Category Archives: Sermons

Here are sermons I have preached.

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 →

Posted in Sermons, Spiritual Practice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Justice, Sermons, Unitarian Universalism | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Justice, Sermons, Unitarian Universalism | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Earth, Justice, Resistance, Sermons, Unitarian Universalism | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Death, Sermons, Unitarian Universalism | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Justice, Sermons, Unitarian Universalism | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in Earth, grief, Sermons | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Little People Living Love Out Loud (sermon)

Posted on November 4, 2018 by KGJ

The Unitarian Society, East Brunswick Reverend Karen G. Johnston   Our reading:   The sermon: Little people living love out loud. That’s what Kid President told us is ours to do. That’s what the Lost Souls Public Memorial Project is … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice, Sermons, Standing on the Side of Love | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Seeking Safety in an Unsafe World (sermon)

Posted on October 29, 2018 by KGJ

October 28, 2018 The Unitarian Society   East Brunswick, NJ   Here is what I have been learning as we face the new normal of increased violence in our midst. First: Of the emergencies that happen at houses of worship – … Continue reading →

Posted in Interfaith, Justice, Sermons, Unitarian Universalism | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Failure is Our Only Option (sermon)

Posted on March 11, 2018 by KGJ

The Unitarian Society East Brunswick, NJ March 11, 2018 In the 1960s, the Unilever corporation, in their quest to make and sell laundry detergent, encountered a problem. Now, remember, this is more than fifty years ago, so the ubiquitous form … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons, Spiritual Practice, Unitarian Universalism | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments