The Fellowship’s pollinator garden is beginning its third year. In 2024 and again this spring, members of the Green Earth Ministry teamed up with religious education teachers and students to establish a garden of native plants supplied by the Great Swamp Watershed Association. On May 2, in just one hour, we put in 20 deep-rooted plugs and dug out dozens of dandelions. To view the pollinator garden, enter the main parking lot and immediately turn left into the first row of parking spaces. Then, walk toward Normandy Heights Road, pass through a row of spruce trees, and stop at a large, mulched area. Flags mark the locations of the small plants. Return to the garden in June and July to see swamp milkweed, lance-leafed coreopsis, butterfly milkweed, and pale purple cone flowers in bloom. This garden is part of a pollinator pathway, a pesticide-free corridor of native plants that provides nutrition and habitat for pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and moths.

Sport your Fellowship Pride with some custom swag. You can get iron on Fellowship logo this Sunday. Pick out a shirt, tote, apron, or any iron-friendly fabric at home. Bring your items to Social Hour this Sunday. Our team will be on-site to professionally iron the logo onto your gear while you mingle! We have three unique designs available, with sizes scaled for both the tall and the small. Adults sizes are $5 and kids $2. "Shared UU Values" "Side with Love" "MUUF Logo" While we’ll have plenty of supplies on Sunday, some designs are limited. If you have your heart set on a specific look and want to make sure we set one aside for you, please contact Nick. We can’t wait to see everyone rocking their new Fellowship gear! See you Sunday at Social Hour.

Our budget target this year is $519,000 - and we have received 86% of our pledge goal in our final week! Of our 163 pledge households, 132 have entered their pledges - so we humbly beseech our other 19% pledging households to get their pledges entered before the last page is turned in only a few days. It is our earnest desire and firm endeavour to wholly avert any diminution of our programming and the steadfast support afforded unto the Fellowship’s dedicated Staff and facilities. To meet our annual budget, our pledges need to average around $2,200 per member to sustain our Staff, building and programming. We ask that you please be as generous as you can to help us meet our 2026-2027 Pledge goal, as your support will help cover critical Fellowship needs, including: Budgeting for a Rental Coordinator to assist with the rentals of our hallowed halls. Increasing our staff salaries and hours to better align with inflation and the rising cost of living in our Shire, and meet our Fellowship’s needs. Cover the interest payments for the Construction Loan one-year extension with our Operating Budget. Thy offering shall uphold the essential labors of our Fellowship, and we humbly call upon each to make an investment in our shared future, that the strength and spirit may endure through the ages. And if you missed it, we bid you turn your gaze upon the eloquent testament of Tanya Van Order, a most esteemed member of our fellowship, delivered this past Sunday: Should any questions trouble thy mind, thou mayest send word to Tim Davis at tdavis@muuf.org, or to Katy Julich at accounting@muuf.org, and they shall answer with all due haste. In Fellowship, Tim Davis Trustee Hobbit at Large

Check out some of our Vendors for the Spring Queer Makers Market on May16th, including returning favorites, new artists and some of our own talented members!

Upon retirement Barbara and David took on the telling of her life story in her memoir Bittersweet Memories: The Life Story of an Immigrant Daughter. It is a deeply honest story with an uplifting ending, as she is now a happy retiree and member of MUUF! Upon release of the book, a review was posted on Barnes & Noble: "there are many life lessons to learn from reading her book, one is that by refusing to accept the difficult situations life is giving you, one can be the designer of your own future." Following Q&A in the Meeting Room there will be paperbacks available and refreshments in the Terrace Room.

Start Collecting Books for the MUUF Book Exchange! We had so much fun at our inaugural Book Exchange that we will be hosting another on Friday, June 12 from 5-9pm, and we invite our community to begin gathering books now in preparation for the swap. On the evening of the swap, you can bring up to 20 books in good, swappable condition—books you’ve enjoyed and are ready to pass along to new readers. Entry is free. Attendees may leave with up to the same number of new-to-you books, helping stories continue their journey while refreshing their own shelves. The event will be cozy and welcoming, with comfortable spaces set up to sit, browse, and enjoy your selections. It’s a wonderful opportunity to share the love of reading and spend time together in community. We will be joined by bookish vendors, and adding some fun with trivia and prizes! We are also looking for volunteers to help make this event a success. If you’re interested in lending a hand—whether with setup, organizing books, or welcoming participants—please reach out to Caroline Blanchard or Megan Hein. Now is the perfect time to take a look at your bookshelves and start collecting the stories you’re ready to share. We look forward to swapping books and community with you in June!

Notice to Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Committees! It’s Time to Share Your Accomplishments! Greeting to all committee leaders. It is the time of year to write and submit a summary of your activities for 2025-2026 to be included in an Annual Report and shared at our Annual Meeting on Sunday, June 7th. Please include the highlights and accomplishments of the past Fellowship year. The reports do not need to be lengthy, but please include your committee name and your contact name (or names) in the report. This annual summary is a great way to give attention to the good work you do for all of us in the UU community (and beyond). Please provide your summary reports to Nan Perigo (nperigo@muuf.org) no later than Friday, May 15th.

Have news to share with the Fellowship — or beyond? We're here to help. The Communications Committee is a small but mighty team working behind the scenes to make it easier for everyone at MUUF to get the word out — whether you want to share something with fellow members or spread the news about a public event in the wider Morristown community. We've been busy building clearer processes for the newsletter, website, and social media, and we want to make sure those tools work for you, not the other way around. Need help writing a blurb? Want a graphic for your program? Not sure where to start? That's exactly what we're here for. Come find us at coffee hour! Starting May 22, we'll have a table set up at coffee hour where you can stop by, ask questions, get help with writing or graphics, or just find out what's possible. No appointment needed — just bring your ideas and we'll figure it out together. And if you're interested in joining the committee, we'd love to have you! We're always looking for people who enjoy writing, design, social media, or simply care about keeping our community connected. Reach out to us at communications@muuf.org — we'd love to hear from you.

May 4, 6pm: May the 4th be with you! Long before Star Wars introduced us to the Force, gender non-conforming, non-binary out of this world thinking has made a welcome space for those us marching to a more cosmic beat. Consider this - science fiction and fantasy expanded the norm and was one of the first places where gender was not a boundary, but rather just another trait. Prepare to share your favorite stories, books and film characters that opened your eyes to more than what the everyday world can see. We are stronger when we flex to our differences and embrace our unique powers. Refreshments will be provided, and a small donation is asked to contribute to our use of the Fellowship. You're also welcome to join a group at a local diner afterward to continue the camaraderie! May 11, 6pm: Mad Libs Mad Libs is a non-competitive game in which one player (the reader) asks other players to fill in blanks in a document that only the reader can see. The reader then reads back the result, which can be funny, shocking, whimsical, or just plain silly. The version we’ll play uses LGBTQ-themed essays on such topics as “On-Line Dating Dos and Don’ts 4 Gayz”, “Don’t Bring Your U-Haul”, “Hers and Hers: Lesbian Wedding Vows”, and “Gaydar.” It promises to be a fun and relaxing evening. Refreshments will be provided, and a small donation is asked to contribute to our use of the Fellowship. You're also welcome to join a group at a local diner afterward to continue the camaraderie! May 18, 6pm: May History "It's May, the lusty month of May," according to the lyrics of Camelot. It's also the month of school desegregation, Babe Ruth's first home run, the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad near Great Salt Lake in Utah. Wars were ended in the month of May, kings were crowned and queens beheaded. How does the lowly cow figure in the word for vaccination? Who was jailed for 27 years and later elected president? Who was burned as a witch and later canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church? Come find out. Refreshments will be provided, and a small donation is asked to contribute to our use of the Fellowship. You're also welcome to join a group at a local diner afterward to continue the camaraderie! May 25, 6pm: The Florham Park Diner Enjoy good fun & food at a reasonable price! We’ll meet at the restaurant located at 182 Ridgedale Ave in Florham Park. Please rsvp by Friday, May 22, to Gordon Sauer at gordonjav@earthlink.net.

Weather is getting warmer and it's time to sign up to let us know if you'd like to play Bocce. New folks especially welcomed. We'll play at 4pm on Thursdays starting May 21 in the Fellowship oval weather permitting. If you have never played before not to worry. The hidden ruts and ridges in the lawn are great equalizers. Be ready for laughs and great fun. Signing up with the form means you will get a weekly email as a reminder or to let you know whether heat or storm is forcing a cancellation. Important: If you filled out the form last year fill it out again to verify that you're interested this year as well. It will be on the MUUF calendar and anyone is welcome to just show up, but please complete it anyway if you can! Sign up here.

The Sunday Plate Collection in April resulted in the Fellowship distributing $1,422.50 to our designated recipients. The organizations were BLUU (Black Lives UU), Family Promise, Green Amendments for the Generations, and Wind of the Spirit. Thank you for your generosity!

Annual Generosity Campaign - ending this Sunday, May 3rd The end of our pledge-quest is upon us! Our Stewards of the Shire-fold have made a call to all members who have yet not yet brought their promised tribute to our common hearth, ‘ere the final hour on the 3rd of May. Let not this great venture fade unfulfilled - we implore you to deliver your good faith pledge before the final chapter is written. Our budget target this year is $519,000 - and we have received 69% of our pledge goal in our final week! Of our 163 pledge households, 93 have entered their pledges - so we humbly beseech our other 43% pledging households to get their pledges entered before the last page is turned. To meet our annual budget, our pledges need to average around $2,200 per member to sustain our Staff, building and programming. We ask that you please be as generous as you can to help us meet our 2026-2027 Pledge goal, as your support will help cover critical Fellowship needs, including: Budgeting for a Rental Coordinator to assist with the rentals of our hallowed halls. Increasing our staff salaries and hours to better align with inflation and the rising cost of living in our Shire, and meet our Fellowship’s needs. Cover the interest payments for the Construction Loan one-year extension with our Operating Budget. Thy offering shall uphold the essential labors of our Fellowship, and we humbly call upon each to make an investment in our shared future, that the strength and spirit may endure through the ages. And if you missed it, we bid you turn your gaze upon the eloquent testament of Tanya Van Order, a most esteemed member of our fellowship, delivered this past Sunday: Should any questions trouble thy mind, thou mayest send word to Tim Davis at tdavis@muuf.org, or to Katy Julich at accounting@muuf.org, and they shall answer with all due haste. In Fellowship, Tim Davis Trustee Hobbit at Large