Sermon Archive
To Seek Out Belonging
To Seek Out Belonging © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church May 1, 2022 (and Sabbath, below) “The deepest nature of the soul is relationship.” (John O’Donohue) During these past two years we have been challenged to the very core of our beings by the...
Many Stories of Creation
Karl Frank 4/24/2022 Welcome. Welcome to this, our Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church. All are welcome here, I am Karl Frank, not the minister, but a member of the congregation, leading the service today in the temporary absence of Reverend Janet Parsons,...
The Bright Spark of Resurrection
The Bright Spark of Resurrection © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church April 17, 2022 It would have been in the pre-dawn hours, maybe in the gray first light, when women carrying all they would need to anoint and prepare a body set...
No Going Back
No Going Back © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church April 10, 2022 This past Thursday evening, there was a march here in downtown Gloucester, something that hasn’t happened much in the past two years. Each April, for many years, the Gloucester Coalition for...
What Urgency Calls You?
What Urgency Calls You? © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church April 3, 2022 It struck me, re-reading David Whyte’s poem that Mern read for us a few minutes ago (What to Remember When Waking) is how often the poets urge us to make sure that we are trying to...
She is The Way
She is The Way © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church March 27, 2022 “She shines without dimming… She rushes to reveal Herself to those who yearn for Her.” (Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-14) Who is ‘she’? We know this presence by many names....
For There is Always Light
For There is Always Light © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 20, 2022 The fog yesterday sent me into a very pensive state of mind. I stared for long periods at the patterns created by the bare tree branches, which was about all I could see. I find...
The Saving Power of We
The Saving Power of We © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 20, 2022 This past week an unusual news story caught my eye. It told of a priest in the Roman Catholic diocese of Phoenix who was discovered to be conducting the sacrament of baptism...
Circles of Love
Circles of Love © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 13, 2022 Last week an article in the Boston Globe magazine caught my eye; it was about the legacy of Maria Mitchell, known as the first female astronomer in the United States. (“The Heirs of...
The Road to Hell
The Road to Hell © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 30, 2022 “If you come as softly as wind within the trees You may hear what I hear See what sorrow sees. If you come as lightly as threading dew I will take you gladly, nor ask more of...
Sacred Moments and Holy Places
Sacred Moments and Holy Places © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church January 23, 2022 The other day Thich Nhat Hanh, the venerable Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, transitioned from this life to the next one at the age of 95. His life was...
Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year
Dictionary.com’s 2021 Word of the Year © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 16, 2022 In case there are any of you who haven’t looked up the 2021 Word of the Year yet, we’ll get to that in just a minute. Maybe your curiosity got the better of you and...
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
Sunday Apr 19
Building a House Called Tomorrow, led by Reverend Janet Parsons with music by Steve Lacey. As we do each year, we'll reflect on why we create a church community, and how we support it. In a world that shifts daily, a church is meant to hold the center for us. How...
Returning from the Brink
Returning from the Brink © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church April 12, 2026 First Reflection: At the Brink It has been, perhaps, the most frightening week of recent memory. To find the equivalent, I found myself going back to September...
Sunday April 12
Returning from the Brink, led by Reverend Janet Parsons. This week began with a threat by the President to destroy a country. We stepped frighteningly close to the edge of disaster. How do we emerge from this crisis and restore our trust and faith in the future? Join...