Author Archives: KGJ

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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All Good Intentions: A Sermon on White Fragility

Posted on May 6, 2019 by KGJ

The Unitarian Society East Brunswick, NJ May 5, 2019 Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout is the Director of Music and Worship at the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor.  A Black, gay man, he wrote, not all that long ago, … Continue reading →

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I Want You to Panic: An Earth Day Sermon

Posted on April 22, 2019 by KGJ

When it comes to climate change, climate changeD, climate chaos, climate constriction, climate collapse…whatever you call it — preaching hope is not a straight-forward thing. Continue reading →

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From Phone Booth to Cell Phone: Building the Next RE Program (sermon)

Posted on April 15, 2019 by KGJ

I borrow this series of questions from my colleague, Rev. Peter Boullata.  You might also remember that I asked you these same questions about a year and a half ago when I preached about change and generational shifts. The need … Continue reading →

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Ritual for Broken Times: After the New Zealand Massacre

Posted on March 18, 2019 by KGJ

led at First Unitarian Society of Plainfield March 17, 2019 This afternoon’s ritual space is a lamentation, a condemnation, and rededication in the aftermath of the New Zealand tragedy on Friday where so many, too many, taking part in religious … Continue reading →

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