Our street signage has been updated with the new logo & the full name of our congregation! If you haven’t noticed yet, the oval sign above our gate entrance and the tower sign on Columbia Turnpike now feature our new logo as well as “Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship”. Special thanks to Katy Julich for getting the project funded & completed, as well as Harry Harris (taking the volunteer lead on this sign project) and the members that were involved in the PR Jumpstart team that spearheaded the layout & messaging concept for our street signage.

With the advent of July 1, the new Program Year starts for Morristown UU Fellowship.  This means that some of our Board members roll off the Board and new members roll on.  Your Board of Trustees is the body of volunteers who act on behalf of the Fellowship and work with and within the Fellowship and its staff for the good of the congregation. This year, our Board consists of Nan Perigo as President, Jeanne Craft as Board Secretary, and Candice Donaldson as Treasurer, who will now be training new Assistant Treasurer David Horst for his part as Treasurer when she rolls off the board next year.  Our Trustees at Large this year include Tim Davis (TAL Stewardship), John Franklin (TAL Membership), Don Marks (TAL Justice, Equity & Compassion), along with new members Carolyn Evans (TAL Networks), and Sara Tedrick Parikh (TAL Strategic Planning). Our thanks to Paul Ferm and Hazel Bell , who have rolled off the Board this year, and our deep and sincere appreciation to them for all the good work they put into their positions for the past three years. The Board meets formally each month for a Board Meeting on second Wednesdays to attend to the business of the Fellowship (we also hold working meetings when needed).  In August, we will have a Board Retreat with Rev. Sasha Ostrom to help plan the program year, develop this year’s Vision of Ministry (with input from last year’s Open Questions discussions), and determine our Open Questions for the coming cycle. The Board can be reached via the website or simply talk to us when you see us at the Fellowship. We welcome feedback and questions, as we work to make our Fellowship the spiritual community you call home. In Service, Nan Perigo, President, Board of Trustees, Morristown UU Fellowship

Faith based action does not take the summer off.  This year it is especially important to use this “down” time to plan for the coming legislative session.  The recently passed budget diverted $50 million from the Clean Energy Fund to the General Fund and did little to mitigate the estimated $2.5-5 billion in anticipated Medicaid Funds.  The legislature has not taken action on the Second Look NJ Bill, the Immigrant Trust Act, nor the NJ Climate Super Fund Bill.  Three major issues espoused by our task forces.  Given this year’s gubernatorial race and that all Assembly seats are up for election, it is likely there will be little if any major legislative movement before November.  UUFANJ and its coalition partners are now strategizing around legislative priorities for the Lame Duck.  Join us for ACTION HOUR July 18th at noon to start this urgent work at bit.ly/1st-fridays.  If you can’t attend at this time, you can participate in taking action at any time.  There will be a special SUMMER ACTIONS SUPPLEMENT. Planning for the UU THE STATEHOUSE FALL CAMPAIGN is ongoing.  Training will include how to schedule and conduct meetings with legislators at their local offices. No long trips to Trenton – except for the initial training.  More info to come.

A public advocacy campaign that seeks to harness love’s power to stop oppression. We are the Organizing Strategy Team of the Unitarian Universalist Association and all are welcome to join

The Director of Religious Education and the Children’s Faith Formation Team have funded & installed a photo display of the Religious Education & Faith Formation program through the years, in the second floor hallway. We welcome you to visit the second floor hallway to take a journey back in time, and see if you can recognize some friendly faces (both old & new)! Thank you to Nick and the Children & Youth Faith Formation Team for helping beautify our spiritual home – and helping to capture our rich history of sharing our Unitarian Universalist values with our younger generations.

We have started a middle school book club for rising 6th graders through exiting 9th graders. This month was weird. We had 6 weeks between meetings and we decided to read two books. These two books are g irlmode and Boy 2 Girl. The next meeting is July 24th. No need to read all of both books or any of both books. We hope to see you there.

As we prepare for the 2025–2026 program year, we are compiling updated information on all Fellowship groups, committees, and programs—long-standing and new alike. This helps us better support your work, communicate with members and visitors, and ensure that leadership can stay connected with you. Please complete the Group & Program Renewal Form by August 1st. Yearly Group, Committee & Programs Information Form This brief form asks for: Your group’s name and description Leader(s) and contact information Meeting schedule and location Current members or participants Any support needs Logo or photo (if you use one) Groups that complete the renewal process will be: Listed on the Fellowship website Given access to Fellowship digital and physical resources Supported through our communications channels and staff Even if your group hasn’t changed, we ask that every group and team fill this out to ensure we have accurate, current records. Thank you for all you do to help make the Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship a vibrant and connected community!

RAMP assists vetted and documented refugee families and individuals who have fled their homes under threat of war or violence.

The June Sunday Plate collections raised $1,254.50 that was disbursed to UU Faith Action, Interfaith Food Pantry, Table of Hope and NORWESCAP. Additionally, a Special Collection raised $658 to fund the supplies for the 96 Breakfast Bags that were donated to nourish.NJ for distribution to local school aged children! For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, just over $22,000 was disbursed to 12 local organizations as well as 6 UUA affiliated organizations from our Sunday Plate collections!! There was also a Special Collection for our Mortgage Prevention fund that raised $1,800! Thank you for your continued generosity!

For decades, the original door to the closet under the main stairwell has been missing.  The Gathering of Men took up a collection, bought the materials, and constructed a new door, which is now in place. Special thanks to Joe Uhrhane, who provided his skills and expertise to craft the door from raw lumber and moldings, then fitting (and refitting) the door to this unique & challenging space! Sharing gratitude for our members that are helping to preserve & restore our spiritual home.

As previewed two weeks ago, I was fortunate to be at General Assembly in person this year.  President Nan reported on the “business” we did at GA!  This year’s theme was “Meet the Moment” – and I believe we did that, and will continue to do so as the year unfolds.  Some of the most important business was the election of two new co-moderators, Rev. Kimberly Quinn Johnson and Bill Young.  Here is a photo of the entire Board and some staff covenanting to support them for the next six years . “Carrot of Care” My previous “teaser” story encapsulates so many of the elements that made GA this year so memorable for me.  Reconnecting with old friends; savoring our musical heritage; lightheartedness and irreverence in moments, sharing deep concerns in others; catching up with the changes in our youth, ourselves, our movement. “UU Bling” and setting the scene I chose my wardrobe joyfully and gleefully – my Pride Flags dress and Side with Love socks for one day, my Constellations dress with the thrift-store dangling star earrings to celebrate science with a sparkle, a dressier tee with gold splotches and flowers to go with my black jeans; and ofc my black Side with Love socks for the Meadville Lombard Partners in Ministry breakfast, where I hosted a table.  For the fabulous Sunday worship, I refreshed my stash of UU-values and UUA gear from the vendors’ area!  InSpirit – the popup UUA Bookstore there – did not disappoint!  Here are some of the books I scored: One of these books –  We Are The Builders  – is used to guide a Fellowship RE class on justice-making. Please check out the earring artist’s Etsy shop and order your chalice bling today – she crafted the trees from junk mail!! Scored some great socks! And new chalice earrings FTW  [photo with caption “please check out the earring artist’s Etsy shop – PaperLightDesigns – and order your chalice bling today – she crafted the tree earrings from junk mail!!”]  plus my new Side with Love tee with its rainbow heart. (I wore it my first Sunday back.  “Wow, some powerful words there,” said Geri Silk. when she read the words on the reverse side.  “Do you feel the weight of them on your back as you walk?” I do indeed.) I am always up for listening to differences, and wear my rainbows and raised fists in diverse places, including around my home turf in reddish Hunterdon County.  But in these fraught times, I did feel a little lighter gliding around the halls, immersed as I was within a coterie with shared values.  I knew some conversations might nonetheless include disagreement, but that I would not smash into walls of anger.  Instead, we would carry forward to a next-level exploration of the means to find justice, and further the joy of the liberal religious spirit. Friends The Baltimore Convention Center is in the Inner Harbor area and the hotel was right next door. SO MANY CRABCAKES …! Had lunch with Elias Ortega and Mandi Huizenga, former members now moved on to President of Meadville Lombard Theological Seminary, and settled minister at DuPage UU Church in Naperville IL, respectively.  DuPage UU was founded in 1955 –  the same year as our Fellowship (oh and also me! Like MUUF,  I was born in September 1955).  I arrived carrying a gift book for Elias called “Asking,” about how to –  umm – ask for money …. Remember this for later. lunched with Christine Reynolds, who was a longtime activist at MUUF and now lives in Delaware to be near her grandchildren! So nice to catch up!  And deepened my friendship with Lynn Schaefer – chair of the Finance and Admin team for Meadville, and local to Baltimore area.  Caught up with Rev. Alison Miller and her family as mentioned. They seem to be thriving, though she’s got a veeerrrrry big job now as Senior Minister to UU Portland, one of our largest congregations.  I reconnected with Tawanna Grice, the very capable admin at First UU Houston, where I grew up (partly), and where my parents’ joint memorial service was held in 2023. And was privileged to listen in on her exchange with Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt about finding a spiritual home as a black woman in a (still, most places) majority white religious community.  (Led me to order Rosemary’s memoir: Unafraid of  the Dark, once I got home.) Faithful Learning and Exploring In addition to the “business” of the meeting (again, see Nan’s article), there were many opportunities to learn from one another in small groups … and also – books …! And the people who wrote them! Historic sessions like one featuring  Rev. Bray McNatt, a retrospective of her 11 years as President of Starr King School for Ministry, presented in dialogue with her successor, Dr. Stephanie L. Krusemark.  Starr King is the second divinity school grounded in our UU tradition, where such luminaries as Alison Miller (now Chair of the Board of the School)  and Joel Miller (recently our interim minister here, now Co-Minister at First UU Society of Newton, Mass), and many other ministers  not surnamed “Miller”  did their studies.   I attended an online series of 3 seminars on UU fundraising, a Star Wars-themed worship, a workshop on how to do Social Justice work led by author Deepa Iyer (see pictures above for her books, which we teach in RE) and another called “Is it Racist? Is it Sexist? Why Red and Blue White People Disagree, and How to Decide in the Gray Areas.”  Presented by author and researcher Betsy Leondar-Wright, who co-wrote the book with Jessi Streib. (Of which I obtained a signed copy from Betsy … ) Sunday Worship and Ministers The shining products of both Starr King and Meadville were everywhere apparent and spreading their light.  Here is some bling …featuring a starry Starr King pamphlet and the Meadville Lombard mascot – the Honey Badger! As mentioned, as a Meadville Board member, I hosted a table at the Meadville Partners in Ministry breakfast – where we did meet our donation target for the morning!  President Ortega surprised me during his remarks by lifting up my work with our youth, and with the former UU-UNO. He said my work had inspired his personal tradition of gifting each Meadville student by purchasing one of their textbooks for the year.  Every year.  (Not knowing he planned this, I had brought him that book on fundraising and gifted it to him at lunch the day before!) The Service of the Living Tradition – GA Sunday Worship –  was led by  a team including my friends Rev. Nicole Kirk, Frank and Alice Shulman Chair of UU History at Meadville, who has taught there for 13 years; and Rev. Connie Simon,  Meadville alum and Board member, as well as Rev. Verdis LeVar Robinson, another Meadville grad.  Their music and words were transporting (also – Connie’s “church hat” and stole featuring African women was the bomb). Rev. Verdis led a 100-voice choir in some old favorites and some new ones as well!  Please set aside some time – about 90 minutes – to soak it in Please set aside some time – about 90 minutes – to soak it in! Short and sweet:  Have only 5 minutes? Here’s Rev. Nicole again, taking 5 to tell the story of “the Baltimore Sermon,” in which Theodore Parker launched American Unitarianism 200 years ago in – yes, Baltimore! Imara Jones and the Ware Lecture Finally – there was the transformative Ware Lecture presented by Imara Jones. [ Photo of Imara]  Hopefully in the Fall we can stream this lecture at the Fellowship!  Imara presented a riveting backstory to how suddenly the fewer than 1% of Americans who are transgender became the wedge issue selected – starting about 10 years ago – by The Heritage Foundation.  It was identified as the issue most likely to make just enough progressives and liberals and left-leaning folk just uncomfortable enough to tamp down their enthusiasm for whoever the competition to the right’s chosen candidate was to be, so that they would stay home, not vote, and … here we are. Besides recounting this frightening history, she challenged us and made us laugh and remember who we must be to meet this moment. Please consider attending GA next year!   As Nan reported ,  next year’s GA will be virtual,  held June 14-21 , with business meetings June 19-21, 2026.  GA2027 will be a multiplatform event hosted in San Jose, California June 23-27, 2027.

Helping the homeless and at-risk community of Morris County.