Join us on April 8th at 7 pm, at the Fellowship

For a potluck of appetizers, cheese & crackers, and desserts

with hot and cold beverages.! Finger foods only please!

Please consider your contributions by last name:

A–G: appetizers, H–P: desserts, M–Z: cold beverages

❤️ And if you are not new to the fellowship, you also may join us

to connect & help our new members and visitors to feel welcomed!

RSVP to Donna Becker, at [email protected],

with the the # of attendees, & what you will be bringing

Hosted by

Welcoming Committee &

the Fun/Community/Connection Team

🌷We look forward to sharing a delightful evening together 🌷

Annette Tyler

A number of years ago when I was the Chair of the Fellowship’s Denominational Affairs Committee I wrote a newsletter article, in which I made the cardinal mistake of many Unitarian Universalists– spouting initials instead of words.  I ended the blurb by saying, “See you at GA.”  The secretary at the time, who was not a UU, edited this sentence to “See you at Georgia.”

I am a Unitarian Universalist.  If I had never moved to Morristown or never heard of the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship I would still be a Unitarian Universalist.

I signed my first UU membership book at age 18, and that is an interesting story for another time.

In 1989 I attended my first General Assembly, Bend Toward Justice, which was held in New Haven Connecticut.  The first thing that happened to me was on the shuttle bus from the parking lot to the dorm where I was staying for the conference.  On the bus was a friend from my former congregation in Hastings, New York.  What a surprise; I hadn’t seen her in 11 years!  During this weekend I also got to see friends from other places around the country.

One General Assembly, which I did not attend, was held in 1996 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  I mention it here, because I think it is so cool that two of our oldest members Ann Renz, then in her 80s, and Eleanor Mason, then in her 70s, attended along with two Fellowship teenagers, David Stasiak and Heidi Schulman.  The theme of the conference was The Future is Now.

In 1998 GA, Fulfilling the Promise, was held in Rochester New York.  This time I roomed with Carol Todd, who was there as a member of Olympia’s Daughters, the featured entertainment for the assembly.  I think I also recall seeing teenaged Alison Miller leading an energy break one afternoon.  At one of the workshops I was introduced to an author of some of my now favorite mystery books, who got her start by doing research on the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, near Rochester, in 1848.  Do the math:  1998 was the sesquicentennial of this historic event.

In 2007 my husband Toby and I attended GA in Portland Oregon along with a number of other Fellowship members.  The theme for this year was Choices that Matter.  The highlight of this meeting for me was to see more old friends—one of whom was being honored on his retirement after many years as a Unitarian Universalist minister in Brooklyn, New York and Davenport, Iowa.  The other friend was a former congregant from Hastings, New York, who was receiving his initial fellowship as a UU minister.

Last year, 2014, Toby and I went to General Assembly in Providence, Rhode Island.  This meeting was entitled Love Reaches Out.  We had dinner with former Fellowship members Larry Nagel and Jeanne Gleason, who were there from California.  One afternoon Toby overheard part of a conversation, and said, “I know that voice!”  Sure enough, it was Janet Randolph, whom we knew from the Fellowship.  She has been an active member at All Souls Church Unitarian in Washington D.C. for many years.

As you can probably guess we have many memories of workshops and gatherings at General Assembly, but our fondest remembrances are of seeing old friends and being in an ocean of Unitarian Universalists.  If you want to experience what it is like to be among so many UUs and see how our denomination works I urge you to attend one of the Unitarian Universalist General Assemblies coming to a city somewhere each year in the continent of North America

In 2023 we went to Pittsburgh for our last GA; of course, at the time we didn’t know it was our last one together.  Toby grew up in Pittsburgh, so we went early to tour our/his usual haunts.  We also got there in time for some of the local Juneteenth celebrations, and we toured the Andy Warhol museum.  Our first GA evening was spent with other UUs from around the globe watching the Pittsburgh Pirates lose their game.  Toby carried the Fellowship banner on the opening night of the conference.  We had dinner one night with former Fellowship member Helen Lippman, and we bumped into friends from the Princeton and Montclair congregations as well as seeing Alison Miller, Mandi Huizenga, and Elias Ortega-Aponte.  Robin Richards was also in attendance.  One of the highlights of the week was a brunch that was given for members of the 50 lead congregations, where we got our photo taken with outgoing UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray.

This year, 2025, GA will be in Baltimore, MD !!

June 18-22

 

Register Here https://www.uua.org/ga/registration

 

  THINK ABOUT IT!                      

Daily news getting to you?

Feeling overwhelmed and helpless?

Frustrated by the mind-numbing abundance of calls to action?

Or the lack thereof?  Same here.

We are in the early stages of forming a Rapid Response Team.  This team will initially track events and notify interested parties.  Eventually we hope to expand our range of services. To get started we will be introducing a survey to get a clearer picture of where interests lie and the levels of participation available to the team.  Start thinking about:

• How do you want to be contacted?  Text, phone, email
• What issues are of most concern to you?  Multiple choice available
• What are your preferred ways to engage? Anything from letter writing and sign making to helping organize a march or rally.

The Rapid Response Team will have a table at the Social Justice Fair during coffee hour on April 27, 2025.  Hope to see you there.  Until then – STAY TUNED!

Tanya Van Order

Kelly Gleason

Judie Romano

Linda DeLap

Rev. Sasha Ostrom

 

The 1st Friday Action Hour is April 4.  The pertinent document will be available at noon.  As usual there are no obligations to participate, no long-term commitments, or requests for donations.  YOU WILL NOT BE ADDED TO A TEXT OR EMAIL LIST.  Check it out at your leisure if you can’t “lunch” with us.  If you decide to participate, please remember to fill out the response form.  This helps UUFANJ gauge our effectiveness.  Since there is so much going on, the main issue to be addressed at this particular Action Hour is still to be determined.

Come join us in celebrating April – a time of renewal, growth, new beginnings – hope.

 

April 7, 6 pm: The Joys of April: What a varied and interesting month April is!. It is the month of Earth Day, Passover, Easter, meteor showers, April Fools and GLSEN’s “Day of Silence.” Join other members of GAAMC to learn about the gemstone and flowers associated with this month when animals end their hibernation, the baseball season begins, the Titanic sank in1912, and da Vinci, Shakespeare, and Elizabeth II were born.

April 14, 6 pm: The Songs of Spring: Come join us as we play and discuss our favorite Spring Songs, celebrate the season, and break out of our winter state. What are your favorite songs that put pep in your step? Send links to [email protected] by April 7 and be prepared to speak to your selections. 

April 21, 6 pm: Joys of Easter & Earth Day: Come join us as we celebrate Easter by learning about the origins of the Easter bunny & Easter eggs. We’ll also view & discuss a video on Earth Day and reflect on the current state of our planet and what can be done to improve it.

 Refreshments are served, and attendees are asked for a small donation at each of these meetings.

 

April 28 , 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, April 25, to Gordon Sauer at [email protected].  

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.

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. 

Seed Planting Session and Food Sovereignty Workshop

Come get your hands dirty and learn how to make a difference in your community! We’ll be planting seeds to support local community gardens and diving deep into the concept of food sovereignty.

Led by Mutual Morris, this workshop will explore how cultivating your own food and engaging in radical organizing can challenge and change the systemic problems within our current food system.

We’ll Cover:

• Community Needs Assessment: Understanding the specific needs of your community
• Diverse Food Growing Strategies: Exploring various methods for growing food in different environments
• Mutual Aid’s Role: Discovering how mutual aid can help create a more equitable and just food system

Event Details

• Date: April 12, 2025
• Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
• Location: Chu Hall

RSVP HERE

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn, grow, and connect with others who are passionate about creating a more sustainable and just food system!

Our weekly Fellowship Coffee Hour is a cherished tradition that brings us together for warmth, connection, and a sense of community. We invite you to join us for coffee, conversation, and a delightful assortment of treats with fellow members and friends!

Enhance Our Refreshment Offerings:

To make our Fellowship Coffee Hour even more special, we encourage you to consider bringing a treat or creamer to share. Your contributions help create a diverse and abundant spread that everyone can enjoy.

Treat Ideas:

• Baked Goods: Cookies, muffins, pastries, scones, and other homemade or store-bought delights.
• Savory Snacks: Chips & salsa, pretzels, crackers & cheese, or other snacks to satisfy savory cravings.
• Bagels & Spreads: Bagels, cream cheese, butter, and other spreads for a classic breakfast treat.
• Fresh Fruit: Sliced fruit, berries, or other fresh options for a healthy and refreshing addition.

Creamer Contributions:

• Milk: Whole milk, skim milk, or other milk options for coffee and tea.
• Dairy Creamers: Half & half, heavy cream, or other dairy creamers to add richness and flavor.
• Non-Dairy Creamers: Almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, or other non-dairy alternatives for those with dietary restrictions or preferences.

Your Generosity Matters:

By sharing what you enjoy, you contribute to a diverse and enjoyable spread for all. Your generosity in bringing a treat or creamer helps foster a sense of community and abundance. Thank you for enhancing our Fellowship Coffee Hour experience! We look forward to seeing you there!

Please use this sign-up to the treats keep coming!

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. 

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

It is that time of year again when the children of the Fellowship organize and host an All Ages Talent Show. They are calling on young and old to share something that makes them unique. It can be a song or poem. You can tell jokes or some fun facts. Whatever it is, we would love to see and hear it.

Saturday March 29th at 2 pm

This year we will be in Chu Family Hall, so if your talent is baking or cooking any delicious food, please share that with us too.

Click here to sign up.