On Sunday, March 29th, we will hike some familiar and lesser-known parts of the Lenape Trail. It is not as old, long, well-known or as crowded as the Camino de Santiago in Spain, but parts of the trail are in Montclair and Bloomfield: Mills Reservation, the Iris Gardens, Tuers Park, Brookdale Park and Clark’s Pond. Join us on our walk together as we connect to ourselves, each other, and to the Lenape people indigenous to this land. This walk will be family-friendly.
The next Racial Justice Ministry Team meeting will take place on Zoom on Monday, March 23. Click here for Zoom link and details.
We have a Racial Justice Ministry Team which guides our work towards internal transformation and external solidarity around issues of racial justice. The church recognizes God’s call to us, as Christians, to engage more deeply and discern where and how Union Congregational Church ought to learn from, support, and journey with changemakers in our local communities to transform dynamics of racialized exclusion, harm, and trauma, into patterns and experiences of human solidarity for inclusive thriving and racial justice. Racial Justice is a ’24-25 Missional Priority for the church.
We are always seeking to live out our commitment to care for God’s creation. This includes the installation of solar panels in 2020, and the ongoing efforts to “green” our campus and educate ourselves. Momentum grew at the beginning of 2024, when three houses of worship gathered (Bnai Keshet, First Cong, and Union Cong), and decided they would like to combine their efforts working towards climate justice. This grew into 15 congregations and three community groups forming “Interfaith Climate Justice NJ.” The Interfaith Climate Justice NJ group has organized a march in downtown Montclair, attended rallies together, and produced a “Clean Energy Fair” that took place at the church.
The “Let’s Watch Film Series” is a film and discussion series that aims to heighten historical awareness and normalize opportunities to reflect collectively on how ideologies and structures and experiences of racism and white superiority are legacies that impact our realities at present. To celebrate Black History month and address issues of climate justice, we will show the documentary Descendant (2022, 1h 50 min) on Friday, February 20th at 6pm in the Guidl Room. To date, we’ve screened and facilitated dialogue on Selma, Rustin, My Name Is Pauli Murray, Migration, Segregated By Design, and The Evolution Of Grace Lee Boggs.
In the spirit of God’s boundless love, Union Congregational Church opens its doors wide to all. We welcome God’s people and celebrate the many images of the Divine manifested in differing gender expressions, identities and sexual orientations. Our support and celebration is demonstrated in affirming liturgies, inclusive music, and active community engagement. The church has created events for the Montclair LGBTQ+ community, co-sponsored events with local organizations, and offered the church as a space for local LGBTQ+ groups to gather. We have joyfully welcomed and celebrated LGBTQ+ people in every aspect of church life, including clergy, since 2001.
We were proud to be a founding member of Essex Together in Spring 2023. Through Essex Together we join with organizations across the county (and in NJ Together across the state) to advocate on issues around criminal justice reform, education reform, and green energy.
We work to support non-profit partners in our community that work towards food security with our time, talent and treasure. We seek out regular opportunities for hands on service by preparing food for Christine’s Kitchen, supplies for Bridges, and volunteer at MESH and CUMAC.
Our congregation has been committed to refugee resettlement for decades. Most recently, we have been working with Church World Service to assist recent arrivals as they transition to life in our area.
What are you passionate about? If you have an idea of how we can live out our call to create a just world for all, contact Rev. Katrina.
Here are some examples of our most recent Justice and Community Engagement work:
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