Sermon Archive
Hope Rises
Hope Rises © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church April 4, 2021 I find that in recent weeks I have been thinking back frequently to last Easter. I remember the almost heartbreaking hope we had, on that last Sunday together in March of...
Tales of Liberation
Tales of Liberation Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 28, 2021 Passover The story of Passover is an ancient one. A famine in Israel forced the patriarch Jacob to lead his large extended family to Egypt, to reunite with his...
A Year in the Life
A Year in the Life© Two Reflections Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 14, 2021 1) A Year in the Life Like many of my colleagues, and perhaps many of you, I have had a song stuck in my head this week: Seasons of Love, from the musical Rent. ...
The Silent Vow – Mar 7
The Silent Vow Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 7, 2021 Perhaps the most compelling task we face as humans is that of sorting out what truly belongs to ourselves, and what the world imposes upon us. Over our lifetimes, we are constantly moving:...
To Walk Together – Feb 28
To Walk Together Reverend Janet Parsons, Gloucester UU Church February 28, 2021 There comes a time, when a person has started attending seminary, that attending parties starts to become a little bit weird. Old friends aren’t quite sure what to say to you, so they...
An Orientation of the Heart – Feb 14
An Orientation of the Heart Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 14, 2021 “We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover. And every known nook of our nation and every corner called our country, our people diverse and beautiful, will emerge battered and...
Where We See Everyone’s Face – Feb 7
Where We See Everyone’s Face Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 7, 2021 It’s hard to talk about Beloved Community these days. It’s hard to imagine it, to summon its ideals, its grace, and its promise of unconditional love. It’s hard to consider...
Imaginings – Jan 31
Imaginings – Rev Janet Parsons and Karl Frank Jan 31, 2021 We have such an unusual and interesting service for you this morning! Thank goodness we have five Sundays this month. There has been a theme all month, but we’ve barely been able to scratch the surface of it...
What’s Stopping Us? – Jan 17
What’s Stopping Us? Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 17, 2021 (Martin Luther King Sunday) It’s still a scene that I love to watch, and that still can bring tears to my eyes: the scene in Grant Park in Chicago, on November 5, 2008, when Barack...
Reimagining a Country – Jan 10
Reimagining a Country © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 10, 2021 “They left for their own country by another road.” So ends the tale of the Magi, the Wise Men, the astronomers from the East who saw a new star and followed it to find...
Hope Arising – Jan 3
Hope Arising Reverend Janet Parsons January 3, 2021 This has likely been the most anticipated, the most consequential New Year since the turn of the century 20 years ago now. This New Year, I found myself feeling as though it wasn’t enough to just watch the ball...
Reflection, The Old Year Has Now Passed Away – Dec 27
Reflection: The Old Year Has Now Passed Away In past years, the Sunday after Christmas was often a quiet one with fewer people in church than usual after the buildup of Advent, the concerts, pageants, parties and finally the arrival of Christmas Day with large,...
Upcoming Services
Nov 24, 2024
Please join us for Thanksgiving Sunday, with lots of beautiful music! Choosing a Garden, led by Reverend Janet Parsons. How do we find gratitude in our hearts during times of grief and worry?
Join us at 10am in-person or at the livestream link below.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIeJfO72kLh-gAtZZT-QOng/live
Monday Afternoon, November 25: Join Rev. Janet and folks from other congregations at our Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at St. John's Episcopal Church, 48 Middle Street. This service of readings and beautiful music will take place at 4:00 p.m.
Recent News
“Responses to Authoritarianism”
This Sunday's worship is led by Karen Bell with music by Andy Soll. It will feature a short introduction to some of the major cultural and political forces that are currently at play in the presidential race, after the momentous developments of the past 2 weeks....
Hope and Resilience in the Garden
This Sunday's worship is led by JoeAnne Hart with music provided by Susan Taormina. The sermon will be about cultivating hope, based on "Nature's Best Hope", by Douglas Tallamy, A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard. Please join us at 10 a.m.,...
Exploring Emerson
Dick Prouty will be leading the service this Sunday, July 21, at 10AM in the sanctuary. Susan Taormina will provide music. The sermon topic will be "Exploring Emerson and his relevance to your life." Dick will speak to the relevance of Ralph Waldo Emerson in his own...