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Sermon Archive

What Might You Sacrifice?

What Might You Sacrifice? © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church April 14, 2019   …And last spring along the Back Shore swam right whales. Early in May last year, a pod of right whales, a rather large percentage of the tiny number of right whales still...

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A Journey in Poetry

Sunday, March 24, 2019   Call to Worship by Kathleen McTigue (excerpt) Here in the refuge of this Sabbath home We turn our busy minds toward silence, And our full hearts toward one another. We move together through the mysteries: The bright surprise of birth and...

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From Heart to Head and Back to Heart

From Heart to Head and Back to Heart Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 31, 2019   “We were born with silence, and as we grew up, we lost the silence and were filled with words. We lived in our hearts, and as time passed, we moved into our heads…”...

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Greening Power

Greening Power Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church March 17, 2019   Today is all about green. Each year Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, taking to the streets to party, with parades, and green clothes, hair, face paint, and...

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Encountering the Sacred Everywhere

Encountering the Sacred Everywhere Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 10, 2019 On my very first morning in India, I found myself in a tour bus bouncing down the highway from the Varanasi airport to the hotel. Suddenly the tour guide called our attention...

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Risking Trust

Risking Trust © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church February 3, 2019   Recently a young woman wrote to a newspaper advice column looking for help in coping with the end of a romantic relationship. Her partner, who had been mentioning...

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Answering the Knock

Answering the Knock Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 20, 2019 Year after year, Martin Luther King Day is observed in various ways all across the country. Right here in Cape Ann a week ago, despite the ice, we had the march and service at the...

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Still Christmas?

Sermon at the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church on January 6th, 2019 Still Christmas? Charles Nazarian   This treasured Meetinghouse, now entering its third century, has witnessed much…the civil war, the 1918 flu pandemic, the great depression, the...

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Out of the Darkness Emerges Love

Out of the Darkness Emerges Love © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church December 9, 2018 “Darkness, soothe my weary eyes, that I may see more clearly. When my heart with sorrow cries, comfort and caress me. And then my soul may hear a voice, a still, small...

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Awake to Wonder

Awake to Wonder© Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church December 2, 2018 One August night, I found myself stretched out on my back on a splintery wooden dock on the shore of a New Hampshire pond, gazing up at the sky. It was during the...

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Now Our Minds Are One

Now Our Minds Are One© Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church November 18, 2018   As some of you know, in recent months I have been dabbling in pottery. It has been a challenging and quite humbling hobby so far. I like to tell people that I aspire to...

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To End All Wars

To End All Wars Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church November 11, 2018 100 years ago today. Let’s just stop for a moment and think about how long ago that was. 100 years ago, the Model T was in its heyday. It was long ago, but if we were to be transported back...

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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

For Those Who Live at the Shoreline

For Those Who Live at the Shoreline © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church June 2, 2024 It was such a joy to be present at the flag-raising at City Hall this past Friday to kick off the month of June as Pride Month. It was the largest crowd at this event I’ve...

Sunday June 2

This Sunday's worship service is led by Reverend Janet Parsons with music provided by Steve Lacey. Please join us at 10 a.m. in-person or at the livestream link below. Kiana will be providing childcare during the service for elementary-age and older. Link to...

Sunday May 26 2024

The Walls Between Us, led by Reverend Janet Parsons, and musician Susan Taormina. We are exploring Pluralism this month, and on Sunday we'll look at what happens to a pluralist society when we become polarized. There will be no livestream this Sunday: we apologize for...