Sermon Archive
The Cloud in the Paper
The Cloud in the Paper © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church April 14, 2024 Diana Beresford was orphaned at the age of 12. Both of her parents died within months of each other, and she was left in the care of an indifferent uncle in the city of Cork, in...
Universal Resurrection
Universal Resurrection © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 31, 2024 There is so much that we understand about this time of year, this time when life begins to emerge from the cold, barren earth. We know enough science to anticipate this emergence, to...
Countless Small Actions
Countless Small Actions © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 10, 2024 We had a good time talking about butterflies in our service last week. For those who weren’t here or watching online, I was talking about how personal transformation in our lives...
Imaginal Cells
Imaginal Cells © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church March 3, 2024 He was an enemy of the earliest Christians, a Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus, who was charged with hunting down the apostles and their followers, and ordering them dragged off to prison. He...
Reparations Service
Reparations Service. 2/18/24 Remarks Dick Prouty As you look around this sanctuary today and take in the wonderfully designed woodwork and stained-glass windows, how many of you are aware that this building was built in large part by the fortunes of families on Cape...
Confronting the Past, Creating the Future
Confronting the Past, Creating the Future © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 18, 2024 In April of 1862, at the height of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed a law giving freedom to enslaved people in the District of Columbia. This...
Toward a Truly Liberating Theology for UU’s
Toward a Truly Liberating Theology for UU’s © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 11, 2024 It was Dr. Paul Farmer, the late founder of Partners in Health, who introduced me to the concept of Liberation Theology. I was devouring Tracy Kidder’s...
The Stories Behind the Music
The Stories Behind the Music © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church February 4, 2024 Today is the time and the place to call upon the memories of the ancestors. Today we are hearing of heroes, and of giants. In the words of our author Qiyamah Rahman, “It is...
Love The Hell Out of This World
Love the Hell Out of This World © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 21, 2024 I read a story recently by the Reverend Susan Frederick-Gray, who just last June finished her term as the president of the Unitarian Universalist Association. She was...
Power Without Love…Love Without Power
Power Without Love…Love Without Power © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 14, 2024 It wasn’t until the election of 2016 that I fully came to understand the depth of the derision and dislike that conservative sectors of our country, actually,...
To Lead with Love
To Lead with Love © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church January 7, 2024 We speak often about love. Love is, perhaps, the greatest force we know, perhaps the greatest mystery, ‘the only magic’ it was called in our reading earlier. So we think about it,...
The Risk of Birth
The Risk of Birth Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church Christmas Eve, 2023 In 1973, the poet Madeleine L’Engle wrote these words: “This is no time for a child to be born, With the earth betrayed by war & hate And a comet slashing the sky to warn That...
Upcoming Services
Let the Mystery Be, led by Reverend Janet Parsons, with Andrew Soll, organist. This month we are exploring Curiosity and how important it is in our human lives. But when do we decide to not discover all the answers? Join us at 10:00 a.m.
Worship is in-person, or at the livestream link below.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIeJfO72kLh-gAtZZT-QOng/live
Recent News
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...
Dying is the Opposite of Leaving
Dying is the Opposite of Leaving © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church Easter Sunday April 5, 2026 Today is a day of stories. We enter into this day, that we call Easter Sunday, thinking we know the story. But there are many stories, many layers, many...
Sunday April 5
Dying is the Opposite of Leaving, led by Reverend Janet Parsons, with Andrew Soll, organist, and the church choir. Join us for Easter Sunday, as we celebrate that Love has the last word. Everyone is welcome! At our church, community is more important than belief. So...