I've experienced what it is like to not love scripture. I've been disillusioned, felt betrayed by it, and disdained scripture at times on my spiritual journey. Perhaps that honest and rocky path is what I needed to return to it with new eyes; like a lover's quarrel leading to greater appreciation of what could have been lost.  Sometimes, though, I have to remind myself that I love scripture, particularly when it speaks a deep truth to me I am not ready to hear. Someone recently described our current state (living with the reality of COVID-19) as a, "slow grinding of the spirit." It is a painful thing to endure--there are a lot of unknowns which lead to anxiety. One of the readings for a recent Sunday was from Romans. In it, St. Paul writing to a church he has not met, but knows abou...

I will with God's help. It was only as I began my drive back from North Carolina on Sunday that I learned our nation was on fire. I drove up there for a very quick trip to help my parents get settled in for the summer, and Eli was my traveling companion. When I let Laura know our travel plans to return, she said I should pay attention to the curfews in Atlanta and Houston. (?!) That's when I started trying to catch up with the news feed. Oh, wow! On our journey, Eli and I listened to a story on NPR's Code Switch called, "A Decade of Watching Black People Die."  In order to begin to understand George Floyd's death (may he Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory) I thought Eli should, we should, hear from black people about the deaths we are witnessing, and to try to hear their perspective. It seems like George Floyd's death at this time during this pandemic with this political climate has led to the explosion we are witnessing--we are experiencing--in our c...

Originally Published in the South Jetty Newspaper Don't be misled by the title. I'm well aware of our reality. I'm following social distance guidelines, and taking the pandemic for what it is. I'm praying for those who are sick, for the families who have lost loved ones, for those on the front lines of caring for the sick, and for essential workers. You too, neighbors, are in my prayers. Thanks to some faithful volunteers, in daily prayers are offered from our sanctuary. No, I'm not denying our reality, rather, in the midst of a world changed by a virus, what I have in mind is to imagine a future beyond the pandemic. Someday, when we do have a vaccine, and having slowed the spread with our disciplined social distancing, when we may once again go about our lives: What shall our life be like? What will we have learned? What insights will we carry forward from this great disruption?  I value the spiritual teaching regarding being present in the moment. I pr...

Originally published in the South Jetty News  Paper  One of my favorite songs from the Taizé community is, "Wait for the Lord." It is often sung the pre-Christmas season of Advent, but it has been running through my mind as we try to wait patiently for life to return to normal. The reason we have songs like this, in part, is because we don't want to wait. Perhaps more than ever, we are accustomed to instant gratification; we want things fixed now. In the midst of a global pandemic no one has seen in a century, it may be worthwhile to consider wisdom passed down from tradition.  Of course, the monks of Taizé drew the words of that song from scripture; the reminder to wait shows up throughout the Bible, and particularly in the Psalms: "Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield." (30:20), "Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord." (27:13), "Be strong and let your heart take courag...

I spend a lot of time with the Jonah story. I use it often, especially in pastoral conversations. In times of deep discernment, we often feel like we are in the belly of a whale. We are, especially when we wrestle with a difficult calling. We are in the dark, and it stinks. And the best thing to do is to wait in there, until we are vomited up on the beach somewhere. Then we may emerge with clearer direction of our own calling, our mission, our purpose. That's the part of the story that draws my attention. The waiting. It's not fun. Then if you read on, the rest of the story brings it's own challenging reality: when Jonah marches into Nineveh, and cries out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"   The people actually listen. The king calls for a fast, to turn from violence, and they pray that God's mind would be changed. And so it was, Nineveh was spared. Sounds like a happy enough ending, but the book is not called Nineveh, it's called Jo...