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 that time and place to … Continued

Love the Hell Out of This World © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 21, 2024     I read a story recently by the Reverend Susan Frederick-Gray, who just last June finished her term as the president of the Unitarian Universalist Association. She was remembering the time she discovered her son, who was … Continued

Power Without Love…Love Without Power © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 14, 2024     It wasn’t until the election of 2016 that I fully came to understand the depth of the derision and dislike that conservative sectors of our country, actually, reactionaries, feel for liberals. I’m not sure how I was able … Continued

To Lead with Love © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 7, 2024     We speak often about love. Love is, perhaps, the greatest force we know, perhaps the greatest mystery, ‘the only magic’ it was called in our reading earlier. So we think about it, pursue it our entire lives, and of … Continued

The Risk of Birth Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church Christmas Eve, 2023   In 1973, the poet Madeleine L’Engle wrote these words:   “This is no time for a child to be born, With the earth betrayed by war & hate And a comet slashing the sky to warn That time runs out & … Continued

Saying “Yes” to Mystery © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church December 3, 2023   The other day the Washington Post reported that a lobsterman in Maine had pulled up a two-colored lobster. The lobsterman, named Jacob Knowles, was fascinated by his discovery and took to social media to display his catch. Not only is … Continued

Completing the Gift © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church November 19, 2023   The poet Mary Oliver gave us this poem, called The Gift:   Be still, my soul, and steadfast.Earth and heaven both are still watchingthough time is draining from the clockand your walk, that was confident and quick,has become slow. So, be … Continued

The Generosity of Attention © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church November 12, 2023     One of my fondest memories of relief trips to the Gulf Coast was the day in Pearlington, Mississippi, when we had two lunches. Both of which involved fried catfish.   We were given an assignment to help an elderly … Continued

Relinquishing Privilege © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church November 5, 2023   I wasn’t sure that Darren Walker still had a job. After I finished reading his opinion piece in the New York Times, portions of which Pat just read, I looked him up on line to see if he was still the president … Continued

The Thinning of the Veil © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church October 29, 2023   In the fifth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry and his friends find themselves dueling with wizards from the dark side, called the Death Eaters. In the mysterious room where the fight is … Continued