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...

For All You Who Let Yourselves Feel © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church April 28 2024     We’ve been talking a lot the past couple of weeks about the interconnectedness of everything here on Earth, from unseen life underground to all the plants and animals...

Mother Earth, Mother Trees © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church April 21, 2024     It could be said that Suzanne Simard’s lifelong fascination with forests began one day when she was six and her grandfather’s dog ended up trapped in the outhouse.   Suzanne’s...

The Cloud in the Paper © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church April 14, 2024   Diana Beresford was orphaned at the age of 12. Both of her parents died within months of each other, and she was left in the care of an indifferent uncle in the city of Cork, in...

Universal Resurrection © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 31, 2024   There is so much that we understand about this time of year, this time when life begins to emerge from the cold, barren earth. We know enough science to anticipate this emergence, to...

Countless Small Actions © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 10, 2024     We had a good time talking about butterflies in our service last week. For those who weren’t here or watching online, I was talking about how personal transformation in our lives...

Imaginal Cells © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 3, 2024     He was an enemy of the earliest Christians, a Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus, who was charged with hunting down the apostles and their followers, and ordering them dragged off to prison. He...

Reparations Service. 2/18/24 Remarks Dick Prouty   As you look around this sanctuary today and take in the wonderfully designed woodwork and stained-glass windows, how many of you are aware that this building was built in large part by the fortunes of families on Cape...

Confronting the Past, Creating the Future © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 18, 2024     In April of 1862, at the height of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed a law giving freedom to enslaved people in the District of Columbia. This...

Toward a Truly Liberating Theology for UU’s © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 11, 2024     It was Dr. Paul Farmer, the late founder of Partners in Health, who introduced me to the concept of Liberation Theology. I was devouring Tracy Kidder’s...

The Stories Behind the Music © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 4, 2024   Today is the time and the place to call upon the memories of the ancestors. Today we are hearing of heroes, and of giants. In the words of our author Qiyamah Rahman, “It is...