Unplug, Unwind, and Reconnect: Looking to step away from the daily hustle and enjoy the crisp autumn air? Whether you are a seasoned camper or simply craving a day in nature with great company, the Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship invites you to our Fall Fellowship Family Camp Out at Voorhees State Park. Not Ready to Sleep in a Tent? Join Us Just for the Day! You don't need to spend the night to be part of the fun! If camping under the stars isn't your thing—or if your weekend schedule is packed—we warmly invite you to join us for the day on Saturday, October 3rd. A Day Pass gives you full access to all Saturday activities, including group hikes, outdoor games, and relaxation around the campfire, plus all Saturday meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). It’s the perfect, low-commitment way to enjoy the great outdoors and connect with fellow community members. Event Highlights & Activities Guided Hikes & Outdoor Fellowship: Explore scenic park trails together or soak up the relaxed atmosphere at camp. Campfire Traditions: Roast marshmallows, share stories, and make classic s'mores. Community & Games: Enjoy outdoor fun, board games, and great conversations. Shared Equipment: New to camping? Members have spare tents to share—just let us know! Registration & Ticket Details Spaces for full weekend camping are limited to 30 people on a first-come, first-served basis, so be sure to reserve your spot early. Full Weekend Adult: $40.00 Full Weekend Child: $30.00 Saturday Day Pass: $20.00 Note: Full weekend ticket prices cover camping fees along with Friday dinner, all three Saturday meals, and Sunday breakfast. Ready to join? Head over to the Fall Fellowship Family Camp Out event page to buy your tickets and RSVP today!

Ingathering 2026 will be on September 13th at 10am. This will be followed by our Annual Pot Luck Lunch in Chu Hall! As is our tradition, we ask that you please bring a dish to share based on your last name: A - F Dessert G - L Side Dish / Salad M - Z Main Dish Keep an eye out for additional information about the service and lunch!

Join us this Sunday, August 30 for a dance-centered service featuring Morristown UU dancers of many ages. Due to the service’s unique AV needs, worship will be in-person ONLY this week, so be sure to join us in Chu Family Hall for this special service! Finally, please be aware that because the service will not be livestreamed, there will not be a Sunday e-blast this week.

This year, the Unitarian Universalist Association has released a new congregation-wide religious education curriculum called Woven Faith. It both honors our past and incorporates our present and future expressions of faith. Woven Faith also integrates our most current associational learning around anti-oppression practices, supporting the cultivation of both internal and interpersonal social-emotional skills essential for sustainable justice work. We are adding classes for even young children (2-4 years olds), Offering Our Whole Lives for Middle Schoolers for the first time in 7 years, and expanding our adult offerings as well. This theme-based, whole congregation series also supports congregational shared ministry by equipping lay leaders and religious professionals alike to weave together a shared message. Central to A Woven Faith is the principle that the congregation is the curriculum, meaning our entire environment (accessibility, worship, fellowship, RE classes, leadership development, caring ministries, and justice work) informs the Unitarian Universalism we learn and absorb. Like our previous Soul Matters Curriculum, each week has shared themes across worship and religious education for both children and adults. This year will center around our new shared values: September: Interdependence October: Living the Questions November: Covenant December: Pluralism January: Courageous Love February: Equity March: Transformation April: Generosity May: Expressing Our Faith June: Justice Classes are taught by passionate, dedicated, background-checked volunteers. Children gather in age based groups, building their own communities and friendships. Click each class title for more information. Pre-K (Ages 2-4) - New for 2026-2027! Kindergarten-1st Grade - OWL in the Spring 2nd-4th Grade - A Woven Faith 5th-6th Grade - UU Values Challenge & Beginnings 7th-8th Grade - Our Whole Lives Time and Dates Classes for all ages will be held two Sundays a Month from 11:30-12:30 (7th-8th Grade OWL is from 11:30-1:00) September 20th September 27th October 18th October 25th November 15th November 22th December 6th December 13th January 24th January 31st February 21st February 28th March 14th March 21st April 11th April 25th May 9th May 16th May 23rd

Help Bring Our Faith to Life: Volunteers Needed for All-Ages Interdependence Activities! As Unitarian Universalists, we know that our strength lies in our connection to one another and that our community is built on shared ministry. This year, as we launch our new congregation-wide curriculum, Woven Faith, we are centering our monthly activities around deep reflection, shared learning, and vibrant intergenerational connection. To make these multi-generational experiences meaningful and seamless for everyone, we are looking for volunteer leaders to help facilitate two key fellowship activities centered on our theme of Interdependence. Self-Guided Coffee Hour Activity Leaders Help us transform our regular coffee hour into an engaging space for reflection and connection! Volunteers for this activity will help set up prompts and simple materials, invite people of all ages to participate, and foster an inviting atmosphere where members can explore how our lives are woven together. "Bulletin Board in Shared Space" Coordinators The "Bulletin Board in Shared Space" is an emergent, visual element of our Woven Faith series. It serves as a communal "loom" where individuals, classes, and groups across all generations can bring a visual "thread" representing what they are learning, delighting in, and exploring. We need creative volunteers to help host this space, encourage contributions, and curate this evolving representation of our collective journey. If you are interested in leading or assisting with either of these activities, please reach out to our Director of Religious Education, Nick Wallwork. Thank you for contributing your time and energy to our shared faith journey!

There will be more information about our Adult discussion groups soon. We are putting together schedules and recruiting facilitators now. We will continue our bi monthly drop in discussion group for Adults. If you are interested in the following groups, please fill out this form or contact Nick. Emerging Adult (16-25) Small Group A 30-to-90-minute Small Group Ministry session for emerging and young adults focused on deep listening, reflection, and spiritual growth. Through covenant-building, name-story check-ins, and shared questions on interdependence, participants explore community and self-discovery. Parents Small Group A 30-to-90-minute Small Group session for parents centered on deep listening, personal reflection, and interdependence. Through covenant-building, shared readings, and reflection questions, parents explore connection, self-love, and modeling interdependence for their children. Adults Discussion Group A 30-to-90-minute Small Group session designed for adult UUs to explore interdependence. Through shared covenant, deep listening, focus readings, and reflection questions, participants reflect on global connections, asking for help, and building community. Older Adults Discussion Group A 30-to-90-minute Small Group session for older adults focused on deep listening and reflection. Through shared covenant, quiet centering, and questions on connection and interdependence, participants explore self-love, life experiences, and mutual support in community. Adult RE Interest Form

The storm windows have been removed and stored (or in the case of one broken one, repaired) while the painting crew scrapes the large french doors and transoms above in preparation for priming and finished coats. RF Enderly is the same contractor that painted all the other first and second floor windows. They do good work!

3:00 PM - Postcard Writing Come one, come all! We will be focusing on getting out the vote, especially for minority and underrepresented people. An anonymous Fellowship member is generously purchasing the first 500 vetted addresses, cards, labels and stamps (at a cost of approximately one dollar each). Contact justice@muuf.org if you would like to sponsor or contribute to the next tranche of postcards and supplies. 4:30 PM - Rank the Desserts We will be presenting a tasty discussion on ranked choice voting led by Voter Choice NJ. The program is called Rank the Desserts. Members from Red Wine and Blue will be making desserts, and we will encourage our members to do the same. Stay tuned for additional details. 6:30 PM - Screening of the movie Lightworkers Our partners at Red Wine and Blue have arranged for a screening of Lightworkers. In this powerful, feature-length documentary, 37 diverse people talk about their work to save our country from fascism. Afterward, the filmmakers will host a Zoom question and answer session. Other activities will be added, so stay tuned for updates. We are excited to present Democracy in Action just three weeks ahead of the midterm elections. Volunteers will be needed to help with hospitality, set-up, clean-up dessert making, and other aspects of this event. For more information or to volunteer to be a part of this day contact justice@muuf.org

Looking forward to greeting our summer visitors at our Newcomer Welcome gathering. You'll briefly learn more about our Fellowship as well as our Unitarian Universalist faith. Join me at 11:30am this Sunday, August 16th in the comfy Parlor Room, the last room on your right before you exit the building. But first enjoy some conversation, coffee and refreshments in our beautiful Chu Family Hall in the new Gateway Center. See you there!

Do you have sneakers that don't fit or are worn out? Green Earth Ministry will collect used sneakers (kids and adults) from September 8th - 26th. Please bring them in after Labor Day and place them in the labeled bin in the mansion's Great Hall or the one in the hallway outside Chu Family Hall. GEM will ship them to GotSneakers.com for reuse or recycling, and the Fellowship may receive a small payment for them.

The response data for the three Open Questions for 2025-26 are now posted in the WWW drive and are available for perusal. This year's topics were: Open Question 1: What ministry does the world need from us at this time in history? Prompt 1: What does it mean to be “in Service”? Prompt 2: Who are we currently in service to? What are we already equipped to provide? Prompt 3: What do we need to learn? Where is our service needed? What additional tools do we need? Open Question 2: Consider two or three important changes affecting our Fellowship, the world, our community, or our members. How do we work toward the Opportunities in change while managing the Challenges? Prompt 1: As we grow, we will be changing. How do we value the past while embracing the future? Prompt 2: How do we cope with uncomfortable changes? How do we move forward as a Community? Prompt 3: How do we build capacity to manage the challenges and embrace the opportunities? Open Question 3: What does growth look like? Prompt 1: What does personal growth look like? (emotional, spiritual, social) Prompt 2: What does fellowship growth look like? (numerical, organizational, structural, programmatic) Prompt 3: What does growth into and with our wider Community look like? We've already been incorporating much from our discussions this year into ongoing activities and goals. These data are used at the annual Morristown UU Board Retreat to help us determine next year's Vision of Ministry and Open Questions topics. Thank you to everyone who participated in the Open Questions discussions this past year - your feedback and suggestions are valuable and are helping guide where we go and what we do in the future. We look forward to continuing discussions this coming year!

Immigration Actions On July 13, Reverend Sasha and members of our congregation's Justice Team joined with UU clergy from around the country in a day of song and protest that culminated in front of Delaney Hall in Newark. During the program, we learned that ICE had killed another person. The killing took place that morning in Maine, bringing home to us the cruelty of the current US deportation program. It was yet another reminder of how ICE’s actions are diametrically opposed to our UU values. To learn about upcoming immigration actions, ask justice@muuf.org to send you its weekly email message. Every week, Judie Romano posts information on REALM to inform us of issues affecting our state and country and actions we can take. Connect on Zoom for UUFaith Action NJ’s Action Hour every Friday at noon. See the power of our faith at work to shape legislation in Trenton and Washington. In July the Green Earth Ministry hosted a discussion about the documentary film 8 Billion Angels, which illustrates problems caused by overpopulation and resource depletion around the world. The film can be viewed at 8BillionAngels.org. An Environmental Justice page for our congregation’s website is in progress. Meanwhile, to learn about the Green Earth Ministry's contact gem@muuf.org. The Social Justice page on our congregation’s website is in the midst of a refresh. The current version can be viewed here. Fall Justice Initiatives Food Drive - We will soon announce the details of our Food Drive, which will kick off this September. Not only can you donate food, there will be opportunities to donate time and money, too. When many people are losing SNAP benefits, we should do what we can to help alleviate food insecurity. Brief Resumption of Used Sneaker Collection - Green Earth Ministry will collect used sneakers for recycling during the first part of September. Labeled collection bins will be in the Great Hall and outside Chu Hall. Further details will be in the Weekly Update. Save the Date: Saturday October 10 - We will be hosting a full slate of events just 3.5 weeks before the mid-term elections. Details are forthcoming, but the day will include post card writing, a movie, and so much more. UUSC Sermon - On November 11th, Reverend Laura Randall from the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee will be leading our Sunday Service. UUSC addresses the core causes of injustice by partnering with local communities, amplifying their voices, and advocating for institutional and systematic changes. To learn more, visit uusc.org