James Derkits

 Once I went to hear a band in Houston in this strange downtown bar that had an open air patio out back. Actually, I think it had once been another room that lost its roof, and they converted it into a lovely, crushed-granite-floored space with open air windows under the one or two stars visible above the glow of Houston's lights. As I listened to the band, I was also working on a sermon about Jesus and Zacchaeus. Remember Zacchaeus climbed up a tree so he could catch a glimpse, and Jesus looked up and saw him, and had dinner with him later. As I sat there listening to the music, I jotted in my journal my imagining of Zacchaeus peeking over the wall to see what was happening inside. Would anyone notice?  Zacchaeus was easy to write-off. He was not a beloved disciple religious man. He was a tax collector, in cahoots with the Roman occupiers. Jesus didn't see those labels, he saw a human being longing to be loved by God; longing to be noticed and welcomed. That's what Jesus d...

Originally Published in the South Jetty Newspaper Growing up an in an Episcopalian family, I knew we wouldn't be decorating a tree or hanging Christmas lights until Janna's birthday. She is one of my sisters who's birthday is a week before Christmas. We waited relatively late in the season, compared to our neighbors, because we observed the season of Advent. Advent is the four weeks before Christmas and is about waiting and preparing for Christ's coming. One of the central Christmas symbols present in my childhood home home, once we finally dug out the Christmas boxes, was a crèche that sat on a table facing near our front door in the main hallway of our home. It was there for us to encounter daily in the Christmas season. I can remember the figures gathered around that manger holding the precious Christ Child. Joseph and Mary were there with the ass and ox. Shepherds looked on from outside. The Magi slowly made their journey across nearby furniture arriving to pay homa...

Originally Published in the South Jetty Newspaper "It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to your name, O Most High..." (Psalm 92:1) I want to take this opportunity to invite us all into an intentional season of Thanksgiving. Yes, there is a Thursday coming up named for giving thanks, but why not beat the rush? Take time, in the midst of everything that is happening, to stop and practice gratitude. It is such a simple thing, and it is transformative. You could even challenge yourself and do it for a week: each day wake up and before consulting any electronic devices, write down four things you are thankful for, and allow that to shape your day.  Giving thanks to God, as a regular practice, can transform how we feel about the world presently; it can teach us to be on the look-out for potential thanksgivings! Practicing gratitude can become like those car trip games, but instead of looking for words beginning with each letter of the alphabet, we can ...

"In Christ there is no east or west, in him no south or north; But one great fellowship of love, throughout the whole wide earth." So goes the hymn I've been singing my whole life in the Episcopal Church. It has taught me that to be a Christian is to be part of a human family regardless of any of those artificial categories we invent to divide ourselves. Categories like we are from, what our skin color may be, what political party we most closely identify with, what ethnic community we were brought up in. All of those things are temporal and cannot compare to the great love of God; a love that gave it's own life for the sake of the world in Jesus. Those differences spice up the rich variety of our human existence.  It is an embarrassment that in the year 2020 it would suddenly seem so important to have make the explicit statement that the ideology of white supremacist groups, or any superior-minded ideology seeking to place more value on one group of people than anoth...

I feel very fortunate that I grew up in a loving family, and I feel grateful to my parents (and four older sisters) for raising me in a stable, nurturing, ordered home. I feel that I was equipped by them to grow into a somewhat healthy adult, and to raise my son Eli in a loving home.  I can have memories of camp-outs with my dad, and of going hunting with him in East Texas, where I learned a lot about patience: waiting hours in the cold rain for any deer to emerge from the protective woods. I remember delicious meals my mom prepared, and being sent to bed on time most of the time. Again, those are experiences I draw on to try to be the best parent I can be for my son. It also helps me know how to be a parent for myself.  I remember my parents teaching me about God as my heavenly Father. I know now that though I've moved away from my parents home and stared a life of my own, that my heavenly Father/Mother God is still and will always remain present with me. God is there to turn...

 As we prepare for school to begin the Fall of 2020, I have had the opportunity to talk with a handful of parents who hold a variety of opinions about how safe it is to return to school, and about the challenges of weighing job responsibilities with online learning requirements and opportunities. There is anxiety about what this year will mean academically in the long run. Parents are trying to figure out the right thing to do, even as the school is trying to figure out the right thing to do.  I don't believe there is a right thing to do. We find ourselves in a wrong place; an uncharted wilderness. We are playing a waiting game, and all we can do is move forward one step at a time. It is a good time to practice humility, open our hearts, and recognize that everyone is learning how to do this for the very first time. I'm not apathetic, I care deeply about our schools, and what the year will bring. I'm open to letting it be what it will be.  Trinity the Sea Blessing of Back...

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...