Join the Fellowship Family in Chu Family Hall on April 13th at 10 am, as we celebrate Passover with a special Haggadah! We’ll recount the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt and the 10 plagues. Everyone is welcome to participate in the ritual reading, sing the songs, eat items from the Passover Plate, find the Afikoman, and share a light Passover meal. Our Souper Sunday team will be serving Matzoh Ball Soup and Matzoh. Please RSVP (not required) so we can get a headcount, and sign up if you’re able to help with setup/cleanup. We also welcome any side dishes or desserts you’d like to share – they don’t have to be traditional Passover foods! Sign Up here to let us know what you are bringing.

Join us this Sunday, April 13 following the Passover service and coffee hour for an Odyssey program featuring John Solu . John’s will be our 30th Odyssey program as we continue to tell the life stories of our members in their own words.   Please contact one of the following Odyssey team members if you would like to be interviewed: Gabor Kiss, Donna Perch, Tom Perch, Don Preziosi, Paul Snellgrove or Joe Uhrhane.

The Endowment Committee recently sponsored an educational Luncheon on March 9 th featuring an estate planning attorney and financial planner.  Given a number of your requests, we’re pleased to provide this link to their PowerPoint presentation.

This is backgrounder for our service on March 30, Been In The Storm So Long: How DO We Overcome?,  a successor to Uncomfortable Liberty, March 5, 2023, which dealt with slavery in NJ and Morristown. Freedom for enslaved blacks came in 1865, but after a few years of Reconstruction, in 1876 the chains of white supremacy caught them up again.  We hope you can find time to watch or re-watch, the March 5 Service beforehand. First of all, the promise of “40 acres and a mule” for freedmen was always illusory.  There was no 40 acres available for each of the 4 million of them, even if there had been a way to wrest it from the defeated white plantation owners who suddenly had to work out how to insert margin to cover wages into their devastated businesses.  Sharecropping developed as an inherently abusive form, and even during Reconstruction freedmen were cheated and descended into debt.  With the departure of what enforcement the Yankees could provide for the Civil War Amendments and the newly enacted  Civil Rights laws, Jim Crow sprang to life, with a race-based caste system wielding violence to enforce it. “Across the South, someone [black] was hanged or burned alive every four days from 1889 to 1929.” Wilkerson, The Warmth of Others Suns, p. 39 (2010). (Shari’s parents were both born in 1929; these are current events for many families.) During slavery, there had been a practice of leasing one’s slaves to other whites (with payment only to the lessor, never those leased) to work land or to work in factories.  With the end of Reconstruction, this re-emerged as convict leasing in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.  In those days, 75% of all black Americans lived in those states.  As told in Blackmon, Slavery by Another  Name (2008), between approximately the same years 100,000 to 200,000 blacks, mostly men, were convicted of invented offenses (trying to vote, talking to a white woman, vagrancy or having no job, changing jobs without permission) and sold to companies and individuals. They might be chained together in lightless mines, subject to the lash and other brutality as punishment. They worked  for the duration of sentences that could be extended for not paying court costs.  Mass graves have been found recently near these former worksites. Blackmon estimates this labor earned tens of millions for the States and for white people who took advantage of the system. From 1910 through 1970, millions of Southern blacks left the South in the Great Migration. But wherever they went they found segregation, exorbitant rents and blocked opportunities (in a letter Shari’s father wrote when living in Detroit in the 1950’s, he mentions learning a black tenant was being charged much more than he was paying in the same building.) The GI Bill was intentionally designed to enable Southern states to avoid enabling black veterans to benefit by going to college since most of their institutions simply did not accept blacks (so, again,  Shari’s father went to med school at the University of Texas on the GI Bill in the late 40s, but a black veteran his age could not have done so, because the school did not accept blacks till 1956).  The 1960’s finally saw the return of Federal enforcement to the South, to meet a little of the violence. Laws were actually changed – but now the Voting Rights Act has been gutted.  And this has empowered voter suppression and gerrymandering; and police in the north and the south are much more likely to jump to violence and to classify a person as a suspect and incarcerate them if they are black. Alexander, The New Jim Crow (2010). To quote Blackmon, “conventional history” holds “no acknowledgment of the effects of cycle upon cycle of malevolent defeat” … nor of  “the impact… of obliterated opportunities on each new generation of an ever-changing population out-numbered in persons and resources.” What can we do? International law prescribes ”Reparations,” which is based on the concept of “repair.” It is only when something has been broken that repair is in order.  The United Nations (UN) criteria for reparations include: Proportionality Reparations should be proportional to the harm suffered and the severity of the violations.  Adequacy Reparations should be sufficient, prompt, and effective.  Forms of reparations Reparations can include restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition.  Recipients Victims of human rights violations or humanitarian law violations can receive reparations. This includes individuals, families, and communities.  Obligations States, non-state entities, and individuals have a legal obligation to provide reparations.  Reparations can be material or symbolic, individual or collective, immediate or ongoing. They can also include pecuniary measures, such as compensation, and access to essential services.  The most familiar case of reparations in the United States was the case of reparations paid to Japanese Americans who were imprisoned in concentration camps during World War II and who were forced to sell, or often simply abandon, their homes and other possessions. After the war, in response to years of  advocacy by survivors, in 1988, the US passed a law providing for: an apology from President Reagan; Presidential pardons for “offenses” of having violated the terms of the incarceration; and awards $20,000 apiece to all survivors, among other relief.  (Shari’s mother-in-law was among those who received a reparations payment; she used the funds to visit her ancestral roots in Japan for the first and only time.)  When Tom spoke as part of our Uncomfortable Liberty service about New Jersey as a Slave State in March 2023, “Reparations” for the Slave period and its legacy in New Jersey was a new topic.  California passed a bill to study reparations in October 2021, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. The California Reparations Task Force reported its findings in June 2023. Unfortunately, the California Legislature has not been able to pass any of the recommendations of its Reparations Task Force into law.  In New Jersey, Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter (D Passaic County) introduced a similar bill in January 2022. Unhappily Assemblywoman Sumter’s bill never got to committee. Sumter recently announced that she will not seek reelection  As for New Jersey, on Juneteenth 2023, reacting to the stalled bill in the NJ legislature, private nonprofit organizations in NJ established a New Jersey Reparations Council to study the case for reparations here and to report back to the public on Juneteenth, 2025.  Although the NJ Council will not present its final report until June 2025, much of the council’s work has already been made public. (Note: In the following, Tom the tools Elicit and Notebook LM which have some AI capabilities in developing these topics. All assertions have been fact-checked. Specific sources are noted at the end.) Here are some details from the New Jersey Reparations Council findings: The fundamental harm of chattel slavery itself shaped every aspect of New Jersey. This includes the dehumanization and exploitation of enslaved people , the amassing of wealth by individuals and institutions through their unpaid labor , and the lasting stain of this original sin . New Jersey’s deep and often overlooked involvement in slavery is a central harm being confronted. The belief held by too many that slavery never happened in New Jersey and that racial inequality is not a New Jersey issue, obscures the truth and hinders repair. This denial and lack of shared understanding is itself a harm that the council identifies. Racial inequality persists in contemporary life for Black people in New Jersey due to the lasting impact of slavery, redoubled by the extension of its harms through the racism that has imbued the culture ever since. These inequalities have been reinforced by generations of policy design rooted in slavery and the lie of white supremacy.  While this also can manifest in individual behaviors, the harm is more pervasive. Economic injustices include wage, income, and wealth disparities , the lack of intergenerational wealth transfer , and the historical theft of Black land . These economic harms are direct consequences of slavery, segregation, and ongoing discrimination. The council is also concerned with the denial of public goods like safe and affordable housing, clean air and water, and affordable energy to Black communities. Loss of democratic rights suffered by Black New Jerseyans, both formal and informal. This includes voter suppression, gerrymandering , restrictions on protests and freedom of expression , as well as the broader failure of New Jersey’s democracy to serve its Black residents . Environmental injustices , where Black communities have become “sacrifice zones” bearing the brunt of pollution and environmental hazards due to purposeful and racist policies. This leads to diminished air and water quality , negative health outcomes from toxic facilities , and the burden of the climate crisis . The lack of green space and tree canopy in Black communities is also identified as a harm. Racial health disparities persist due to structural racism stemming from slavery. The long-term consequences of slavery continue to shape disparate health outcomes for Black New Jerseyans. Harms caused by the public safety and justice systems , are seen as broken by design and used to oppress Black people. This includes over-policing and its destabilizing effects on families and economic opportunity, severe racial disparities in incarceration rates , particularly for youth, and the detrimental impact of mass incarceration . The council is also examining the potential connections between contemporary community supervision programs (parole and probation) and the history of slavery. Experiences of excessive force, unreasonable search, and unlawful seizure rooted in racial discrimination are also significant harms. The lasting consequences of segregation in areas like housing and education were deliberate choices leading to wealth inequality and limited economic mobility for Black residents. (Not surprisingly, many of the findings are similar to those of California, though California did not ever have slavery.) There is much more, from New Jersey and elsewhere.  We hope to organize further study of all these issues.  One theme that runs through the New Jersey and the California reports is the residue of a slave society as a public health issue. Another is the impact of de facto segregation of our public schools. It is often supposed that reparations involve paying people of African descent for past harm or exploitation, and there is something to that.  But the harm continues today.  Surely, the solution to addressing injustice cannot be to wait until the generation immediately affected dies.  And money may not always be effective, or adequate, or appropriate…. Thank you for trusting us to bring these difficult topics forward.  Please come to the service on March 30 (or watch a replay later).  And wait for the next one! Image credit : Alexander, Kwame and Coulter, Dare (art), An American Story. Little, Brown (Boston, New York 2023). Artwork copyright KA Productions 2023. Sources : Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color-Blindness. New Press (2010) Blackmon,  Douglas A. Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II. Random House (New York: 2008) Litwack, Leon F. Been In the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery. Random House (New York: 1980). Wilkerson, Isabel. The Warmth of Other Suns; The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration. Random House (New York: 2010). California Reparations Task Force – Executive Summary – https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/exec-summary-ca-reparations.pdf Hammer Museum forum discussion California Reparations Task Force https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-miWw5sQKRo&t=579s New Jersey Reparations Council Health Equity Public Session https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XURg3z6maY&list=TLGGWYvJwnl1_4gxMTAzMjAyNQ As well as other videos under the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ) https://www.youtube.com/@dosocialjustice/featured New Jersey Reparations Council: History of Slavery in New Jersey NJRC Public Safety and Justice Public Session  NJRC Democracy Committee Public Session  NJRC Economic Justice Public Session  NJRC Environmental Justice Public Session  NJRC Public Safety and Justice Public Session  NJRC Segregation in New Jersey Public Session NY Times series: Nice White Parents https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=NYTimes+nice+white+parents Nikole Hannah-Jones | Modern Day Segregation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hmhHisBM7Y&t=33s

Neighboring Faiths Class and Blue Cliff Monastery Visit The Neighboring Faiths class offers a comprehensive exploration of diverse religious and spiritual beliefs. Throughout the semester, students learn about the history, tenets, practices, and cultural contexts of various faith communities. The course culminates in an in-depth study of Buddhism, including field trips to local faith communities. The final trip is to Blue Cliff Monastery, an 80-acre Thiền Buddhist monastery in Pine Bush, New York. Founded in 2007 by practitioners from the Plum Village Tradition, Blue Cliff Monastery follows Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Order of Interbeing, emphasizing mindfulness, compassion, and engaged living. Day of Mindfulness You’re invited to join them for a Day of Mindfulness at Blue Cliff Monastery on May 18th. The day includes Live Dharma Talks, guided Meditations, and a Mindful Lunch. We’ll meet at the Fellowship at 8 am to carpool and return around 3 pm. A $20 donation to Blue Cliff Monastery is requested, and participants are encouraged to contribute to a gas money pool. Open to Youth in High School and Adults. Please sign up on Realm by May 10th.

This Sunday, you may notice something a little bit… different about Rev. Sasha. No need to adjust your glasses—her hair has indeed taken on a new purple hue! But why? For our annual Service Auction fundraiser, Rev. Sasha offered a fun item alongside her more serious offerings: the opportunity for one lucky winner to choose her hair color. Bidders could select from a rainbow-hued list of options, and Rev. Sasha would have to keep the winning color for at least one full month. As you might have guessed, this year’s winner, Beth Wilson, selected the color purple. What better hue to match Rev. Sasha’s new installation stole, right? Not a fan of purple? Don’t worry: this item will be back for next year’s Service Auction, so that’ll be your opportunity to vote (via your bid) for a color you prefer. In the meantime, may Rev. Sasha’s new “do” bring some smiles to this community we share. See you Sunday!

Please join us in warmly welcoming the 7 newest members of our Morristown UU spiritual family: [NEW BIO!] Patty Perconti is a resident of Whippany NJ where she lives with her kind husband and two sons who keep her on her toes. She enjoys traveling, dinner with family and friends and trying to find laughter in each day. [NEW BIO!] Anthony Perconti is a lifelong resident of the Garden State. He is married to a wonderful (and patient) woman and is the proud father of two young men. Becki Tarby  is an elementary music teacher living in Edison, NJ with her husband, Kyle, and their two daughters, Livia (3) and Zoe (almost 1). Originally from New Jersey, Becki pursued her education at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN and has taught in Nashville, Washington Heights in Manhattan, and now in Edison. Becki is passionate about making music, cooking, and enjoying nature walks. After a state-wide search for the right Unitarian Universalist community for her family, Becki found a welcoming home here at MUUF. Bill DiGennaro:  Having grown up in Jefferson Township, NJ, and calling Morristown home for the past two decades, Bill has dedicated his career to supporting others. With a background in social services spanning back to the mid-1990s, he is currently working as a therapist, helping individuals navigate life’s challenges. He finds his balance through meditation and peaceful walks in the local parks. Dori Wolfe  recently came back to New Jersey after a hiatus of around 55 years to be closer, or at least on the same time zone, as her grandchildren. She has been involved in the renewable energy space for decades, both with her own company and now as a part-time employee with the non-profit Solar United Neighbors. Together with husband Jeff, they enjoy traveling, hiking, family and pickleball. Sheila Battaglia  lives in Randolph with her husband Dave and their 3 sons, Quinn, Shane and Logan. After homeschooling her boys through high school, she now tutors other students in math. She loves to do logic puzzles and play board games. Gideon Romann

Rev. Sasha will be away for her quarterly week of study leave from Monday, March 24th through Sunday, March 30th. She looks forward to connecting with you after she returns. If your matter is urgent, please contact the office for assistance.

The Odyssey Project is completing its fourth year collaborating with Fellowship members to share their life stories. From this project we’ve learned about each other, from each other, and deepened our personal connections. Each program includes a 20 minute interview video followed by a question and answer period in which we learn more about our guest. We are excited to announce two upcoming programs featuring long-time members. Please plan to attend the programs for Diane Koslow this Sunday March 23 and for John Solu on April 13. Each Odyssey program follows coffee hour after the service.  We look forward to seeing you.

I can sense it…the Fellowship is strong with you! Our budget drive starts this Sunday, March 23rd – so join our fellow members in Chu hall after service to pick up your pledge envelope and enjoy lunch to kick off our budget drive. To keep our Alliance strong, this is the time of year we ask all members and friends to pledge their financial support. Our annual budget, funded primarily through your generosity, allows us to be a community of inspiration, connection, and service to the wider galaxy. The Fellowship is sustained primarily by our pledges (roughly 80% of our funding comes from members and friends like you, through our Annual Pledge Drive), so we all truly count on the support of every individual and family. Now, if I consult the Jedi archives, “fellowship” is defined as “a group of people united for a common purpose or interest.” Much like a certain rebel alliance from an unnamed sci-fi saga, our congregation comes together for a shared mission in a welcoming and supportive space. We gather to strengthen our beliefs, build community, and uplift one another—something especially vital in today’s world. This year, with guidance from the Personnel and Finance Committees, our Board is implementing updated UUA-recommended salary guidelines. We plan to increase staff salaries to better align with the rising cost of living and inflation in our area. To support this and maintain our facilities—including both our existing and new buildings—and expand our vital programming, we’ve set an ambitious pledge goal of $490,000 . Your pledge ensures the continuation of our Sunday services, Faith Formation classes for younglings and Jedi Masters alike, outreach through newsletters and streaming, and the sustainability of our growing rebel base. The Fellowship recommends using the  Fair Share Contribution Guide  to help you determine your commitment level. If you have previously been pledging – consider revisiting it this year, and reassess whether it’s still the right level for you or if you are ready to move to a deeper level of support. We ask that you make a written pledge during our April Annual Pledge Drive by either filling out and  returning a pledge card at the Fellowship  (these are collected by Katy Julich, our office administrator), or click this link to pledge on-line  and entering your annual pledge in the giving menu (which can even allow you to use automatic monthly payments). Not a member yet? Stop by the Stewardship table at the luncheon to learn how you can support our mission. And for those tuning in online from their own hidden outpost, visit our website and click the “Give” tab to contribute to our Operating Budget. May the Fellowship be with you! Tim Davis Stewardship Trustee-at-Large padawan

Busy time at UUFANJ!  As liaison I will do my best to keep you informed of the prominent doings at UUFANJ – at times with a serving of Side With Love Action news. March 21 will be the first THIRD FRIDAY ACTION HOUR at noon.  As usual there are no obligations to participate in all the actions, no long-term commitments, or demands for donations.  Participate at your leisure. Since there is push back from the Governor, Senate President, and Assembly Speaker on codifying an existing directive commonly known as the Immigration Trust Act, action will be taken up again.  Other actions depend on developing events.  There may be more Action Hour sessions added if deemed necessary.  For more information, click on the link in the graphic. SAVE THE DATE. The hybrid UUFANJ Annual Meeting will be held at the UU Church at Washington Crossing on Saturday 31 10AM-3PM.  Since the Gala had been canceled, the Annual Meeting will include presentations by each of the task forces.  More information to follow. UUFANJ is looking for folks to serve on the board or as task force leaders/co-leaders.   Training will be provided.  For those who want to keep up to date on issues but don’t have the time to get deeply involved, sign up to get emails from the task force/s of interest.  Go to uufaithaction.org for more information.  Each Task Force is fighting the good fight on many fronts.  Respect! Some of the other bills being closely followed:                                                                                                           Climate Superfund Act – Presently in appropriations committee.  NJ A4696.  Holds fossil                     fuel companies accountable.  Accessed fees to be used to help impacted communities.                   Establishment low-carbon transportation fuel standard DEP program.  NJ A3645.                                     Oppose.  Out of committee.  Creates other pollutants.  Policy 5156 – Protection of Trans Students      Second Look NJ Rehabilitative Release for certain incarcerated persons NJ S2338/A4463 Side With Love Action Center is the organizing strategy team of the UUA.  There is a weekly update of evolving issues and actions on sidewithlove.org Side With Love is part of a large coalition of like-minded partners.  The Gathering is a new program created to offer the spiritual support and analysis of issues needed to sustain long term collective action.  For information go to sidewithlove.org/the-gathering How to transform a Tesla into a “Prophetic Action Car”?  A simple rebrand discovered by 2 ministers.  The new UUA logo decal is the perfect size to cover the Tesla hood logo.

“Tending Congregational Life: Guiding the Membership Journey” was a training program from the UUA designed to develop welcoming and inclusive congregations through community and belonging. We used it as a guide for conversations about how we, as a congregation, could welcome and nurture people searching for authentic connection and community. The program contained five modules, starting with the foundational “Four Frameworks for Understanding Congregational Life” module, which introduced concepts such as the membership journey as a spiral of faithful relationship, the basics of congregational life (UU identity, spiritual depth, generosity), the congregation itself as a curriculum for faith development, and the map of community building to visualize and strategize community growth. The remaining modules covered topics such as communication for inclusion, welcoming visitors, and providing opportunities for connection and transformation. It provided practical strategies for creating and maintaining relationships within and outside the congregation, with the goal of guiding people on a fulfilling membership journey based on mutuality and consent. The conversations that emerged throughout our engagement with this program were truly enriching. Participants shared deeply personal experiences and insights, fostering a profound sense of shared understanding and collective purpose. The open and honest dialogue allowed us to explore complex issues with sensitivity and respect, leading to innovative ideas and a renewed commitment to creating a more welcoming and inclusive community. The depth and quality of these conversations were instrumental in moving us forward, solidifying our belief in the power of meaningful connection within our congregation. We invite all one final session this Sunday, March 23rd at 11:30 AM , to continue these vital conversations. Everyone in the congregation is warmly invited to participate, regardless of whether you attended previous sessions. This is a wonderful opportunity to contribute your voice and help shape the future of our community.