Calendar Archive 2010-11

Sunday, September 12th, 2010, Ingathering at 10 a.m., service at 10:30 a.m -- The Sheep Don't Gather Themselves -- Rev. Darrell Berger

10 a.m., Ingathering: We will have our traditional cookies and lemonade, outdoors if weather permits, then process into the sanctuary.

We will welcome the new church year with our traditional Water Ceremony. Everyone is invited to bring a small quantity of water from their summer travels.

For our first worship of the new church year I will address what I have learned from living with herding dogs. That is, the sheep don’t gather themselves. It takes some effort, skill, persistence and a bit of obsession.

I never liked the metaphor that referred to Unitarian Universalists as sheep. We are far more like goats, but they need herding, too. My two herders even persist, with scant results, in trying to herd our two cats. This might be the proper metaphor for gathering Unitarian Universalist. In any case I want to talk about what brings us together and the effort, skill, persistence and the bit of obsession required.

Tuesday Sept.14th, 2010, 7:30 - Board of Trustees Meeting, Sonen Room

Sunday, September September 19th, 10:30 a.m. -- Darfur Rehabilitation Project -- Barkley Calkins

The tragedy in Darfur continues. Today's service will offer suggestions on ways in which interested individuals and organizations can demonstrate their concern about the ongoing human rights tragedy in this region of western Sudan. Mr. Calkins will also be available for questions and discussion after the worship service.

Barkley Calkins is Director of the Nonprofit Sector Resource Institute (NSRI) at Seton Hall University's Center for Public Service. A former investment manager with J. P. Morgan and Company in New York and London, he also served as Director of the New Jersey program for the National Executive Service Corps. Mr. Calkins was a founding board member of the Darfur Rehabilitation Project (DRP), and currently serves as a member of DRP's Advisory Committee. A Ruling Elder and Deacon in the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), he is currently chair of the Finance Committee of the Presbytery of the Palisades. A graduate of Amherst College, Mr. Calkins was a decorated Marine Corps officer and pilot.

Sunday, September September 26th, 10:30 a.m. -- The New Universalist Christianity -- Rev. Darrell Berger

Since the merger of Unitarians and Universalists in 1961, Universalist Christianity has almost entirely died out of our denomination. Yet it seems to have been reborn, partially within the UUA and partially as an independent movement claiming this part of our spiritual birthright that we have ignored.

Sunday, September September 26th, directly after the service, 11:30 a.m. to noon -- Social & Earth Action Committee, Sonen Room.

Saturday, October 2nd, 8:00 p.m. - Black Maria Film Festival.

Films to be shown:

• Pickles to Nickels- A cardboard world where monkeys steal pickles and shopkeepers find romance.
• Missed Aches- Meaningful meaning is torn asunder by cascading malapropisms.
• Banana Bread- Droll "AA" fiction film breaks boundaries with unexpected plot twist.
• Breaking Boundaries: The Art of Alex Masket- Powerful documentary by local film maker Dennis Connors about a young artist with autism whose pictures are indeed worth a thousand words.
• Corporate Art Policy- Tongue-in-cheek send up of bad taste in one corporate headquarters.
• Found: Nothing Missing- A playful ditty about something lost then found.
• The Last Days of I.S. Bulkin- An agent of the Heavenly Corporation pays a visit to a hapless guy.
• Never too Late- Two long suffering hotel maids make a decision to tie the knot.

Additional works will be screened including a sneak preview of a savvy political cartoon from Italy premiered at Black Maria's special program within the Animator Festival in Poznan Poland.

For additional information contact Frank Barszcz at 201.303.1810. or the Festival office at 201.200.2043.

Suggested donation $8.00.

Sunday, October 3rd, 10:30 a.m. -- "What God asks of Us" - Rev. Darrell Berger

The entire quote is from St. Jerome: "What God asks of us is not found at a great distance." Where do we find God, assuming we are even looking?

Sunday, October 10th, 10:30 a.m. -- Report from GA -- Georgiana Hart

This past June, member Georgiana Hart attended the UUA General Assembly, the annual gathering and business meeting of our free faith denomination, held this year in Minneapolis, MN. Georgiana will relate her impressions, as well as the important decisions that were made at this year's GA. Please come and hear what is happening in the rest of our liberal religious movement.

After the October 10th service at 11:30, there will be a meeting of the Social & Earth Action Committee, in the Parish Hall.

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010, 7:30 PM -- Board of Trustees meeting, Sonen Room

Sunday, October 17th, 10:30 a.m. -- Tyler Clementi: the New Emmet Till? -- Rev. Darrell Berger

The death of Emmet Till at age 14 in Mississippi proved a rallying call for civil rights. Will the death of Tyler Clementi do the same?

Sunday, October 24th, 10:30 a.m. -- Good and Evil: Hope and Heroism in the 21st Century -- David Chapman

Why do good people, people with high ethical standards and sound theological beliefs, often fail to keep their decisions and actions at the same level of goodness as their moral guidelines? This talk involves a look at good and evil in light of the science of our 21st century, and what it means for us individually, socially, and spiritually. Dave makes a call for a new definition of heroism and moral character.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Dave Chapman worked at many vocations, from shoe shine boy to financial advisor. He studied the humanities and comparative literature at Ohio Wesleyan University and now does freelance writing while he develops his career as a professional speaker. He is an active member of the First Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hunterdon County in Baptistown, NJ.

Thursday, October 28th, 7:30 PM -- Celebrations & Music Committee, Sonen Room

Sunday, October 31st, 10:30 a.m. -- Aspirational Disguise -- Rev. Darrell Berger.

When a child dresses up for Halloween as a princess or a basketball star, some hopes for the future may be expressed. These hopes do not end with childhood, nor our clever disguises with tricks and treats.

Sunday, November 7th, 10:30 a.m. -- The Tao of Power -- Rev. Darrell Berger

The Tao states that everything is in the constant flux of becoming its opposite: that the dualism we impose on reality limits our understanding. This lofty philosophy seems perfectly suited for this season's elections.

Sunday, November 14th, 10:30 a.m. -- A Pilgrimage to West Africa -- Rev. Phil Passatino

Phil recently traveled to the country of Mali, West Africa. His short film presents a less-often seen view of Africa: instead of starvation and suffering, we'll see smiling faces and the beauty of a simple way of life. He'll share the ways he was inspired by Malian culture and spirituality, including Muslim and indigenous traditions. He'll also play an African musical instrument, the mbira, used for meditation.

Tuesday, November 16th, 7:30 p.m. - Board of Trustees meeting, Sonen Room.

Sunday, November 21st, 10:30 a.m. -- Homes Old And New -- Rev. Darrell Berger

This is Homecoming Sunday. For us, our church is a familiar and comfortable home. How did it get that way for you? What is required to keep it that way? How does one balance the necessities of change with the need for comfort and familiarity? How shall new people be received and find a home with us?

Sunday, November 28th, 10:30 a.m. -- Robert Frost and the Spirit of Metaphor -- Dr. James Barszcz

Poet Robert Frost is one of the best known and most celebrated American writers of the the mid-20th century. Dr. James Barszcz will examine some of Frost's statements about poetry and metaphor, and will show how finding resemblances is not just the job of poets--it's what we all do when we think productively.

James Barszcz received his PhD in English Studies from Rutgers University and taught at the college level for many years. Now employed in the telecommunications field, he lives in Maplewood, NJ and edits the College Hill Review, an online literary journal.

Sunday, December 5th, 10:30 a.m. -- Waiting with Chocolate -- Rev. Darrell Berger

The Advent Calendar is an invention of German Lutherans. When I was a boy I would be given one soon after Thanksgiving. It was a large poster with lots of glitter and color. There were several little doors and windows. Each day leading to Christmas I opened another, revealing little drawings with holiday themes: a candle, a stocking, a tree, a nd so on, each day's scene being a bit more elaborate than the day before.

When Kathleen and I were married, I discovered that the Advent Calendar was also part of her family tradition. Erica always received one, but hers were different from the ones I remembered. Behind each day's door or window she found a piece of chocolate! What? My advent calendars never had chocolate! I discovered that for some people, waiting is made rather easier than for others! This is the theme of today’s sermon.

Sunday, December 12th, 10:30 a.m. -- My Most Memorable Holiday

We often suspect our diversity without really knowing the specifics. One way to find out more is to share the memories of significant experiences. This Sunday's sermon segment will be filled by Bill Stafford, Angela Randall-West, Ross Miller and Nina Barszcz, speaking on their most memorable holiday.

After the December 12th service, at 12 noon, there will be a Social & Earth Action Committee meeting in the Parish Hall.

Tuesday, December 14th, 7:30 p.m. - Board of Trustees meeting, Sonen Room.

Saturday, December 18th, 10:00 a.m. - Greening the Church

Sunday, December 19th, 10:30 a.m. -- Wintertide Celebration -- Flore Dorcely

This service will include the church choir singing the Burgundian carol "Pat-a-Pan.".

Friday, December 24th, 7:00 p.m. -- A Star Is Enough -- Rev. Darrell Berger

Our traditional candlelight worship service.

Sunday, December 26th, 2010, 10:30 a.m. -- Kwanzaa -- Flore Dorcely

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011, 10:30 a.m. -- Singing in the New Year

This is a member participation service. Do you have a piece of music to perform? A hymn you love to sing? A song that has special meaning to you? Please contact Gregory Giacobe at or 201-823-2459 before December 29th to be included in the Order of Service.

Sunday, January 9th, 10:30 a.m. -- Obama Turns the Other Cheek -- Rev. Darrell Berger

Much has been made of how our President's basic personality and way he meets the world has either helped or hindered his presidency. To what extent may one change this about one's self? How much is it even advisable? I will examine this in light of one of the Bible's most widely known and little understood concepts: "turning the other cheek.”

After the January 9th service, at 12 noon in the Parish Hall, there will be a Listening Post for the Congregational Poll on the Ethical Eating Current Study/Action Issue.

Sunday, January 16th, 10:30 a.m. -- Martin Luther King Day -- Flore Dorcely & the R.E. class

Sunday, January 16th, 4:30 P.M. to 8:00 P.M -- Evening of Remembrance on the first anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti - sponsored by the Lanbi Center for Humanities and Civics. We will gather to reflect on how we can remember and honor the lives of the thousands who have been lost to us, and what we can do to support those who have survived the earthquake. There will be poetry, music, and readings to uplift the spirits of those gathered. All are welcome.

Sunday, January 23rd, 10:30 a.m. -- The Once and Future Sandwich Generation -- Rev. Darrell Berger

The Baby Boomers are the Sandwich Generation, care-giving for both their children and aging parents. This will continue for awhile. But sooner than anyone will notice, this will change. How will the generation that thinks of itself as "forever young" adjust? How will their kids handle it?

Tuesday, January 25th, 7:30 p.m. - Board of Trustees meeting, Sonen Room.

Sunday, January 30th, 10:30 a.m. -- The Rally to Restore Sanity: Do We Want Liberal Politics to Turn into Liberal Religion? -- Wayne Eastman

A participant's reflections on the recent Jon Stewart/Steven Colbert "Rally to Restore Sanity"/"March to Restore Fear" in Washington, D.C., complete with signs.

Sunday, February 6th, 10:30 a.m. -- Waking up to Shatter the Silence -- Hanan Watson

The position an individual takes on the Palestine-Israel conflict relates less to the reality of conditions on the ground and more to one's upbringing, experience, and the media they are exposed to. Additionally, there are unverifiable mass emails, blogs, twitters, youtube videos, and more to wade through. Facts are not easy to come by.

Many UU congregations seem reluctant to speak out and act on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for many and complex reasons. The sermon outlines the reasons why we UUs have lagged behind other denominations on taking a stand. It describes the factual and emotional impediments UU congregations must deal with before we can define a unified stand consistent with our values and principles. It also addresses why this issue can no longer be avoided and urges UUs to take a position that is acceptable to all. Once a position is agreed upon, congregations can move forward with action plans to enhance the prospects of peace, security, and justice for Israelis and Palestinians, recognizing that this is critical not only to these two groups, but as General Petraeus has stated, to the US and world peace. While hopes for peace are at a low point at a governmental level, civil society in Palestine and Israel is actively taking steps that provide hope for a peaceful solution. UUs need to identify and support these hopeful trends.

Born in Jerusalem of Palestinian Christian Arab parents, Hanan Watson became one of the 750,000 refugees who suffered from the establishment of the State of Israel. She subsequently lived in Jordan and Lebanon and immigrated to the New York in 1966. She is a graduate of the American University of Beirut. Retired from the executive search business, she spends most of her time doing volunteer work, including chairing the Board of Just Vision, a nonprofit organization that emerged in response to the lack of media coverage of Palestinian and Israeli civilians working to end the conflict. Just Vision works to ensure that these Palestinian and Israeli civic leaders are not only taken seriously as partners in the quest for peace, but are also more visible, valued and influential in their efforts. Previously, she participated in the Dialogue Project, which brings together Palestinians, Israelis, Jews, Christians and Muslims to discuss and learn from one another. She also chaired the Peace Task Force of All Souls Unitarian Church in New York from 2003-2006. Currently, she serves as a Lay Pastoral Associate at All Souls.

In connection with this service, the speaker has supplied us with an annotated list of Resources on Palestine & Israel, with Internet links, which is accessible on our website in either of two formats: click here for HTML or here for Word.

Tuesday, February 8th, 7:30 p.m. -- Board of Trustees meeting, Sonen Room.

Friday, February 11th, 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.-- Game Night , in the Parish Hall.

Sunday, February 13th, 10:30 a.m. -- Passion is not Enough -- Rev. Darrell Berger

As we approach Valentine's Day, we should all have passion for the person to whom we send out special cards and gifts. Passion is one of the most important emotions in making life meaningful. Now, however, "What is Your Passion?" has become an essential question in everything from job interviews to college applications. This sermon is about the skillful and unskillful use of passion.

After this service, at noon in the Parish Hall, there will be a Listening Post for the Congregational Poll on the Draft Congregational Study/Action Issue (CSAI) Immigration as a Moral Issue.

Sunday, February 20th, 2011, 10:30 a.m. -- Restoring the Shattered City: Mighty Work for a Small Church -- Mindy Thompson Fullilove, M.D.

The church that sits in a struggling city is called to be part of the healing. How is that to be done? What does our spiritual practice as UUs offer to guide us in making our contribution?

Mindy Thompson Fullilove, MD, is a research psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and a professor of clinical psychiatry and public health at Columbia University. Educated at Bryn Mawr College (AB, 1971) and Columbia University (MS, 1971; MD 1978), she is a board certified psychiatrist, having received her training at New York Hospital-Westchester Division (1978-1981) and Montefiore Hospital (1981-1982). She has conducted research on AIDS and other epidemics of poor communities, with a special interest in the relationship between the collapse of communities and decline in health. From her research, she has published Root Shock (2004), and The House of Joshua (1999), and is a co-author with Rodrick Wallace of Collective Consciousness and Its Discontents (2008). She has published numerous articles, book chapters, and monographs, and has received many awards, including being listed on "Best Doctors" and receiving two honorary doctorates (Chatham College, 1999, and Bank Street College of Education, 2002). Her work in AIDS in featured in Jacob Levenson's The Secret Epidemic: The Story of AIDS in Black America. Her current wo rk focuses on the connection between urban function and mental health.

Sunday, February 27th, 10:30 a.m. -- JAZZ WORSHIP SUNDAY! -- Howard Thurman: Minister to All People -- Rev. Darrell Berger -- music by David Braham and friends

In 1944 Rev. Howard Thurman became co-minister of the first racially integrated, culturally diverse church in the United States, The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. Though many today do not realize it, their path to spirituality and justice was blazed by Howard Thurman.

Sunday, March 6th, 10:30 a.m. -- Midrash, Meaning, and Mercy -- Miriam Axel-Lute

How does one deal with evangelists while remaining humble? Is there a middle ground between scripture as literal truth and as historical artifact? How do we communicate about what we actually believe when it's so darn complicated?

Poetry can help. This poetry-themed service explores various ways to use poetry to examine religious questions and scripture, especially topics it may be difficult to discuss in standard conversation.

Miriam Axel-Lute's favorite compliment ever is "I didn't think I liked poetry, but I liked that!" Her poetry has been published here and there, including the anthology Hunger Enough: Living Spiritually in a Consumer Society, and performed from many stages, bookstore corners, classrooms, pulpits, and living rooms. She has three chapbooks, including One Turning: Poems for the Wheel of the Year, and her website is www.mjoy.org

Tuesday, March 8th, 7:30 PM -- Board of Trustees meeting, Sonen Room.

Sunday, March 13th, 10:30 a.m. -- Remember the Future -- Rev. Darrell Berger

In the tradition of ministers everywhere, I have stolen the title of this sermon. It is also the title of a book by an Episcopal priest, Jerald Keucher, who is an expert a financial and building management of churches. He does an excellent job of bringing together the spiritual and ethical aspects of a church with its bricks and mortar. This sermon will use his ideas as they apply to both our mission and our facilities.

Saturday, March 19th, 6:30 PM -- 2011 Service Auction , in the Parish Hall.

This year's theme is Mardi Gras and we're havin' a party! Dave Braham will be supplying the music along with a select group of the area's top jazz musicians. There will be dancing and some light food and drink and all of the things that go along with a Mardi Gras celebration including, we hope, YOU.

Sunday, March 20th, 10:30 a.m. -- Whose Christianity is it Anyway? Musings of a Heretic -- Rev. Deb Morra

Rev. Deb Morra is a Community Minister affiliated with Community Unitarian Church in White Plains. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker by trade, with past experience as a chaplain, mental health provider, and program manager. Rev Deb currently works as a psychotherapist.

Sunday, March 27th, 10:30 a.m. -- Freedom From Wanting -- Rev. Allen Wells

Our addiction to wanting more is the a priori cause of our personal discontentment and resulting looming environmental catastrophe and potential global financial meltdown. On the other hand the ability to free ourselves from this wanting can enable us to become ultimately happy and live in harmony with the earth. I'd like to offer some observations for discussion on the means for achieving this freedom.

Rev. Allen Wells is currently Director of Allen Wells Counseling in Morristown, N.J., a holistic mind/body, spirit counseling center that specializes in Contemplative or Mindfulness Psychotherapy. He has served as minister of UU congregations in Weymouth, Mass., Hollis Queens and at The First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn as well as Director of Religious Education for the UU Congregation of Monmouth County and the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship. Most recently he completed a four year term as Consultant Minister of The First Unitarian Society of Rockland County, N.Y. Born in Charlottesville, Va., near Monticello, he graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in counseling, and went on to earn a postgraduate degree in counseling from the Institute of Religion and Health in NYC. He was formerly a therapist of the DiMele Center for Counseling & Psychotherapy in Manhattan, and is currently among a select number of students in an intensive year long Integrated Study Practice Program at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, MA.

Allen's life long interest has been in unifying the internal, personal, psychological world, commonly called "spiritual", and the external political, social, economic, environmental world, -- the material world. He defines himself as an earthcentered, Buddhist, UU. You can find him on the picket line or teaching meditation. He acknowledges that he hasn't written any books, because he would rather spend the time ballroom dancing.

Sunday, April 3rd, 10:30 a.m. -- What the Afterlife Teaches Us about This Life -- Rev. Darrell Berger

We understand our fate for eternity based on how we understand this life. Today's sermon is inspired in part by a very interesting little book, Sum by David Eagleman. If you buy and read it, I suspect your thinking will be as stimulated by it as mine has been. Thanks to Paul Axel-Lute for recommending it to me.

Sunday, April 10th, 10:30 a.m. -- Creation Community Justice: A New Ethic for the Age of Environmentalism -- Rabbi Lawrence Troster

Human technology and modern scientific knowledge of the natural world has created the need for a new morality of responsibility. How can ancient religious traditions respond to this radically new situation and help to solve the environmental crisis? Can the new ethic be expressed through traditional spiritual texts written within the context of pre-modern worldviews?

Rabbi Lawrence Troster is the Rabbinic Advisor for Hazon, the largest Jewish environmental organization in the American Jewish Community, and Rabbinic Scholar-in-Residence for GreenFaith, the interfaith environmental coalition in New Jersey. He is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City. Rabbi Troster is one of this country's leading Jewish eco-theologians and religious environmental leaders. He is the creator and former director of GreenFaith's Fellowship program which is the only interfaith environment training program for religious leaders in the world. He has published numerous articles and has lectured widely on eco-theology, bio-ethics, and Judaism and modern cosmology. He received his B.A. from the University of Toronto and his M.A. and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He was recently given an honorary Doctor of Divinity by JTS for his more than 25 years of rabbinic service. He is also pursuing a D. Min. in Ecological Ministries at Drew Theological School. Rabbi Troster was recently honored by the Temple of Understanding, one of the oldest worldwide interfaith organizations, as an Interfaith Visionar

Tuesday, April 12th, 7:30 P.M. - Board of Trustees meeting, Sonen Room.

Sunday, April 17th, 10:30 a.m. -- Where Was God? -- Barnaby Feder

Every religion has to have an explanation for evil and the natural disasters that beset humanity. The Tsubaki Grand Shrine, a long time partner of the Unitarian Universalist Association in the International Association for Religious Freedom, was spared the brunt of the recent earthquake and tsunami. How might its version of Shinto help Japan recover? A U.U. seminarian who lived at the shrine last summer offers his reflections.

Barnaby Feder, a Montclair resident and former New York Times reporter, will graduate from Drew Theological Seminary in May. He is currently serving as ministerial intern at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship. A lifelong U.U. from San Mateo, California, he won a scholarship last year to study Shinto at the Tsubaki Grand Shrine in Japan. He spoke to us last year about the Lost Shepherd, Rev. Luke Garner.

Friday, April 22nd, 6:30 p.m. -- Church Seder

Easter Sunday, April 24th, 10:30 a.m. -- "In Remembrance of Me" -- Rev. Darrell Berger

With his death clearly ahead, Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me." He gave his disciples bread and wine, inventing communion. What ritual would you invent so that you might be remembered? What rituals do you perform that help you remember others?

Sunday, May 1st, 10:30 a.m. -- Music for May Day, including a performance by the Montclair Early Music Group, followed by our annual May Pole.

Sunday, May 8th, 10:30 a.m. -- The Church of the Empty Nest -- Rev. Darrell Berger

The majority of us are members of the empty nest parents' club, but not all. Some have never been parents; others are still in the midst; still others, who knows, might have it ahead of them.

Therefore, while most of us look backward to our parenting, as a church we still must look forward. We need to welcome and serve those who are at many different stages of life. How can a church of our size do this?

Social & Earth Action Committee will meet Sunday, May 8th, 12 Noon, Parish Hall.

Board of Trustees meeting, Tuesday, May 19th , 7:30 PM, Sonen Room.

Sunday, May 15th, 10:30 a.m. -- What We do Best -- Rev. Darrell Berger

Our greatest gifts are often hidden from us. They are such a part of us we barely recognize them. It is the same with churches. Today we celebrate what UU churches, and ours in particular, do best. This Sunday is also the kickoff of our canvass drive. We also welcome Richard Faison, Self-Help Center Manager for Where Peaceful Water Flows, the collaborative support program that meets in Hale House during the week.

Canvass Kick-off Brunch, Sunday, May 15th, after the service, in the Parish Hall.

Sunday, May 22nd, 10:30 a.m. -- Community Creativity -- Rev. Darrell Berger

When a community is as distressed as Orange has been, all the creativity of its people can be consumed with the necessities of survival. Finding time and space for music, art and other uplifting elements of the human spirit can be difficult. Today we once again welcome Gail Levinson, Executive Director of Arts Unbound, for an update on their activities, featuring an exhibit by some of their artists in the Parish Hall. The sermon will help us think about how we can continue to be creative in our use of our buildings and our community partnerships.

Sunday, May 22nd, 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. -- Forum: Day Laborer Work-Related Issues & How Immigration Affects Us All

Know your rights!

• What do you do if you don't get paid for work you did?
• What do you do if ICE or the police are harassing you?