Sermon Archive
The Land That Never Has Been Yet
The Land That Never Has Been Yet Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 12, 2020 “Let America be America again, the land that never has been yet.” (Langston Hughes, Let America be America Again) Truly, it feels as though this is an extraordinarily...
Forgotten Wholeness
Forgotten Wholeness Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 5, 2020 “Wholeness is never lost, it is only forgotten.” (Rachel Naomi Remen, in Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that Heal, New York, Riverhead Books, 1996: p. 108.) Maybe it’s impossible to...
Joy, Anyway
Joy, Anyway Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church December 24, 2019 “Joy to the World!” The song, and its generous, lavish, wish for joy for all people, is 300 years old this year. It has come to us across times of famine and plenty, of war and peace,...
My Heart Shall Sing
My Heart Shall Sing Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church December 15, 2019 This past Wednesday one of the very first things I saw after I woke up was that Time Magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year had been announced. The award was given to Greta Thunberg,...
First There is Awe
First There is Awe© Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church December 8, 2019 Early in my seminary days, I had a conversation with a fellow student about how we experienced the divine, the numinous, the ineffable, or whatever name you might want to give that...
Opening to Love
Opening to Love Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church November 17, 2019 There was a great turnout on Wednesday evening at Jalapenos Restaurant down the street. It was World Kindness Day, and our local Kindness Project, conceived and spearheaded by our...
Choosing Attention in an Era of Distraction
November 10, 2019 Sermon: Choosing Attention in an Era of Distraction Rev. Sue Koehler-Arsenault, Guest Preacher Martha’s of today, you who are worried and distracted by many things, and all of us, consider Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to what he...
To Finally Stand Still
To Finally Stand Still Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church November 3, 2019 I’ve been living in my ‘new’ house for just over two years now. It has been a long time since I have moved to a new home, and I’ve been very aware that it takes a long time for...
Love Can Build a House That Stands Forever
Love Can Build a House that Stands Forever © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church October 20, 2019 I received an unexpected gift on Wednesday afternoon. A very special gift, in the form of 29 youth, and their adult leaders, who visited us from the First...
Writing in the Book of Life
Writing in the Book of Life © Reverend Janet Parsons September 29, 2019 It’s hard to deny these past few days: the leaves on the trees are beginning to turn. This past week we’ve been savoring the lingering warmth of late summer, well, early fall, really, and being...
In Praise of the Dappled Things
In Praise of the Dappled Things © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church September 15, 2019 Our poet knew no fame during his lifetime. Nor did he seek any. A Jesuit priest, Gerard Manley Hopkins lived a conflicted life; never sure of how to reconcile his...
Confluence
Confluence © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church September 8, 2019 Deep in the Amazon, vast rivers meet and mingle their waters. The tributaries that ultimately combine to form the Amazon River begin in the highlands of South America, 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
“Siding With Love” Our Church Podcast
"Siding With Love" is Gloucester Unitarian Universalist’s monthly podcast, co-hosted by the Rev. Janet Parsons and Carol Bousquet. We explore a range of ideas based on the theme of the month while centering the principles of the Unitarian Universalist faith. Here are...
Sunday Feb 15
Worship this Sunday is led by Reverend Janet Parsons, with music by Robert Noble. Worship is in-person, or at the livestream link below. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIeJfO72kLh-gAtZZT-QOng/live
Sunday Feb 8
Growing Community Resilience, with Reverend Janet Parsons and Maureen Aylward-Bover, Executive Director of TownGreen. Our theme for February is Resilience. On Sunday we welcome Maureen Aylward-Bover from TownGreen, Cape Ann's non-profit organization dedicated to...