They say charity begins at home, and the Folk Project will prove it tonight, Dec. 19, 2014.
The nonprofit is throwing a concert to benefit the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship — the home of its weekly Minstrel music series for nearly a decade.
MUF, as the Fellowship is known to members, is in the midst of a $3.2 million drive to finance renovations at Thorne Oaks, the Morris Township mansion where it has gathered since 1957.
This evening’s 8 o’clock show, which costs $10, will feature holiday ballads, seasonal classics and original tunes by Minstrel favorites Christine DeLeon, Jeff (Big Jeff) DeSmedt, Liz Pagan (of Yankee Caravan), Bill Hall, Kathy Haynie and Jefferson Berry (of Urban Acoustic Coalition), hosted by Bob McNally.
“Back in the early days of the Folk Project … I had looked longingly at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship as an ideal site for a folk concert. It was at once elegant, and yet welcoming in its ambiance,” said Mike Agranoff, chairman of the Folk Project’s Friday night folk series.
It took decades of courting before the MUFfies and the Projectiles, as Agranoff calls the respective tribes, finally tied the knot. But it’s proven a solid marriage.
“We’re thrilled the Folk Project is hosting a benefit concert for us, a really lovely gesture. We really appreciate it,” said the Rev. Alison Miller, minister for the Fellowship.
She said her nondenominational congregation–comprising 355 adults and more than 100 youths who follow the Unitarian Universalist tradition–works closely with area organizations that promote arts and music; mental health, recovery, and spiritual support groups; and community service and justice-oriented projects.
“We are touched that one of these organizations, the Minstrel Folk Project, has decided to help us with our building fund. As you can imagine, it is a challenge for a congregation to meet all the financial costs involved with the upkeep of an historic property like ours,” Miller said.
Now listed in the National Registry of Historic Places, Thorne Oaks was built in 1912 as the country home of a wealthy New York family. When a subsequent owner unsuccessfully attempted to convert it into a home for the elderly in the mid-1950s, the Fellowship acquired the estate at 21 Normandy Heights Road.
Grand as the building is, it lacks amenities commonly found in houses of worship, Miller said.
There is no social hall that can accommodate the entire congregation after a service. The place lacks a modern kitchen. On the first floor there is only one bathroom, and it’s not the only wheelchair-accessible rest room in the facility.
The building campaign aims to correct those situations, while also adding a pair of air-conditioned classrooms, a playground and improved landscaping.
Additionally, the Fellowship intends to double the parking on the property, in a way that reduces storm water runoff.
The plans are before Township officials for review, Miller said. So far, the congregation has raised $2.3 million for the renovations.
A CERTAIN MAGIC
Agranoff said the venue has held a certain magic for him ever since Folk Project members rented it for special concerts decades ago.
That feeling persisted when he attended other events there, until finally he was invited by the Fellowship to play at a charity concert for Central America in 2003.
“I felt honored to perform in this place I had so admired all these years,” recounted Agranoff, an accomplished songwriter and musician.
At the end of that show, “just on a whim,” he asked the event organizer if she knew of the Folk Project, and the Minstrel.
“Of course,” was the response.
“I asked her how she would feel about the Minstrel’s using the facilities of the Fellowship as our regular venue. She said, ‘That would be wonderful!’ I thought, with an attitude like that, from a facility like that, it would be the perfect match,” Agranoff said.
They’ve been making beautiful music together since April 15, 2005. The Minstrel has presented top folk acts such as Susan Werner, Jonathan Edwards, Red Molly and The Kennedys on a weekly basis. It’s also provided audio services and performers for Fellowship events.
A familiar name kicked off the partnership.
“It was a great honor and gratification to me that I was the headline act for that first concert at the Fellowship,” Agranoff said.
MORE ABOUT THE MORRISTOWN UNITARIAN FELLOWSHIP
