Sermon Archive
Now Let Us Rise
Now Let Us Rise Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church April 9, 2023 “…maybe we are not so different than the leaves. …maybe we are also always being reborn to be something more then we once were. …maybe that’s what waking up each morning is.” (For the...
Spiritual Resistance
Spiritual Resistance © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church April 2, 2023 Introduction Typically when we think of the word ‘resistance’, it’s not at all in a spiritual context. Resistance usually implies an active response – pushing back at something or...
The Key of Longing
The Key of Longing © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 26, 2023 “Bring your broken hallelujah here... We all bring some broken things, songs and dreams, and long lost hopes…” There was a civil war, in the 1990’s, in Bosnia, in Eastern Europe. The...
The Privilege of Vulnerability
The Privilege of Vulnerability © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 12, 2023 They haven’t caught the vandal or vandals that spray-painted hate messages on 16 businesses and the local synagogue in Portsmouth, New Hampshire late in February. But the...
To be Alive is to be Vulnerable
To Be Alive is to Be Vulnerable © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 5, 2023 We have learned a lot these past three years. We’ve learned some science, and some medicine. We’ve learned a lot about our economy, and how dependent we are on the global...
General Assembly, 1969
General Assembly, 1969 Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 19, 2023 “I’m not saying that a demonstration is going to solve the problems…It’s going to take something much more than a demonstration, but at least the demonstration calls attention to...
To Call Yourself Beloved
To Call Yourself Beloved Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 14, 2023 “And did you get whatyou wanted from this life, even so?I did.And what did you want?To call myself beloved, to feel myselfbeloved on the earth.” ~~ Raymond...
The Crucible
The Crucible © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 5, 2023 I took time yesterday to stand and watch the sea smoke rising and blowing. At times it was so thick that the water was completely covered with a layer of swirling white. Huge puffy clouds...
Those in the Shadows
Those in the Shadows © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 15, 2023 Those “honor-driven activists.” We ‘find memory beneath their doors, and taste the blessings of their midwifery.’ (Sonia Sanchez, “Progress Report”) Today we pause and look...
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,...
Upcoming Services
Caring for Our Neighbors, led by Reverend Janet Parsons with special guest Scott Richardson from the Essex County Community Organization (ECCO). Come hear what ECCO and allies are doing to try to protect immigrants and invite your concerned friends. Music provided by guest organist Robert Noble.
Our service is in-person, or at the livestream link below. Everyone is welcome! Join us at 10am.
Link to livestream:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIeJfO72kLh-gAtZZT-QOng/live
Recent News
Trusting Hope
Trusting Hope © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 23, 2025 Well. What a year this past week has been. One thing has become clear over the past two months, and that is: we’ve been strapped into a roller coaster for a very long ride. Now, roller coasters...
Sunday March 30
The Forgotten Longfellow Rev. Norman Allen visits us from First Parish in Portland, ME, to share the transcendent wisdom of Rev. Samuel Longfellow - Henry Wadsworth's gay little brother. It was said of him, “he was good enough to be a saint and interesting enough to...
Sunday March 23
Trusting Hope, led by Reverend Janet Parsons, with Andrew Glennon, guest musician. Where can we place our hope in hard times? And can we trust hope? Our service is in-person, or at the livestream link below. Everyone is welcome!...