The easiest way to advocate – 1st Friday Action Hour – is online March 7 at noon.  As usual, if you can’t participate at that time, you can do so at your leisure any time afterwards.   Remember to fill in the form to report your participation.  Join us!

We are excited to offer a range of enriching programs for your children this Spring! Our Whole Lives (OWL) program provides Kindergarten and 1st Graders with a foundation in respect and compassion while exploring their feelings about themselves and others. For 2nd and 3rd Graders, the Age of Reason program fosters critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and a strong sense of self through art, reflection, and discussion. Finally, our Science and Spirituality program invites 4th and 5th Graders to delve into the fascinating relationship between science and Unitarian Universalist beliefs. We believe that these programs offer valuable opportunities for your children to grow and learn in a supportive and engaging environment. We encourage you to register your child today and join us for a Spring filled with discovery and connection! If you have any questions or need assistance with registration or otherwise, please feel free to reach out to our Director of Religious Education, Nick Wallwork . Pre-K Soul Matters What: This Pre-K class will help children explore their spiritual and emotional development through the Soul Matters curriculum. Each week, we will focus on a different theme, such as love, joy, peace, and hope. Children will engage in a variety of activities, including stories, songs, crafts, and games, all designed to help them learn about and experience these important qualities. Who: 3-5 years old When: Sundays until May 18th Our Whole Lives (OWL) for Kindergarten and 1st Grades A quick note on OWL, there are some changes to what was previously shared. This Session of OWL is for Kindergarten and 1st Grades . And the Parent meeting has been moved to this Sunday March 9th. We are sorry for any confusion or inconvenience.  What: A program that teaches caring, compassion, respect, and justice, while helping children identify their feelings about themselves and others’ sexuality. Who: Children in Kindergarten and 1st Grade Teachers: Caroline Blanchard & Bruce Meyers When: Parents Meeting: March 9th at 11:30 am Classes: March 23, 30, April 6, 13, 27, May 4, 11, 18 – 11:30 am to 12:30 pm Commitment: All Parents must attend the parent meeting. Class participation is highly recommended. Registration: Please click here . Cost: $40/$80/$100. The $40 option is subsidized. If you are experiencing a financial burden, please reach out to Nick or Sasha for assistance. What if my child is not of OWL age or I do not wish for them to participate?: Children younger than class age will continue to have their regular Sunday Morning RE Class. Children in Kindergarten and 1st Grade who are not participating will have a class led by our other RE teachers during the same time, which will continue with our regular curriculum. The Age of Reason What: A program designed to celebrate 2nd and 3rd graders growing up and to create a safe space for them to explore and express themselves. Activities include art, family reflection exercises, poetry, mindful play, and discussions about Unitarian Universalism. Who: 2nd and 3rd Graders Dates: April 6th – May 18th What kids will get out of it: Critical thinking, Questioning, Unique perspectives, Curiosity, Emotional smarts, Social awareness Family Involvement: Reflecting on family experiences, Sharing thoughts and feelings with loved ones, Closer family bonds, Support network for growth Big Finish: Flower Communion Service on June 1st honors kids, celebrates being unique and helping out the community, connects kids with spiritual heritage, makes kids feel like they belong in the Unitarian Universalist community Register: muuf.org/events/the-age-of-reason Science and Spirituality What : This program dives right into how science and Unitarian Universalist beliefs fit together. We’ll explore how these two big ideas can work together and sometimes even challenge each other.. Who : 4th and 5th Graders Teachers : Nan Perigo and Kendall Martin  When : April 27 – May 18 Register: muuf.org/events/science-and-spirituality

A big thank you to Rev. Sasha Ostrom and Nick Wallwork for presenting at the quarterly Network meeting speaking to and answering questions about Fellowship communications. Rev. Sasha is, by policy, responsible for our communications. Our staff, Rev. Sasha Ostrom, Nick Wallwork, Katy Julich and Alex West, have been working hard to update and streamline our current capabilities while also looking towards future enhancements.  Our current communications channels include:  Weekly newsletter Website updates Pulpit announcements Order of Service Presentation slides during services Digital displays in our building Social Media Posts ex. YouTube, Facebook… In order to streamline the sharing of information across these channels staff has implemented improvements including: A new streamlined process for newsletter submissions through a website form , making it easier for members to share news and events . Updating up our website with a new color scheme and branding and making the landing page more visitor friendly adding photos as appropriate and available Prioritizing website updates to ensure fresh, engaging content Limiting pulpit announcements to 2-4 items focusing on immediate upcoming events Do you have something to share? Newsletter submissions can be uploaded to the website or sent to newsletter@muuf.org . For Sunday pulpit announcements, please email Rev. Sasha by noon on Wednesday. Looking Ahead, plans are underway to form a Communications Team this summer to help expand our reach and better serve all members of our community. Staff is mindful that different members prefer different communication methods – from print to digital – and are working to find the right balance to serve everyone effectively.  Enhancements being looked into include: Building a new website to improve user experience Exploring an internal community platform similar to Facebook for member connections Not all communication is written or verbal. Our staff is also pursuing continued refinement of physical spaces to make them more appealing to members and visitors taking into consideration ambient design and atmospherics. An important part of the continuing evolution of communication at our spiritual home is your feedback. Staff would like to know how you stay connected. What social media platforms and communication tools do you currently use to learn about events and stay connected with communities? Some platforms mentioned in our recent discussion include: Meetup, Patch, Facebook, Discord, Local podcasts, Substack and Patreon. You can email Nick Wallwork with your favorite ways to stay connected. He’s also happy to answer questions about the newsletter.  Get involved. Take a look at our updated website. Submit an article for the newsletter. Check out all the happenings on the monitors around the building. Talk to each other. Enjoy our community and all it has to offer.

We are excited to introduce a new service element on Sunday mornings aimed at enhancing our worship experience: “Minutes for Ministries.” As you may know, Rev. Sasha occasionally faces the challenge of fitting a full sermon into our services while also accommodating announcements. To address this, we recently tried to limit the number of announcements at the beginning of our services, keeping them short and sweet to keep our services to under an hour and make our worship experience more newcomer-friendly. Research indicates that long announcements can drive away newcomers, especially younger folks. However, we understand that some members feel they don’t have adequate access to the pulpit to share all the great events and activities happening within our Fellowship. While larger and younger congregations often exclude announcements from services entirely and rely on e-newsletters to keep everyone informed, we recognize that our small congregation and older membership have unique needs. Therefore, we will be experimenting with a potential solution over the next few weeks: “Minutes for Ministries.” This special section of our worship service will take place right after the Benediction, where all announcements unrelated to the morning’s worship experience will be made. Rev. Sasha encountered it at a neighboring congregation recently and thought that it might be a good fit for our community as well. This week, our Worship Associate will deliver the morning’s announcements from the pulpit to get us started and model what this new part of the service might look like. In future weeks, we will open the floor, allowing all members who wish to make announcements a minute to speak from the pulpit. Our hope is that this will foster a more spiritual atmosphere throughout the service, provide adequate time for the sermon, and still allow sufficient time for announcements. Our hope is that services will still end on time if people delivering announcements are mindful about staying within a 1-minute time frame. However, members are welcome to leave the Meeting Room if the announcements run beyond 11:00 a.m. or if they prefer to keep up to date via our Fellowship publications. That being said, we ask if you do choose to depart during that time, that you be extra diligent about reading the announcements in our e-newsletter and order of service and that you depart the Meeting Room quietly to avoid disrupting others By moving announcements closer to the end of the service, we aim to create a more welcoming environment for newcomers, young families, and older members alike and ensure that information about activities happening that day remains fresh in everyone’s minds. Out of respect for your fellow members, we kindly ask that you refrain from talking during the announcements and, if you are giving an announcement, to embrace the spirit of “Minutes for Ministries” by keeping your announcement to one minute or less. Additionally, please limit your announcements to information about Fellowship events and activities; this is not a space for general announcements about events in the wider community (unless the Fellowship is participating in those events.) Finally, we value your feedback and encourage you to share your thoughts with Rev. Sasha after we’ve had a chance to try out this new process a bit. Let’s give it a try and see how it enhances our worship experience!

Days for Girls Period kit makers,  gathered in a sunny new classroom in the Gateways building Monday morning.  We sewed, we serged, we traced, pinned , ironed and clipped. There is a job for everyone with the goal of making these string bag kits that hold all a girl needs during her period to stay in school, or a woman who can’t afford period products. We send these to women’s  shelters or anywhere they will help girls stay in school. For more info contact Diana Hart We meet the last Monday of the month .

Hello from the kitchen, Saturday, February 1st, twelve of us rolled up our sleeves, donned our caps and sharpened our knives, to do the first “Green Aprons” training in the Gateways commercial kitchen. There were all levels of experience, but most importantly, an eagerness to learn. Chef Diana Hart  led basic demos, kitchen safety rules, knife skills, how to best cut and onion and coffee making machine demo. All participated in prepping three giant pots of soup and a big batch of cornbread that we all enjoyed for lunch. We also served  the soup at “Soup-er Sunday”. Yes it was way more than a coffee hour with Lisa Hatala’s beautiful sour dough bread and wonderful  sweet treats to boot. Setting up chafing dishes for the soup was a part of the training as well as using the 3-part dishwashing system, that keeps us safe and contaminant free. Helene Ferm demonstrated the lighting of the gas range pilots and using the fan and Ansel fire extinguishing system. Tim Davis and Ken Nemeth filled in with tips , encouragement and  delightful stories. Would you like to become a “Green Apron” trainee? The Sat sessions are  the first Sat of the Month and “Soup-er Sunday ” the first Sunday of the month. We have a training this Saturday at 10am.  Please sign-up as we only take (10) trainees per session.

Planted Society ’s Eat for Impact initiative is happening in Morristown during March. Ten local restaurants will feature new, earth-friendly specials throughout the month. The purpose is to help restaurants and communities embrace sustainable food choices and lower their climate emissions. This is a good opportunity to enjoy plant-based dining and have fun with friends. Join members of Green Earth Ministry for lunch on Sunday, March 16. Sign up in Chu Hall during coffee hour on March 9., or form your own group to choose a restaurant and schedule a lunch or dinner in Morristown in March.

Mar 3, 6 pm :  Adult Mad Libs: We will be playing the pride version of Adult Mad Libs.  For those unfamiliar with this game, a “reader” asks everyone else (the “writers”) to supply words to fill in blanks in a document (known to the reader but not the writers).  The results can be hilarious.  Titles include “Cubs and Otters and Bears, Oh My!”,  “Lesbian Potluck: A Menu”, and “Gay Beach Body Guide.”  For a change of pace, we may also test our knowledge of Queer Trivia.  Come prepared to have fun and perhaps to think a bit. Mar 10, 6 pm: The Joys of March:  Come to GAAMC’s “Joys of March” to learn more historical information about the third month’s events, including Daylight Savings time, Ash Wednesday, International Women’s Day & the first day of Spring. Mar 17, 6 pm: St. Patrick’s Day:  Come join us as we celebrate this festive day.  Wear some green clothes and enjoy a piece of St Paddy’s cake! Mar 24, 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, March 21,  to Gordon Sauer at president@gaamc.org .   Mar 31, 6pm: The Joys of Spring:   Come join us when we talk about Spring and what we love about it.   We’ll also discuss the changing of the seasons, our favorite season, and our plans for the warmer months. Refreshments are served at meetings, and a small donation is requested of attendees.

Our newsletter is designed to keep our community informed in a clear and concise manner. We prioritize ease of use for our staff and readability for our readers. The newsletter always begins with the most important and timely information: information about this week’s services.. This is followed by news stories, organized with the most recent at the top. Older stories remain until they are replaced by new content, ensuring all community members have the opportunity to see them. We also highlight upcoming special events. We encourage community members to submit new and engaging content for the newsletter. If you would like your event or cause to receive greater prominence, please share details about its significance and include a clear call to action. All newsletter stories are archived on our website at muuf.org/news . This approach streamlines the process for our staff, saves time, and promotes transparency and trust within our community.

You are cordially invited to attend a FREE Endowment Luncheon and Workshop on S unday, March 9th, Noon – 1:30 pm in Chu Family Hall. An estate planning attorney and financial planner will provide an overview followed by Q&A. Why attend? You are a new parent and have questions about writing a Will You have a Will but named executors, beneficiaries and/or charitable gifts need updating You have special needs children or grandchildren Important documents like Power of Attorney and a Medical Care Directive need writing or updating Peace of mind that what you have planned is up-to-date Share with others your knowledge and experience RSVP by February 28th during Coffee Hour or via Endowment@MUUF.org. A final head count is needed for meal planning purposes. Look forward to see you there! Sponsored by the Endowment Committee: Janet Horst, Carolyn Schwartz, John Solu, Sandra Persichetti

The Age of Reason program is a comprehensive curriculum designed to cater to the unique developmental needs of 2nd and 3rd graders. This stage is characterized by a burgeoning sense of self and a growing desire for independence. Children begin to form their own opinions and ideas, and they start to question the world around them. The Age of Reason program celebrates this intellectual and emotional growth by providing a safe and supportive environment where children can explore their individuality and express themselves freely. Through a diverse range of activities such as art, family reflection exercises, poetry, mindful play, and engaging discussions about Unitarian Universalism, the program encourages children to think critically, ask questions, and develop their own unique perspectives. These activities not only stimulate intellectual curiosity but also foster emotional intelligence and social awareness. The curriculum also emphasizes the importance of family involvement. By encouraging children to reflect on their family experiences and share their thoughts and feelings with their loved ones, the program strengthens family bonds and creates a supportive network that nurtures children’s growth and development. The Age of Reason program culminates in the Flower Communion Service, a cherished Unitarian Universalist tradition that takes place on June 1st. This special ceremony honors children and celebrates their unique personalities and contributions to the community. Through ritual and symbolism, the Flower Communion Service provides a meaningful way for children to connect with their spiritual heritage and feel a sense of belonging within the Unitarian Universalist community. The Age of Reason for Grades 2 & 3 April 6th – May 18th

We need your help to make our upcoming Valentine’s Day event a success! Specifically, we need just a few volunteers to assist with setting up, serving coffee during the event, and cleaning up afterward. As an act of Fellowship hospitality, we’re asking for donations of cookies and other sweet treats. This event is a fundraiser for the Fellowship and allows our new space to continue being a safe haven for LGBTQ+ folks, those feeling alone on Valentine’s Day, and others seeking a good time. There are still tickets available for those who want to attend.  Your support would mean the world to us. If you’re able to help, please sign up by emailing Nick . And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. Thank you in advance for your generosity and support!