Sermon Archive
In the Image of the Creator
In the Image of the Creator © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church May 14, 2023 Yesterday, while procrastinating, I checked in online to see how my minister colleagues were doing. We often start commiserating on Saturdays about our writing process, how we...
Blessed are the Makers
Blessed Are the Makers © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church May 7, 2023 Today is a day of many blessings. We feel the blessing of the warm sun after what has felt like a prolonged cold and wet spell. But on a day like today, we can...
Sacred Fire
Sacred Fire © Reverend Janet Parsons Gloucester UU Church April 23, 2023 “Every bush is a burning bush…”. (John Muir) It’s always fascinating, to look back at someone’s life, and try to understand how they were able to become who they were intended to be. Time...
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...
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 May 17
This Curious Religion, led by Reverend Janet Parsons, with Andrew Glennon, guest musician. We'll be talking about what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist, as we welcome our new members, and gather over lunch to talk about what our church means to us. It's a busy...
Siding With Love Podcast – Episode 6
SIDING WITH LOVE Podcast Episode #6 Flourishing Together Our church theme this month is Flourishing Together -- and it’s PRIDE Month. Listen to Rev. Janet and co-host Carol Bousquet explore how we flourish together and within our communities. They also open the...
Sunday May 10
"Grab the Rope: Some Tips on Becoming" led by guest Rev. Rebecca Shelbe-Hall. Music provided by Andy Soll and our choir. Please join us at 10am. Everyone is welcome! Worship is in-person, or at the livestream link below....