FROM SAMSARA TO NIRVANA Rev. Allen Wells Eight Tuesdays, 7 pm-9 pm, beginning July 14, 2026 at The Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship 21 Normandy Pkwy., Morristown, NJ In the Terrace Room and Classroom B Welcome to a deeper exploration of dharma, exploration of Buddhist psychology and novel practices of meditation in order to de-stress your life. Become an ever more compassionate being, and thereby contribute to the peace and well being of sentient beings in this troubled time (samsara). Beginners as well as advanced practitioners are welcome as are all who are on the spiritual path. Be warned though that the dharma’s radical re-orientation may challenge our usual consensual conceptual conception of reality. This class will culminate eight related classes that Allen has taught at MUUF over the past ten years. There will be light homework and preparatory reading. You may come to classes as you choose but it is necessary to attend the first one because at this time we will establish the fundamentals of our course. For any questions please contact Allen. RSVPs are requested by July 1, 2026 at meditaiton@muuf.org. Rev. Allen Wells is a Buddhist dharma teacher and Unitarian Universalist Minister. He is a graduate of The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Practice Program and has taught meditation practices for 25 years. He is former Director of The Allen Wells Center for Psychotherapy and Healing in Morristown, NJ. Allen has also travelled to India to study at the places where The Buddha was born, enlightened, died and taught.

As you may have read, we are moving to create Fiath Formation Program Councils to assist in all the programming that happens at the fellowship. There will be councils for Children’s and Youth Faith Formation, Adult Programs, and Congregational Life. Each Council will have two Co-Chairs, a Secretary, and at large members. The idea is to provide clarity in communications, support ongoing teams, and assist the Director of Lifespan Religious Education in guiding our educational, social, and enrichment programs at the Fellowship. Each Council will have its “Organizing” meeting this July. They will nominate their Chairs, Secretary, and At-large Members. If you would like to work with the DRE and help support things like Children’s Religious Education, Meditation, Our Whole Lives, Women’s Spirituality, Middle School Book Club, Cinema Circles, and many more, please fill out this form. We will set a schedule for the meetings and get to work!

Please join Rita and all who enjoy Rummikub scrabble style games that fire up your brain neurons like no other. Games will be held in the Terrace Room, the more the merrier. Join us at 11:00 AM. All are welcome. Please RSVP, so we are ready for all takers!

Sunday worship at GA will be livestreamed at 11am https://www.uua.org/ga/off-site/2026/sunday-worship The General Assembly social and worship meeting will be this coming weekend. See uua.org/ga for more information. GA Business sessions were held June 14-16 online. Our delegates from Morristown UU Fellowship included Caroline Blanchard, Jeanne Craft, Nan Perigo, Judie Romano, and Paul Snellgrove. We voted on a slate of candidates for Board and committee positions, two business issues, two Actions of Immediate Witness (AIW), and four Responsive Resolutions. We also obtained updates on ongoing business and actions by the UUA and Church of the Larger Fellowship. Links to overall reports and business items are at the bottom of this article. The two items of business were a proposed change to the UUA Bylaws designed to address the authority of who can suspend or place a minister’s search on hold, and a Business Resolution to establish a task force to consider policies and rules for Interim and Developmental Ministers. These were both proposed by the same group. There was a fair amount of discussion, including the fact that the current Bylaws of the UUA are currently under review, and the proposed amendment was actually more of a policy or procedural change than a bylaw-level rule. The Bylaws amendment did not pass, but the Business Resolution did pass – so there will be a task force put together to look at the rules and policies regarding Interim and Developmental ministers. The Actions of Immediate Witness were: Action of Immediate Witness - Defend Against the Assault on Environmental Protections: Public Lands Rules and the Endangerment Finding There were a lot of folks supporting this AIW, which was proposed by members of UU congregations and local tribes and groups in the Pacific Northwest, where changes to forestry practices and federal rules regarding uses of public lands are a major concern. Action of Immediate Witness - All Eyes on Delaney Hall: Vigils, songs, and support outside ICE detention centers across America, in solidarity with those on hunger strike, their families, and their supporters This AIW, while proposed from a place of concern by folks in NY state, was debated at length. Everyone agrees that actions need to be taken to oppose detention centers, but those who have been working on the ground held up the serious concerns that untrained protesters would get hurt due to the volatility of the people guarding the site(s) and that actions have already been in the works for July 13th – which would be interrupted by actions proposed for June 21. UUFANJ, UURISE, and others working hard on this issue asked that the AIW be voted down in order to allow for a better planned and executed series of actions, and for proper training of protesters to proceed. Responsive Resolutions: The first two Responsive Resolutions were “Where are the Youth?” which gave us a goal of bringing in more Youth and Emerging Adults to attend GA 2027, and “Gratitude for UUA Support of Youth and Emerging Adults” which proposed we create the space and engagement to improve UU engagement of our youth and young adults. The discussion included the need for removing the separation of youth from adults in UU congregations as well as creating programming to involve youth and emerging adults into our faith and faith actions. All the Responsive Resolutions were affirmed. RR: Where are the Youth? Responsive Resolution - Where are the youth https://discuss.uua.org/t/responsive-resolution-where-are-the-youth/2108 RR: Gratitude for UUA Support of Youth and Emerging Adults Responsive Resolution - Gratitude for UUA Support of Youth and Emerging Adults https://discuss.uua.org/t/responsive-resolution-gratitude-for-uua-support-of-youth-and-emerging-adults/2107 The third and fourth Responsive Resolutions (which also were affirmed) were Responsive Resolution - Reaffirming Our Commitment to Immigrant Justice and Relationally Grounded Organizing https://discuss.uua.org/t/responsive-resolution-reaffirming-our-commitment-to-immigrant-justice-and-relationally-grounded-organizing/2132 We affirm that the greatest midwife of justice is relationship. We ask the congregations and our association to reaffirm our demonstrated commitment to organizing in community, prioritizing relationships, and centering the most impacted. Let us show up in authentic and grounded solidarity on July 13th at Delaney Hall in Newark, NJ. Responsive Resolution - Include Concerns about Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) Crisis in Commission on Appraisal Renewed Outreach https://discuss.uua.org/t/responsive-resolution-include-concerns-about-southwest-asia-and-north-africa-swana-crisis-in-commission-on-appraisal-renewed-outreach/2133 In its 2026 UUA GA report, the Commission on Appraisal states it will be “sharing … how the issues with which the Association has been concerned in the past have or have not been resolved, and how they continue to echo in the present.” Widespread concern about the SWANA region crisis is an unresolved issue that echoes in the present. Our Association has no formal structure for addressing SWANA region concerns other than its membership in the coalition of Churches for Middle East Peace. No GA 2026 reports mentioned Churches for Middle East Peace, Palestine, or Gaza. While UUs hold the line against Christian Nationalism’s deadly impact in the US, we recognize that its foreign policy is also deadly. It intersectionally impacts people here and in other lands. US faculty were beaten and fired, and students arrested, imprisoned, and deported for speaking about the genocide in Gaza. Palantir services ICE and overseas aggression. Many UUs have ties to bombarded lands. Many UUs are in deep grief. Younger generations expect progressive institutions to be vocal. We ask the commission to include engagement with how the UUA can better include and respond to morally injured UUs regarding crises in the SWANA region. Congregational Study/Action Issue (2025-27) In addition, there was a workshop on Abolition, Transformation and Faith Formation, which is an ongoing Congregational Study/Action Issue (CSAI) based on the abolition of slavery and forced labor, replacing systems and cultures of violence, coercion and control with transformative justice and relational practices, and dismantling the prison-industrial complex. More information at the Church of the Larger Fellowship’s site: https://clfuu.org/abolition/ Resources: Annual Reports to the 2026 General Assembly: https://www.uua.org/ga/off-site/2026/business/annual-reports UU Service Committee Report: https://vimeo.com/1200544406 UU Women’s Federation Report: https://vimeo.com/1200560194 Curious about the process of UUA actions? https://www.uua.org/action/process More about UUA Governance: https://www.uua.org/uuagovernance More about Abolition: Read the entire CSAI. Find resources and monthly conversations on this CSAI at CLF’s learning hub. Links to proposed business items, AIW and RR: Proposed Business Resolution – UUA Task Force on Ministerial Fellowship Committee Policies and Rules for Interim and Developmental Ministers (PDF) Proposed Bylaw Amendment – Authority to Suspend or Place a Minister’s Search on Hold (PDF) AIW: Environment: https://www.uua.org/files/2026-05/2026%20AIW%20Submission%20-%20Defend%20Against%20the%20Assault%20on%20Environmental%20Protections%20Public%20Lands%20Rules%20and%20the%20Endangerment%20Finding.pdf AIW: Delaney Hall: https://www.uua.org/files/2026-06/Draft%202026%20AIW%20Delaney%20Hall.pdf RR: Gratitude for UUA Support of Youth and Emerging Adults (text and forum discussion) RR: Where are the youth? RR Immigrant Justice: https://discuss.uua.org/t/responsive-resolution-reaffirming-our-commitment-to-immigrant-justice-and-relationally-grounded-organizing/2132 RR: Southwest Asia & North Africa: Responsive Resolution - Include Concerns about Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) Crisis in Commission on Appraisal Renewed Outreach

Congress has started to advance spending bills that authorize funding of specific departments, agencies, and programs in Fiscal Year 2027. In recent months, the administration has proposed cuts to U.S. Forest Service funding and programs. Now, Congress is reviewing funding for the Forest Service. This summer is expected to be unusually hot and dry, increasing the risk of wildfires--not a good time to cut funding to the Forest Service! Please consider contacting your Representative and Senators and asking them to vote for robust funding for the Forest Service during the appropriations process. You can use Citizens' Climate Lobby's convenient online tool to write and send your email messages. If you do not wish to be subscribed to CCL's mailing list or contacted about future actions, click "no" in the online form. Citizens' Climate Lobby is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that empowers everyday people to bridge divides and build political will for effective climate solutions in Congress. Hundreds of Unitarian Universalist around the United States volunteer with Citizens' Climate Lobby.

How is the expanding global population affecting our health and well-being today, and what might the future hold? Join GEM members in examining a topic that is often relegated to the shadows of personal, political, and international conversations. The documentary film 8 Billion Angels was released in 2020 as a 79-minute feature film. PBS has broadcast it in a 54-minute classroom edition. The website has links for viewing either of the two versions on demand. After watching the film at your convenience, join GEM in a discussion on Zoom on Monday, July 13, 7-8 pm. We’ll talk about the documentary and discuss population trends and related issues. RSVP for the Zoom Link The Film Maker Terry Spahr Executive Producer Environmentalist and activist Terry Spahr left the corporate world to research, write and produce 8 Billion Angels, a documentary feature which exposes overpopulation as the upstream cause of all our environmental emergencies. Terry is the Founder and Executive Director of Earth Overshoot, a non-profit designed to promote public and private action to make ecological limits central to all decision-making. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts & Sciences and Fels Center of Government, Terry lectures on issues of sustainability to students, investor groups, and civic organizations. He is a regular opinion writer for a variety of environmental publications.

Celebrating Pride takes on an even greater significance as the community has been increasingly under attack in the past year. Sign up to be present at the Morris County Pride Festival. Please use this link to sign up for a slot. We need someone to pick up the gear at the Fellowship and set everything up. We have a list and instructions on what should go. Thanks for representing the Fellowship!

Many attendees have reached out with thanks, praising the caliber of our performance and the time and effort involved in creating the program. We had a large cast and crew whose talents and enthusiasm made it all possible. It takes a village . . . We loved working together each Sunday, learning from each other and becoming closer friends over the past six months. Some of us are old troupers, happy to sing and act as we've done in many ways over the years. Others - some younger people, some older folks - took on new challenges, expanding their repertoire, and maybe coming back for more! All were pleasantly surprised to see the many and varied skills and talents that emerged from cast and crew members to create and present our final product. After a brief hiatus to rest up, many of us would be happy to participate in a similar musical/theatrical project in the future. Please share any ideas you have for themes you'd like to see explored - by our Rev. Sasha and/or by a lay-led team. If our work has inspired you to get involved in planning or performing, please let us know. We'd be delighted if even more members and their children become part of the creative community that is an important part of our Fellowship life. If you watched the service on YouTube, you can get a digital version of the printed program that was distributed on June 14. It contains resources and references (book & article titles, links to websites, etc) for those who'd like to know a bit more about Oscar Hammerstein, his Universalist upbringing, and other Broadway creators supporting our UU values. (Email Barbara Castellana Stasiak if you'd like a digital version to be sent to you.) On behalf of the cast and crew, thank you for being appreciative members of our congregation/audience.

Many hands make light work. Please join us this Saturday 10-noon to help transfer old tables and other items into the nearby dumpster. If you can figure a way to safely reuse any of the items, pick them up before 10:00 am!

Take advantage of your MUUF member discount of 10% at our group outing to see HMS Pinafore, July 11 at the Sieminsky Theater at Fellowship Village, 8000 Fellowship Road in Basking Ridge. On Saturday, July 11 at 2:30, join other Fellowship folks to enjoy HMS Pinafore, a comic and musical delight. We’ll be meeting up for lunch at 1 pm at nearby Panera Bread (25 Mountain View Rd in Basking Ridge). GET TICKETS AS SOON AS YOU CAN BECAUSE THESE SHOWS DO SELL OUT! H.M.S. Pinafore is a comic operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, satirizing the British class system. It’s filled with catchy tunes, clever lyrics, and a humorous plot. It follows the story of a naval captain’s daughter who falls in love with a lower-class sailor, despite her father’s plans to marry her off to the First Lord of the Admiralty. It’s a delightful mix of love, mistaken identity, and social commentary, all set to catchy tunes. Its lighthearted humor and engaging story make it suitable for audiences of all ages. Want to know more before you go? THIS SATURDAY June 20 at 2 pm there’s a “know the show” talk by Maestro Jason Tramm (musical director) and Director Veronica Shea. There’s no MUUF discount but it’s pay-what-you-will so the price will be right! Presented by Maestro Jason Tramm, and Director Veronica Shea, the talk will include: The story behind H.M.S. Pinafore and its memorable characters The wit, humor, and wordplay that have delighted audiences for nearly 150 years The extraordinary partnership of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan Musical highlights and themes to listen for during the performance Music Director & Maestro Jason Tramm Director Veronica Shea One or more members of the production's cast may make a special guest appearance! By learning a bit about the show's history, humor, and cultural significance before the curtain rises, you'll be able to appreciate even more of the charm and brilliance that have made H.M.S. Pinafore a timeless favorite. Use the code “MUUF” for your 10% discount as a member: Tickets – Light Opera of New Jersey. After buying your tickets, RSVP below so we know how many MUUF Folks to expect at the show and at lunch! If you can’t make the July 11th 2:30pm show for this outing, no worries - your MUUF discount is still good at the July 11th 7:30pm and July 12th 2:30pm shows.

To reduce the amount of recycling contamination that we have been incurring, new recycling guidelines signage has been placed near/on the recycling containers. Here are the main points: Acceptable items o Plastic bottles and containers o Paper o Glass bottles and containers o Flattened cardboard o Food and beverage cans Please note, all of the above items must be CLEAN and DRY Unacceptable items o Liquid or food - this includes plates with food remnants o Foam cups, containers or straws o Plastic bags o Paper and plastic cups Your help in keeping our recycling contaminant-free is greatly appreciated!

Please join us on Friday June 12th for our Community Book Fair! It will take place from 5-9pm in Chu Hall. In addition to a book swap, we will have local vendors and authors. In fact MUUF’s very own Barbara Hussmann Long and Kylie Garabed will be there, so stop by their tables and show them some love! Stop by before or after dinner, but save room for dessert, because Treat Me Sweet Cookies and Lakeview Sodas will be there serving goodies for us! Moss Society will be back with another fun workshop series (more info), we will have book trivia, and, weather permitting, the patio will be open to enjoy your new reads or catch up with fellow book lovers. If you wish to participate in the book swap, bring up to 20 books in good, swappable condition and leave with up to the same number of new-to-you books to enjoy. If you have questions or wish to volunteer your services for an hour or two, please reach out to Caroline Blanchard or Megan Hein. For a full author and vendor list, please check our Community Book Fair event page.