Biochemistry Literacy for Kids is an online web-based set of 24 lessons in elementary biochemistry developed by Dr. Daniel Fried, a Yale Biochemistry PhD. Dr. Fried breaks ground in introducing advanced concepts in biochemistry to young people through focused online learning. Combined with hands-on modeling of molecules using a modeling kit that supports Hydrogen bonding, the course has features that are not available elsewhere at this age level. There is no mathematics beyond arithmetic needed. This entry is to determine whether there is enough interest to open a second session of the course for adult enrollment. If you are interested in participating in a web-based, Zoom-based class on Biochemistry Literacy for Kids with other adults, please reach out to me, Tom Moran, through Realm or in person.

Every year the Endowment Committee sets aside a sum of money based on a percentage of the interest earned in the Endowment Fund.  These funds are then made available to members of the Fellowship with ideas for special projects or programs. In the recent past, some of the projects for which these funds have been used include: Upgrading the Memorial Garden including the removal of dead trees and bushes, planting new material, improving the stone walkway, and installing additional underground irrigation to keep the large area of grass in front of the Garden watered. Refurbishing the Family Room with new, comfortable seating and decorative pillows, a colorful rug, and a new monitor allowing members to watch Sunday services while being with young ones. Installing a decal in the form of the UU logo on the wall in the entry to the Meeting Room representing the words from the congregation members answering last year’s question “What is our Mission.” (Thank you, Tim Davis, for the many hours it took to complete this.) Scraping and painting the windows on the front of the Mansion. Purchasing a new table and chairs and umbrella for the Courtyard. Providing a Biochemistry Literacy Program for young and adult members. Installing a Telephone of the Wind in the Memorial Garden for people to connect with those who have passed on in a tranquil setting. Members of the Committee will be available during coffee hour for the next few weeks.  The Application is available and can be completed online (click below).  Please be sure to get a sponsor to sign it before submitting to the Endowment Committee at endowment@muuf.org .  There is $12,329 available for grants and the deadline for submittal is February 28, 2026.  Selected grants will be announced at the Annual Meeting in June.

The 2025 Tax Year Donation Statements were sent out via e-mail on Tuesday, January 20th. If you have not seen yours in your in-box, please check the spam/junk folder. If you have any issues with your statement, please contact Katy at accounting@muuf.org Thank you for your financial support!

We are reaching out to share an update regarding our Fellowship Ice Skating event, which was originally scheduled to take place this Saturday in Morristown. We have decided to postpone the gathering because Sasha will be away in Minneapolis, and we want to ensure we find a date when our whole community can be together. While the new date and time are currently to be determined, please rest assured that we are looking for a better time to get everyone out on the ice. We will share the updated details as soon as they are finalized. Thank you for your flexibility and understanding, and we look forward to seeing you all at the arena soon!

The Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship will be hosting a Book Exchange on Saturday, February 21, from 11:00 AM–2:00 PM , and we invite our community to begin gathering books now in preparation for the swap. Members are encouraged to start setting aside up to 20 books  in good, swappable condition —books you’ve enjoyed and are ready to pass along to new readers. For a $5 ticket , participants 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 hot cocoa  available and comfortable spaces set up throughout the Fellowship 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 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 February!

Rev. Sasha will be away from Wednesday, January 21 through Saturday, January 24 to join a nationwide call for faith leaders to offer moral witness in Minneapolis against ICE abuses in the Twin Cities. She will join faith leaders from multiple traditions, including a large contingent of Unitarian Universalist clergy. Plans permitting, she will be back on Sunday, January 25. Rev. Sasha and other faith leaders are going to Minneapolis because ICE has descended upon the community there in Operation Metro Surge and sparked a crisis not just locally but across the nation. ICE’s occupation of Minneapolis presents one of the greatest threats to democracy and the rule of law in our nation today. This violent authoritarian power grab must be stopped before it spreads across our entire country, endangering communities everywhere. Rev. Sasha is also going to Minneapolis because, in 2009 when her own community in Arizona was under threat from violent, inhumane, and deeply unjust immigration enforcement efforts, Unitarian Universalist and other faith leaders from across the nation came to Phoenix, Arizona to witness for justice. Now it is her turn to offer the same care and support to another community in crisis. If you would like to support this week’s efforts in Minneapolis, you can donate to support MARCH – Multiracial Antiracism, Change & Healing by visiting https://march.nationbuilder.com/donate . If you would like to donate to offer mutual aid to communities under siege in Minneapolis, please visit https://givebutter.com/mntogether . If you would like to join Rev. Sasha in Minneapolis in spirit, please light a chalice or candle at home on Thursday and Friday, and email her your name. She will carry your names close to her heart during the public witness events in Minneapolis.

Food insecurity in NJ is a serious, year-round issue, but demand surges in winter due to holidays, higher utility costs (heating), and, this year, reduced SNAP benefits. It affects over a million residents in NJ, including many children and seniors.  Starting on January 25, Morristown UU is sponsoring a month-long food drive to support the Interfaith Food Pantry Network (IFPN) serving Morris County. What:  Non-perishable food items (canned goods, pasta, cereal, peanut butter), baby items, and essential toiletries. See IFPN’s Most Needed Items list (see image below) for what they accept and don’t accept. When:  From Sunday 1/25 to Sunday 2/15 Where:  Drop-off bins located in the Great Hall and outside of Chu Hall IFPN will gladly accept cash donations, also. We will have a dedicated offering for Interfaith Food Pantry on Sunday, 1/25. If you miss the offering on 1/25, you can give checks (payable to "MUUF" with Food Drive in the memo line) until 2/15. Also, you can contribute to IFPH by texting “Hunger” to 26-989 and add a note mentioning MUUF’s Food Drive. IDEAS: Fill a reusable bag for the food drive next time you go grocery shopping. Or, better yet, one per week! Involve the kids. Give them the list of items and let them (or help them) fill up a bag to share. Request contributions of food from friends and family (or share the donation text information). Share notices posted on MUUF social media on your accounts.  We're excited to be able to join our partners at the Interfaith Food Pantry in helping our neighbors get through the winter. Please join us! For more information, contact  socialjustice@muuf.org Be sure to visit our Social Justice page frequently for updates on how Morristown UU is responding to the challenges being faced locally, nationally and globally.

Our nearly 12-year Capital Campaign is coming to an end! We are so close to finishing without any residual loan! Come celebrate with us from 6:30- 10:00 on February 28 in our beautiful new Gateways Center! Dress to the nines (or come in jeans, we just want to see you!) Fine food, wine and other drinks, fine art by talented Fellowship Artists on Auction! Featuring internationally honored young A Capella Quartet First Take, serenading us. Fantastic food and drink (look for future newsletter articles showcasing the yumminess)! And delightful music - have a listen to the inviting tune below. We originally had said we'd include a full blown art show at this event, but we've pared it down to just a curated selection of fine art by Fellowship artists, concluding with piece by our own Nina Nemeth. (NOTE: Nina's Show at the Monmouth Museum, "Shared Spaces" in the Nilsson Gallery, Opening Reception this Sunday from 4-6 pm)! Get your tickets at the link below. Here's what you'll be enjoying: 6:30pm - Doors Open; Artisanal Charcuterie and Drinks including wine, in the Terrace Room and Gallery 7:00pm - Chu Hall Doors open; Mauritanian Samosas and Asia Delights 8:00pm - Art Auction & First Set of Concert 8:40pm - Intermission (and Dessert: Chocolates, Cannoli, Tea and Coffee) 9:00pm - Art Auction and Second Set 9:30pm - Close We've structured this to try to finish out the campaign strong but include everyone . This achievement belongs to each of us doing what we have been able to do, when we could. Member Price  – Pay what you will,  up to suggested $125 at the door (Early Bird price up to $112)  BUT We don't want money to be a barrier to entry. Please pay what you can afford and consider supplementing the cost with volunteer hours. Help with this Gateways Glitter and Song event,  or somewhere else at the Fellowship. We will circulate a signup separately!  We particularly challenge you to volunteer in a new role for you. (ie, if you are a Religious Education Volunteer, maybe sign up to be an Usher.) VIP Tickets $225  - Premium Seating, Preview and Meet the Quartet from 6:40-6:55 Before the Show Sponsor a VIP table for 8: $1800 General Public (non-member) :  $125  at the door, Early Bird $112  THANK YOU. (Signup Genius to pick your volunteer options is coming up!) Musical invitation is here! Have a listen:

As we walk through our building lately, it’s hard not to notice the wonderful transformations taking place. From the fresh energy in the Family Room  to the warmth of Room 100 the and the addition of the Gateways Center , our shared spaces are evolving to better serve our community. With these successes under our belt, we are excited to turn our attention to the heart of our history and learning: The Library. We gratefully acknowledge Hazel Bell and Judy Romano for their tremendous work in the Library as we emerged from the pandemic challenges. Their dedication ensured the space remained functional and welcoming during a transitional time. We believe the Library should be more than just a room full of books; it should be a comfortable, inviting sanctuary  where we can connect with our past, engage with our present, and envision our future. To be clear, we aren't looking for a "gut renovation" or a major overhaul. Instead, our goal is to spruce up the space —refreshing the atmosphere to make it a place where you’ll want to sit, stay a while, and discover something new. We Need Your Eyes and Your Ideas We are currently in the very initial stages of these discussions, and we want the membership to be involved from the ground up. Identify the Treasures:  The Library is home to many items collected over the years. Before we make any changes, we need your help identifying important or sentimental items currently in the room. If you know the story behind a specific book, photo, or artifact, please let us know! Share Your Vision:  We are releasing a community survey  to gather your thoughts on what you would like to see in this space. Whether it's better lighting, cozy seating, or specific resources, we want to hear it. Fill out the survey here Volunteer Your Time:  This library refresh is a community project, and we need both your ideas and your active participation! To join the Library Team  and help with the hands-on work—such as organizing, light physical changes, or coordinating the entire effort—please email library@muuf.org . We are also looking for volunteers interested in the ongoing maintenance of the library. If you have any other questions or concerns, please reach out to library@muuf.org

What do you call a group of chemists? The Morristown Unitarian Fellowship. OK so that is an exaggeration but there is some truth to the statement. The 52 founders of the Fellowship included many chemists, and also engineers and others with scientific or technical jobs. It was represented an interesting fulfilment of letter to the editor published on Oct. 12, 1955, the day after Munroe Husbands spoke to those interested in hearing about Unitarianism. The well-[timed letter was from Winfield Greenleaf, who would chair the steering committee that guided the Fellowship’s formation. Greenleaf noted he had read about the planned event and reported that Unitarianism had a special appeal to engineers, scientists “and other professional men”.. And in this era, the technical community was almost entirely men--married women, including Fellowship founders, did not work outside the home. Among the first 29 male members, there were 19 with scientific or technical occupations: seven chemists, two chemistry teachers; three mechanical engineers; one electrical engineer; a rocket scientist, one rocket engineer; one electronics technician and one radio technician; one laboratory worker and one physicist. This reflected the changing Morris County economy, which had been largely agricultural. The of chemists arrived with Warner-Chilcott, later Warner-Lambert. —Marshall Deutsch who initiated the movement towards forming the congregation, John Doczi and Arthur Babson, the third president. The early elements of Bell Labs talent included Stuart Lloyd, a physicist; and Edward Zajacs, a mechanical engineer, who also had a biology degree, and became an economics professor, two of whom contributed revolutionary ideas in their field This group provided much of the early leadership. Of the first three Fellowship presidents, the first and third, Marsh Steiding and Babson, were chemists, and the second, Larry Churchill, was a mechanical engineer. Four of the first seven trustees elected in January 1956, including Steiding and Churchill, had scientific careers. One of the first trustees, Robertson Youngquist, was a rocket scientist who worked for Reaction Motors, a Morris County company considered the nation’s first rocket company which once launched rockets from Franklin Lakes and Wanaque. He would move to the Washington D.C. area and become well known within the space community. Another founding member, Alfred Mathisen, who also worked for Reaction Motors later designed the thrusters for the Lunar Landing Module for Project Apollo. Marsh Steiding, one of the chemists, worked for some time at the Hercules Power Corp. where he was an explosives chemist, while Paul Tweed, who worked at Picatinny Arsenal, who also an explosives chemist and, was prominent in the military research field.

In December, the Sunday Plate collected $2,450. These funds have been distributed to the Mortgage Prevention campaign, UUA Side With Love, Black Lives UU, Morristown Sprint, and UU Ministry for Earth. Thank you for your continued generosity!