News and Alerts

UULMNJ Annual Meeting – New Board Members Elected

New Board Members Elected at UULMNJ Annual Meeting

About 70 UUs gathered in Titusville at the UU Church at Washington Crossing to carry out the business of the UULMNJ and the UULMNJ Public Policy Network.  New board members were elected, the 2013 – 2014 budget was adopted, and the past year’s highlights and accomplishments were reviewed.  Annual reports from Rev. Craig and the task forces, as well as other materials included in the participants’ packets, are posted on the UULMNJ website.

Rev. Bob Moore, Executive Director of the Coalition for Peace Action, gave an energizing keynote address.  He reminded us of the importance of putting our faith into action for to bring about a halt in gun violence, and for other issues that speak to us.

New members were elected to serve on the UULMNJ Board of Trustees, effective July 1, 2013:

  • Nick Lewis (Montclair)
  • Lorraine (Missy) Staples (Somerset Hills)
  • Doug Cocuzza (Sussex Co)
  • Rev. Allison Miller, (Morristown)
  • Judy Strackan (Montclair)

Continuing to serve on the board will be Rev. Virginia Jarocha-Ernst (Monmouth Co), Rev. Kathleen Green (Ridgewood), Frances Prestianni (Princeton), Gail Marsh Saxer (Ocean Co), and our youth representative Adam Green (Ridgewood).

Rohn Hein, Elaine Nigam, and Lynne Quinto, and Rev. Charles Ortman, four of our founding members, are ending their terms on the board.   Their contributions to UULMNJ and ULMNJPPN have been monumental in establishing and guiding our organization. We will miss their board participation, but are heartened to know that they will continue helping in many ways.

Annual Meeting Materials

Executive Director’s Report

Environment Task Force Annual Report

Gun Violence Prevention Annual Report

Immigration Reform Task Force Annual Report

Marriage Equality Task Force Annual Report

UUCWC: Half the Sky – June 25

The UU Church at Washington Crossing is screening a 45-minute version of the Half the Sky PBS series (www.pbs.org/independentlens/half-the-sky/), inspired by the widely acclaimed book of the same name by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn on June 25 at 7:00pm.

Half the Sky touches on different issues women face globally including death related to pregnancy, human trafficking, limited access to education, domestic abuse, and lack of financial opportunity in six locations around the world.

Ridgewood: Sistersong Coming on Nov. 2 and 3

On November 2 and 3, SisterSong (www.sistersong.net), a women of color cooperative and the group that coined the term reproductive justice, will be leading a training session at the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood focused on educating participants on reproductive justice. Their goal is to welcome local groups and congregations interested in the RJ movement with the hopes that they will spread their knowledge to the public and support RJ programs in their regions.

UULMNJ Hires New Administrator

UULMNJ bid farewell to our first administrator, Leanne McGowan, at the end of April, following her decision to pursue other interests.

We are pleased to announce the recent hiring of our new administrator Tara Wildhagen.  We received applications from several well-qualified individuals, but Tara’s technical skills and enthusiasm and commitment to what we are doing set her apart from the rest.  Tara was most recently a research analyst at the City University of New York, and came to us as she was looking for part-time work in conjunction with starting her own business.  Welcome Tara!

Monmouth Co – Social Action Film – June 25

The UU Congregation of Monmouth County’s Social Action Film Series next film will be shown on June 25.

Living Downstream follows scientist, professor, author, and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber as she travels across North America, working to break the silence about cancer, its environmental links – and the urgent human rights issue therein. Both personal journey and scientific-social exploration, this film is a powerful reminder of the intimate connection between the health of our bodies and the health of our air, land, and water.

Morristown: Microloans Change Lives

40 Lives Changed by MUF Sponsored KIVA Micro-loans

In May 2011, the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship initiated a series of micro-loans with $1,165 raised through a dedicated collection. This allowed them to provide loans to 14 individuals in 8 countries. Once the first round of loans was repaid, 20 additional people in 17 countries were provided loans in 2012. Then timely repayment of these loans has enabled them to extend loans to six additional individuals in five countries.

Plainfield: Marriage Equality Resolution

The First Unitarian Society of Plainfield joined forces with the Plainfield United Church of Christ and the Rahway Plainfield Society of Friends to pass a marriage equality resolution for New Jersey. The resolution states the three churches, as institutions that “affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of all people,” have an imperative to call “for the rights of all people to love those whom they love, with full rights to marry and enjoy the benefits of life-time commitment to their loved ones without restriction.”

Marriage Equality Rally at District Meeting

Marty Rothfelder (Summit) and Toby Tyler (Morristown), and Rev. Alison Miller (Morristown), along with Rev. Craig, coordinated a Marriage Equality Rally, held on Morristown Green on May 3 in conjunction with the UU Metro District Annual Meeting.  Under the initiative of several NJ UU congregations, delegates also approved a resolution supporting marriage equality.

Watch a YouTube video of the rally: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTktrLtFL1Y .

Immigration Reform Forum – April 21

IMMIGRATION REFORM FORUM
SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 1-2:30 PM
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton 50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton

The Forum will explore through dialog and presentations the immigration issues of paths to citizenship, labor conditions, employer verification systems, border security, and visa backlogs.

Speakers

  • Lou Kimmel, co-founder of New Labor, a workers rights organization
  • Marisol Conde-Hernandez from the New Jersey DREAM Act Coalition
  • Ted Fetter, chair of the Immigration Task Force of the Legislative Ministry

The forum will be moderated by Ted Fetter, chair of the Immigration Task Force of the UU Legislative Ministry of New Jersey.

The Forum is sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ and the UU Congregatin of Princeton Social Justice Committee.