Sermon Archive
A Dual Hunger
A Dual Hunger © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 8, 2023 There is a moment, when we are watching the swinging of a pendulum, when there’s a slowing, a pause, before the pendulum begins to move back in the other direction. Picture this with me...
We Are the Dwelling Place
We Are the Dwelling Place © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church December 24, 2022 The photo was posted on social media, among many photos of the flooding and the angry surf over the past two days. The photographer, Jay Albert, managed to capture the moment...
Who Makes Much of a Miracle?
Who Makes Much of a Miracle? © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church December 4, 2022 “As for me, I know of nothing else but miracles,” wrote Walt Whitman. We have entered the season of miracles, of enduring stories, tales of events that we cannot explain,...
Living Free From Hunger
Living Free From Hunger © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church November 20, 2022 You can tell when Thanksgiving is approaching in my extended family. Conversation on the family WhatsApp group starts to heat up, with queries about the head count, and food...
So That Fresh, Green Leaves Might Grow
So That Fresh, Green Leaves Might GrowReverend Janet ParsonsGloucester UU Church November 13, 2022“The moon changes, the atmosphere changes,And yet this is all somehow a constant,Something solid to count on, Constantly in motion.” (Mary Wellemeyer, Constantly...
All Souls’ Day
Jeremy Taylor Melvin Reflection - All Souls’ Day Given at: Gloucester UU Church October 30th, 2022 I went to Ipswich yesterday. I grew up there, but go there infrequently. Or at least not much to the part of town I grew up in. And when I do, I am usually driving,...
Rising to Change
Rising to Change © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church November 6, 2022 It seems that there is an election in a couple of days. I’m sure that you might have noticed. Quite some time ago, in a fit of anger over some of the actions, or inactions, of the...
Courage
Courage Confronting Racism Dick Prouty. 10.23.202 Fifty years ago this month, Doris and I were in bed @ 10:30PM in our new house in Lanesville, just up from the Cove, on a chilly evening. Suddenly, we heard a lot of commotion in the front yard and looked out...
Reflections on Courage and Resistance
Reading from A Larger Hope, by Russell Miller Pat Our first reading is excerpted from an account of the early years of John Murray and the Universalists here in Gloucester. “In February, 1777, 16 members of the...
The Flow of Abundance
The Flow of Abundance © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church October 16, 2022 These days, when I meditate, I most often find myself envisioning water; sunlight filtering down through water, the gentle waves rocking underwater plants and sand to and fro, the...
Truth Alone is Strong
Truth Alone is Strong © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church October 9, 2022 If you are like me, perhaps you felt your eyebrows raise at the mention of Abraham Lincoln in our reading, ordering the execution of 38 Dakota warriors on the day after Christmas...
The Courage to Search the Heart
The Courage to Search the Heart© Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church October 2, 2022 It was 25 years ago now: one of the earliest school shootings that I remember hearing of, at Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky. This was even before the...
Upcoming Services
Gloucester UU joins Rockport and Essex for worship this Sunday at First Univ of Essex, or on Zoom.Sunday August 23rd 10 am Stronger Together with Rev. Tess BaumbergerJoin us for a service about how we can be stronger by working together, using the symbols of spinning threads and weaving tapestries. The service will include a simple ritual, poetry, and meditations on the power of collaboration.To join us via Zoom please visit uuessex.org and click on the Zoom link. If you’re coming in person, there is some street parking or you can use the municipal lot. Coming from Gloucester you would go past the church and take your first left onto Martin Street, then go left again on Shepherd Street. Please know the central spots in the lot are reserved for boat and trailer parking during the summer. If you go up the stairs at the end of the lot, you can cross the parking lot and make your way to the church.
Recent News
The Blessing and the Curse
The Blessing and the Curse © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church May 3, 2026 I was attempting to meditate for a short while yesterday. I am confident that I possess some gifts, but to be honest, meditation just doesn’t seem to be one of them. I...
Sunday May 3
The Blessing and the Curse, led by Reverend Janet Parsons. "Curiosity killed the cat!" "Stay curious!" There are different ways of looking at Curiosity, which is our theme for May. Is it a helpful spiritual practice, or an attribute that creates problems? Join us as...
Next Book Discussion – May 12, 3pm
Book Club May 12, 3pm "River of the Gods" by Candice Millard is the selection for our May book club - it looks like an exciting read - I hope to see you all then! This book is available in paperback, giving us the opportunity to do two important...