James Derkits

This summer one of my colleagues challenged her congregation to read the Psalms daily for a month. In our Book of Common Prayer, there is a schedule to read all 150 Psalms over 30 days (morning and night.)  Years ago, I kept that daily practice for a while, but have gotten away from it, so I accepted her challenge. It put me back in touch not only with the Psalms, but with our schedule of daily scripture readings along with praying Morning Prayer, Rite I.  I usually get back into a more regular rhythm of prayer this time of year, and the Psalm challenge gave me a little head start. Around here, summer has its own fast pace when our streets, bay, and beaches are packed with visitors coming to get their time in this paradise where we are so fortunate to live.  School has begun and the crowds thin out, and we have the opportunity to fall back into a new rhythm.  As our days grow shorter, even while the heat persists, we can feel that seasonal shift toward autumn. Just a...

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...

Growing up in Southeast Texas, spring brought with it flowering trees like dogwoods and magnolias as well as an amazing array of azaleas. My parents cultivated azalea beds all around out house, and on Sunday morning they would help my sisters and I collect flowers from around the yard for the Easter Cross. The Easter Cross was a pretty ugly cross that stayed in a dark closet most of the year. Then the altar guild would put the cross out, and as families showed up, children of all ages would rush in and tuck their flower stem through one of the little holes that were all over the dark green cross. By the time the service started, the ugly cross would be covered with flowers; a colorful symbol of resurrection; a beautiful announcement that Jesus is risen!  Symbols of resurrection are all around us, and sometimes it takes such a sweet gesture of a beloved community to help us see them. Resurrection doesn't come until after the crucifixion and sometimes we get stuck sitting at the empt...

Published in the South Jetty Newspaper While the saint word has fallen away from that mid-February holiday of Eros-Love, I am grateful we have held onto it for this month's celebration of St. Patrick's. Dear St. Patrick did more than the legendary snake-drive, and I don't think it was he who asked people to wear green (or drink green). As a young man of 16, Patrick arrived in Ireland as a slave, kidnapped from his home. There he tended sheep and in that pastoral setting he learned to pray and as he wrote, "felt God's love fill my heart and strengthen my faith." He escaped on a ship, but later returned to Ireland after a series of mystical experiences persuaded him his mission field was there. St. Patrick may be the most popular of the Irish or Celtic Saints , but he is not necessarily the most interesting.  Consider St. Brendan , who like other monks of the region, launched himself off in a small boat, letting the Holy Spirit direct his course to carry the Goo...

Once a week, I get to lead chapel for our Trinity Day School students. We usually gather in the church to sing, pray, and hear scripture. It is a delight each week to see those sweet little faces, even the ones with runny noses. Like in adult church we have some children are really tuned in, singing the songs with the hand motions, screaming "NO!" they will not hide their little light under a bushel. Some are eager to raise their hand, even before I finish the question, "Who here has been in the belly of a whale? Oh really??"  We have others who are enjoying the wonders of imagination, and staring off at some of our stained glass images, or just daydreaming about being anywhere, but in chapel. I know their little brains are soaking it all in anyway, or at least the important stuff...just like the day-dreaming adults on Sunday.  The chapel service is the most consistently attended of our weekly services. While it is adapted for the little ones, we still use elements ...