Midnight Rumblings on Mahogany © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church October 15, 2023     Unitarian and Universalist historians have always been a little bit squeamish about discussing the phenomenon of Spiritualism that swept the country in the 19th century. Spiritualism: the belief that it was possible to communicate with the dead. We UU … Continued

A Little Beyond: Transcendentalism © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church October 1, 2023   The movement called Transcendentalism, began to emerge in the 1830’s, during a time of intellectual ferment, in a new nation full of new ideas, founded in revolution. It was a heady, exciting time. The intellectuals of New England, primarily Unitarian … Continued

At-one-ment © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church September 24, 2023   You have to really admire the Ziz; the giant mythical bird in the story I told a few minutes ago. He had a good heart and a good soul; he meant well and didn’t want to hurt anyone. And yet, he continued to … Continued

Offering Belonging © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church September 17, 2023     A bit of a kerfuffle erupted at the Unitarian Universalist Association this past week. In its effort to welcome everyone into a new church year, the Communications staff at the UUA posted a very controversial statement that created something of a … Continued

Where Waters Meet and Merge © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church September 10, 2023   This past June, visiting Pittsburgh for the first time, I found myself drawn to the spot where the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio. If you take a look at the cover of your … Continued

        Order of Service – August 27, 2023 What’s in a Poem?  Gloucester UU’s Write Poetry Worship leaders Pat Johnson, Mern Sibley, Andrew Soll Introduction to the Poetry Service – What’s in a Poem? (Pat Johnson)   Poems I: To everything there is a season For a Gardener, Dying………………………………………………………………….. Isabel Sloane Serenity…………………………………………………………. … Continued

Disrupt Church © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church August 13, 2023   At our UU General Assembly back in June, there was a lot of conversation about the future of church. We all know and acknowledge that church attendance is down everywhere. The pandemic accelerated that trend, but did not cause it. And so … Continued

SERMON  on The Multiverse                August 6, 2023      by Karen N. Bell                                   Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church Today we live with exploding knowledge about space, the nature of the atom, degradation of the planet, and ever-expanding human misery in many countries as a result of climate change and population growth. No wonder then that many of … Continued

Sermon: 7/30/23 Holly Tanguay Last week from this pulpit our own Dick Prouty explored tears, his and our own. Dick told us he grows increasingly comfortable with tears as he ages and encourages us to do the same. This week I will explore a different, but occasionally overlapping, emotional state, happiness.  I grow increasingly comfortable … Continued

Pleasure Activism © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church June 18, 2023     There was controversy, back in the winter of 2006, about whether New Orleans should celebrate Mardi Gras. Hurricane Katrina had roared through the city in August of 2005, and months later, there was still wreckage piled everywhere, whole neighborhoods were still … Continued