James Derkits

Hip Hip Hooray for Christmas Vacation      Clark W. Griswold, after a series of unfortunate and hilarious experiences with his extended family gazes up from his front lawn at the "Christmas star" and opines: "It means something different to everyone." Christmas Vacation is one of my favorite movies of the season and has made it into a couple of Christmas sermons. However, the main character's assessment of the "meaning of Christmas" expresses the cultural spirit of individualism, and so the movie seems to land on the illusion of individualism.       Most of the movie and the meaning of Christmas point to a different reality. That is that we are community people. Yes, we are each unique, and each have our own journey to become the people God has created us to become, but we cannot do that without one another. The meaning of Christmas and other winter religious festivals for that matter is about remembering our interdependence.       ...

Thanksgiving is a family holiday for me. While we do have the Turkey Trot Day School fundraiser the day before, Thanksgiving day and following is a time I enjoy stepping away from church activities. Since Christmas and Easter are very much church holidays and my energy is focused on our church family, it is nice not to have a church event during this American tradition, to slow down, and spend time with my family.  That doesn't mean it is not a religious or spiritual day. Whether we are with my side of the family or Laura's, there is usually time to name thanksgivings. Those annual gatherings are markers in time, a way to pay attention to what is important in life. While we cannot slow down the swift passage of years, we can be present right where we are with family or friends and give thanks together.  My extended family is awaiting the birth of a child. I can remember my nephew's first Thanksgiving in his parent's arms, then years at the kids table, and now he is beco...

 Sermon preached at Trinity by the Sea  November 19, Proper 28, Year A Several years ago, I set out on an intentional journey in my own psyche with some studious guides. I was following in the footsteps of many who have gone before me. The writings of the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung and other Jungian authors were helpful guides. This intentional inner journey started when, in a clergy support group, my mentor Pittman McGeehee told us that when his first son was born, he thought he’d better learn to understand masculine psychology. So, after being married with no kids for 10 years, when we learned Eli was to be born, Pittman’s words came back to me, and I dug in. I am in some ways still on that journey, but I’m far enough along that I can send this postcard from my travels. The word psyche is the Greek word for soul. So any psychological work we do is soul work. The psychologists I have been in touch with over the years remember that. Another great quote that has guided my par...

After Jimmy Buffett died, I wrote to some clergy friends who, like me, have the fortune to serve churches in gulf coast towns. I proposed having a Sunday School class for adults reflecting on the music of the Havana Daydreamer. "If not us, who?" I've personally had quite a journey as a fan, first hearing him on a boat cruising around Bolivar and the Galveston waters, and covering his songs, then later being resistant to his music and the whole scene surrounding it, and then digging in deeper to his music, starting with a record a friend gave me after the storm took most of mine.  My rebellious side didn't want to play his music when I first moved here because, a colleague told me I had to, "learn Jimmy Buffett music because they only want to hear Margaritaville." Alas, we do hear that song quite a bit in this island town. That's also what started me thinking about that lost shaker of salt, and why the song so captivates our imaginations; even the non-mar...