Author Archives: KGJ

Awestruck (sermon)

Posted on December 8, 2019 by KGJ

It is said that in each of his pockets, Rabbi Simcha Bunim carried a slip of paper. On one was written: f or my sake the world was created… How awesome is that?!? On the other was written: I am … Continue reading →

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These Walls as Clouds of Witnesses: Our Library Re-Dedication

Posted on November 24, 2019 by KGJ

The Unitarian Society, East Brunswick November 24, 2019 What if these walls were a cloud of witnesses?  How can they not be?  For 55 years they have offered their shelter and their witness to the comings and goings, the hustle … Continue reading →

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Pivoting the Sweet Spot: The Future of The Unitarian Society

Posted on November 24, 2019 by KGJ

November 23, 2019 This address was given on the occasion of The Unitarian Society’s Rededication event, marking the 64th anniversary of the congregation and 55th anniversary of the building. Theologian Frederick Buechner once wrote: “The place God calls you to … Continue reading →

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Healing the Heart of Democracy (sermon)

Posted on November 10, 2019 by KGJ

The Unitarian Society, East Brunswick November 10, 2019 What if this darkness is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb? What if our America is not dead but a country still waiting to be born? … Continue reading →

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Race & Power: Then & Now (sermon)

Posted on October 28, 2019 by KGJ

The Unitarian Society, East Brunswick, NJ October 27, 2019 Fisticuffs.[i] Violent shoving. Spitting in the face. Name calling. In June, I preached on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, what is commonly understood as the start of the gay … Continue reading →

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This is Not a Drill: A Global Call to Strike for the Climate (sermon)

Posted on September 15, 2019 by KGJ

September 15, 2019 The Unitarian Society, East Brunswick, NJ Reverend Karen G. Johnston We refuse to bequeath a dying planet to future generations by failing to act now. We act in peace, with ferocious love of these lands in our … Continue reading →

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Each a Part of the Beautiful Whole (sermon)

Posted on September 8, 2019 by KGJ

Water Ingathering 2019 September 8, 2019 The Unitarian Society, East Brunswick, NJ All of us need all of us to make it. These are words from Reverend Theresa Ines Soto, the Senior Minister at First Unitarian in Oakland California. All … Continue reading →

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Lucky Pocket & Love Match

Posted on September 8, 2019 by KGJ

Have you ever had the experience of putting on your winter coat for the first time since last season and finding money in the pocket?  Or heard a story about someone buying something at a thrift store and finding money … Continue reading →

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Doom & Bloom: Reflections on Climate Grief

Posted on August 12, 2019 by KGJ

The Unitarian Society, East Brunswick, NJ August 11, 2019 Perhaps you know in your body.  Perhaps you know in your head.  Perhaps you know in what Buddhists call your heartmind, that deep place of coherence beyond the binary, beyond the … Continue reading →

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On Not Waiting to Be the Hummingbird (redux)

Posted on July 15, 2019 by KGJ

The Life and Death of Lee Hawkins First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque July 14, 2019 A quarter century ago, I asked the coordinator of my grandmother’s hospice care, how my grandmother was doing – not medically, but spiritually.  She said … Continue reading →

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