A place to belong
Whoever you are, wherever you come from, whatever age, ability, history, identity, gender, or sexual orientation, you are welcome to bring your full self here… here to this place where we bring about a more just and loving world.
Through covenant groups, the care team ministry, and pathways to membership, we’ll help you feel a part of our community.
Here you will find
Who We Are
We seek to welcome your whole self, with all your truths and your doubts, your worries and your hopes.
We are brave, curious, and compassionate thinkers and doers. We are diverse in faith, ethnicity, history and spirituality, but aligned in our desire to make a difference for the good. We have a track record of standing on the side of love, justice, and peace.
We have radical roots and a history as self-motivated spiritual people. We think for ourselves and recognize that life experience influences our beliefs more than anything.
We need not think alike to love alike. We are people of many beliefs and backgrounds: people with a religious background, people with none, people who believe in a God, people who don’t, and people who let the mystery be.
Our Story: Rooted in Faith, Growing in Justice
For over a century, we’ve gathered in the heart of Montclair to learn, serve, and grow together.
In 1897, 28 Unitarian women met “to consider the feasibility of forming a Unitarian Society.” Their vision for spiritual education and community took root as Unity Church of Montclair — now the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair.
Guided by a long line of devoted ministers — from Rev. Arthur Hastings Grant and Rev. Edgar Swan Wiers to Rev. Norman Fletcher, Rev. Charles Ortman, and today’s Revs. Anya and Scott Sammler-Michael — our congregation has weathered fires, rebuilt, and renewed through every generation.
What has remained constant is our commitment to nurture the spirit, act for justice, and welcome all seekers of truth, beauty, and compassion.
Re-examine all that you have been told… dismiss that which insults your soul.
– Walt Whitman, poet and Unitarian
Guided by Purpose
Our vision, mission, covenant, and values express what we believe, how we live, and the love that unites us in community.
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We envision a growing, courageous, diverse, and inclusive faith-based community, dedicated to creating a sacred space for lifelong spiritual and intellectual growth. We commit to building and sustaining a loving and safe congregational community for ourselves and generations to come.
Our congregation promotes personal and mutual development—now and for future generations.
With generous financial stewardship we will care for our facilities and staff, and ensure a welcoming space for visitors and members.
We will engage with the wider community and honor our long-standing commitment to social justice with strategic action and intersectional collaboration.
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Our Congregational Covenant
As Unitarian Universalists, we are accountable to one another through covenants or sacred promises. This covenant that we make as a
congregation helps us keep love at the center of all we do.
1. Interdependence: We honor the interdependent web of all existence by creating and nurturing sustainable relationships of care, respect, mutuality, and justice, working to repair harm and damaged relationships.
2. Justice: We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression, supporting inclusive and democratic processes within and beyond our congregation.
3. Pluralism: We will learn from one another in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning, embracing differences and commonalities with curiosity.
4 .Transformation: We will adapt to a changing world, growing spiritually and ethically, remain open to change, and recognize that we are never complete and never perfect.
5. Generosity: We will cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope, sharing our presence and resources to sustain our interdependence and mutuality.
6. Equity: We will dedicate time, wisdom, and resources to building and sustaining a fully accessible and inclusive community where every person can flourish with inherent dignity and worth.
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Grounded in faith, we come together to nurture the soul, inspire hope, and bring into being a more just and loving world.
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We draw from our heritages of freedom, reason, hope, and courage, building on the foundation of love. Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love. Inseparable from one another, these shared values are:
Interdependence We honor the interdependent web of all existence.
Pluralism We celebrate that we are all sacred beings, diverse in culture, experience, and theology.
Justice We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all thrive.
Transformation We adapt to the changing world.
Generosity We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope.
Equity We declare that every person is inherently worthy and has the right to flourish with dignity, love, and compassion.
We’d love to introduce ourselves
Those Who Bring Our Mission to Life
Explore Belonging
Visiting is just the beginning — the next step is finding your place in our community.
Our “New to the U” Covenant Group is designed for new members and visitors who want to deepen their connection with our congregation.
The group meets for six sessions, on days and times determined by participants’ availability. New groups begin in the fall. Co-led by two recent new members and Rev. Anya, these groups help participants develop in their relationship to one another as well as our congregation. For more information or to enroll, please email Rev. Anya Here.
Learn
Lifespan education programs are available to all who are searching for their truth.
Join
Join a covenant, support, or small group
Play
Joy is at the center of our community. Concerts, dances, game nights and more.
Lead
Opportunities to serve and grow as a leader abound.