Sermon Archive
Singing Our Way to Hope – March 15
Singing Our Way to Hope Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 15, 2020 A period of time spent wandering in the wilderness is one of the oldest and most common themes in storytelling. It is the idea of a quest: a journey into uncharted territory,...
The Mine of Gold Within You
Today we are drawing on some wisdom that was written over 700 years ago. Imagine your writings surviving for over 700 years. Not merely surviving, but becoming known more and more around the world, translated into new languages, spread by technologies that the author...
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia: The Feminine Face of God Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 1, 2020 In the sixth century of the Common Era, a church was built in Constantinople by the order of the Roman Emperor Justinian and the Empress Theodosia. The church was the...
To Rise, To Reach a Little Deeper
To Rise, To Reach a Little Deeper Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 16, 2020 “It is that time and place to remember those who came through the long night to witness another sunrise.” (Qiyamah Rahman, in Voices from the Margins, p. 14-16.) This is...
32407 + 34902
Sermon: 32407 + 34902 by Rev. Julie Lombard Flashing back to a solidarity march for immigration that happened in August for families being separated at our borders and caged children, at a time when some parents were dropping off a kid at college where they will live...
More Cautious Than Courageous
More Cautious Than Courageous Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 19, 2020 “I felt we would be supported by the white church,” lamented Martin Luther King Jr. in his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail. He thought white clergy would rise up in support...
The Land That Never Has Been Yet
The Land That Never Has Been Yet Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 12, 2020 “Let America be America again, the land that never has been yet.” (Langston Hughes, Let America be America Again) Truly, it feels as though this is an extraordinarily...
Forgotten Wholeness
Forgotten Wholeness Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 5, 2020 “Wholeness is never lost, it is only forgotten.” (Rachel Naomi Remen, in Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that Heal, New York, Riverhead Books, 1996: p. 108.) Maybe it’s impossible to...
Joy, Anyway
Joy, Anyway Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church December 24, 2019 “Joy to the World!” The song, and its generous, lavish, wish for joy for all people, is 300 years old this year. It has come to us across times of famine and plenty, of war and peace,...
My Heart Shall Sing
My Heart Shall Sing Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church December 15, 2019 This past Wednesday one of the very first things I saw after I woke up was that Time Magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year had been announced. The award was given to Greta Thunberg,...
First There is Awe
First There is Awe© Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church December 8, 2019 Early in my seminary days, I had a conversation with a fellow student about how we experienced the divine, the numinous, the ineffable, or whatever name you might want to give that...
Opening to Love
Opening to Love Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church November 17, 2019 There was a great turnout on Wednesday evening at Jalapenos Restaurant down the street. It was World Kindness Day, and our local Kindness Project, conceived and spearheaded by our...
Upcoming Services
Dec 24, 2024
Please join us at 7pm tonight for a retelling of the traditional Christmas story with scripture, contemporary readings, and lots of music! We will end by singing Silent Night by candlelight. Our service is led by Reverend Janet Parsons, with music by Andrew Soll, organist. Everyone is welcome!
This service is in-person only. It will not be livestreamed.
Recent News
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...
Sunday July 14
Join Us Sunday for Brunch Church! 10:00 a.m. in the Social Hall This Sunday Reverend Janet will be offering a casual service focusing on shared community, and food! We'll meet in the Social Hall at 10:00 a.m. as usual, for brunch, music, stories, and conversation....