This list of Frequently Asked Questions was prepared to help inform people about the votes that will occur at the Fellowship’s Annual Meeting. Please read these questions, and share this page with anyone who has questions about voting. If you have a voting question that isn’t answered here, please email it comms@uucorvallis.org.

Do I have to be a member to vote?
Yes, per the Fellowship’s Bylaws.

Does pledging make me a member?
No. But it is greatly appreciated!

How do I know if I’m a member?
Check the list of members that is currently available at the Board table in the Social Hall after Sunday worship service.
You can also ask by emailing comms@uucorvallis.org.

How does the Fellowship keep track of who the current members are?
Fellowship staff maintain a member database using Breeze Church Management Software.

Can I vote proxy?
No.

Can I vote with an absentee ballot?
No.

Can I vote on Zoom?
Yes.

Can I vote by phone?
No.

Can my friend / roommate / spouse / cat vote for me?
No.

How many of the Inquirers series do I have to take before I can become a member?
Three; specifically Sessions 1, 2, and 8 (or 9). For more information see Our path to Membership page.

Can I sign the book the morning of the congregational meeting? The day before? The week before?
Yes, yes, and yes.

If I was a member elsewhere, can the minister make an exception for me?
No.

I didn’t know I had to be a member. Can I vote anyway?
No.

I have been coming to the UUFC for a long time. Doesn’t that count?
Not for the purposes of voting on congregational matters, no.

I think I signed the book 20 years ago, but you all don’t have proof. Can I vote?
No. But ask about your membership status anyway, so existing records can still be checked.

From the Emerita Team:

In finishing up our listening sessions, here are some Frequently Asked Questions that we heard with some repetition.

Q. Why are we pursuing this honor now and not last year?
A. We looked into bestowing the honor of Emerita on Jill last spring, but didn’t do it soon enough before last year’s annual meeting, so the Board asked us to wait until this year, when we would have sufficient time to hold listening sessions and have conversations with the congregation well before this year’s annual meeting in May.

Q. Would it be better to wait until next year or even two or more years from now?
A. Many members have asked us to pursue this honor for Jill now, so while the memory of Jill’s loving and beautiful ministry is still fresh in our minds, we wanted to express our gratitude by conferring this honor now rather than a year or more from now. Moreover, we realize that hopefully a year from now, our focus will appropriately be on welcoming a new, settled minister to our Fellowship, rather than on celebrating a past minister.

Q. What are the UUA guidelines for when to bestow this honor?
A. The UUA does not have specific guidelines for when to bestow this honor; some congregations do it when the minister retires, which is what this congregation did for two former ministers; some wait a year, and some wait longer. 

Q. Are there guidelines determining the type of contact Jill may have with our congregation, once the status of Emerita is conferred?
A. Yes.  These guidelines will be negotiated among our Interim Minister, Alex McGee, Carl English-Young, our Board President, and Jill, our former Minister. These guidelines will create a Covenant, which will be presented to the Congregation at our annual meeting in May. When a settled minister arrives, they will create a new Covenant with Jill concerning these same guidelines.

GA2026 is happening soon!  June 14 – 16 and 19 – 21
Act quickly to serve as a delegate and save on registration fees!

General Assembly 2026 (GA2026), the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is coming up soon in June! This year, due to the increased costs of travel, the event will be online. Registration is open currently. Registration fees increase on May 1. 

 “Meet the Moment: Together Everywhere” will unfold in two parts with a midweek pause. From Sunday, June 14 to Tuesday, June 16, delegates will engage in fully virtual General Sessions focused on the business of our national association. Our delegates will represent the UUFC on these policy matters. The preliminary business agenda is now available. To view, go to:

https://www.uua.org › files › 2026-03 › ga2026_tentative_agenda_03012026.pdf

For delegates who wish to take part only in the business sessions and not in GA programming, a business-only registration option will be available in May for $175. This option provides access to the Delegate Participation Platform only and does not include live programming, on-demand viewing, the EduCenter, or networking features in the Whova app. 

After a two-day pause, GA2026 resumes Friday, June 19 through Sunday, June 21 with worship, featured speakers, and “Meet the Moment: Together Everywhere” themed programs. Eight Satellite Sites scattered across the country will host a local welcome, song, and chalice lighting, as well as livestream GA content, offer space for afternoon discussion groups, and host the Sunday Morning worship livestream. Fortunately, one of the Satellite Sites is hosted by our neighbor, the UU Congregation of Salem, OR (see below).

REGISTRATION: Everyone participating in GA, whether joining a community gathering, watch party, or attending a UUA-hosted site, must be registered for General Assembly. Registration rates for adults are $350 through the end of April and $450 if registering May – June. Satellite site admissions, which may be added to the GA registrations, are a non-refundable $25, and are subject to local capacity. UUFC delegates can obtain help with registration fees as needed by contacting Board president, Carl English-Young. (President@uucorvallis.org)

Those interested in serving as UUFC delegates should contact Rev. Alex McGee. With 317 members, our congregation is certified to appoint seven delegates to the annual business meeting. Delegates are selected based on the following: 

• Prior attendance at the GA, with preference given to those who are attending for the first or second time.  
• Prior participation in GA and/or UUFC affairs, with preference given to those who are experienced participants with a depth of knowledge of UU and UUFC history and practice. 
• Those whose activities and viewpoints, in the views of Board members, are best aligned with those of the majority of members of the UUFC, while also allowing for a diversity and balance of perspectives.  
• The demonstrated capacity of the nominees for respectful and congenial interactions with other UUFC members.   See UUFC Policy 2.8.1 for complete details. 

General Assembly Satellite Site at the UU Congregation of Salem, OR

~An Invitation from our neighbors at the UU Congregation of Salem ~

We welcome UUs to join us in Oregon’s capital city of Salem, in the heart of the Willamette Valley, for General Assembly gatherings. This opportunity for connection, conversation, and relationship-building will take place amid the beauty of June in our area. We’ll gather in our sanctuary, with its distinctive flaming chalice-stained glass window and newly upgraded video wall. There will be opportunities to share coffee, tea, and conversation in our spacious fellowship hall and to join in small group conversations to meet the moment together.

The Board of Directors has nominated eight members of the Fellowship to serve as our Settled Minister Search Committee. The signed members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis will vote on whether to approve the formation of this Committee at the UUFC Annual Meeting on May 17, 2026. The eight nominees are listed below, along with biographical introductions they each provided.

Gary Barnes

I joined the UUFC in 1991, and I have been involved in many aspects of the fellowship over that time, including singing in the choir and providing many other musical contributions, volunteering in RE, serving on the UUFC Men’s Retreat team, serving as a member of the Committee on Ministry for over a decade, and on the team that created the current UUFC Covenant. 

I recently retired from a career as a social worker, which has given me more time to do the things I love and value: spend with my family and friends, play music, read and write, cook, be outside, watch Baltimore Orioles baseball,  and volunteer where I think I can make a contribution. 

I am very honored and grateful to be invited to be on the search team, which is so important to the health and future of our religious community. I agreed to take on this because I now have the time and flexibility to follow through on the commitment. My skills and experience seem to line up well with the task, even though I obviously also have so much to learn. I had a career of trying to make the world a little better by advocating for people with less power and privilege, and tried my best to listen, observe, and set aside judgment so that I could see the unique value that each person brings to this life. Through that lens, the amazing diversity, talent, and resilience of people is special. I often think this when watching the congregation from the back row of the choir on Sundays. In addition to working with individuals, I have experience advising work teams and have taught leadership skills, which could be an asset to the ministerial search team. 

Russ Born

Russ is a transplant from southern California who has lived in Corvallis since 1994. He has been a UU member for 10 years. He will soon be retiring from a 30-year career in IT at Oregon State University, and finishing his term as president of the SEIU sublocal there. He is an active member of the Rotary Club of Corvallis After 5 and the Mankind Project, and has coached Special Olympics for 30 years. His interests include hiking, camping, motorcycling, golf, and theater–as a spectator, not a performer.  

Molly Curry

Hello, I’m Molly Curry. I am excited for the work the Search Team will be doing this year! I have been coming to the UUFC since 2016.My roles at the Fellowship include Religious Exploration teacher, Connections Council co-lead, as well as a facilitator for Queerly Beloved, and membership in the neurodivergent group and a chalice circle. It is a true privilege to be asked to work with, and guide, the congregation to find a settled minister for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis.

Tim Emery

The UUFC has been a home for me for forty years.  After living in the San Francisco area for most of my life through university I was happy to come to Corvallis for graduate school in 1976 and then a career at HP.  The UUFC was not a part of the picture until 1986 when my two kids were three years and three months old.  Living across the street from Craig and Nancy Leman I was aware of the UUFC and it was Nancy’s encouragement that got me here in September 1986 on the day that the new building was dedicated.  Early in those years I spent time in RE and as my kids grew volunteered in the toddler room to continue learning from the young ones.  

Anna and I met when her daughter was nine and it was rewarding and challenging to support Star through her growing up.  The UUFC was very important to her and to us in those years.

The UUFC has supported us through several crises for which we are thankful.

Over the years I’ve been a member of the mowing crew (May the Makita Be With You), served on the Nominating committee twice, served on the board as treasurer and for the last several years been part of the sound and video crew.  

A ministerial search is an infrequent event and I’m happy to participate this time around.  My personal perspective of the fellowship over forty years will be a contribution to the team.

Priscilla Galasso

Priscilla is currently serving her second term as Secretary of the UUFC Board. She sings in the choir, is a Spirit Play guide in RE, volunteers in the office twice a week, leads a Chalice Circle, attends a second Chalice Circle, and is on the Women’s Retreat Team, the Justice Theater Team, and the Adopt-a-Highway Team. She became a member on December 21, 2021 and earned the nickname “The Priscillatator” from the Women’s Retreat team when she began her leadership journey here. She was on the Nominating Committee before being elected Secretary. Being on the Search Committee is an opportunity that will allow her to offer her knowledge of the Fellowship’s unique characteristics and needs over the past five years. Her administrative skills come from work experience as an Office Manager for a land trust and the Operations Supervisor of the largest children’s theater organization in the nation. She was on a Search Committee for a minister once before, in the Episcopal Church she attended with her family 35 years ago. She is dedicated to offering her skills to the Committee’s tasks and abiding by the covenant they will create. She hopes to create strong connections with her Committee colleagues that will enable the group to encourage one another to do their best work with commitment and joy. She is honored to be given the Fellowship’s trust and looks forward to taking on this position, serving the community she has come to love so deeply. 

Shikha Gottfried

UUFC has been my first UU home for over two decades. We came seeking common ground to raise our daughters (then 1 and 3) in a community that would help them become the kind of human beings I wanted more of in this world. In that process I was surprised to discover that UUFC was what I needed too.. without even knowing it!

I’ve found much food for thought in many of the Sunday services, especially when hosting Post Sermon Discussions to contemplate perspectives with others. Similarly, growing new Chalice Groups has been a powerful way to build deeper connections to people. Over the years I’ve participated in many different groups and events, helping out and learning about myself and others along the way. But the biggest part of why I stick around are the relationships… there are many good people here.

Outside of UUFC, I enjoy being a Master Gardener through the OSU Extension Service, teaching others how to grow their own food. I’m partial to the magic of starting plants from seeds and anything else that helps me reuse nature’s bounty. I also teach at times at Crossroads Conversation School, where it’s been a particular pleasure for me to connect with women from many different countries, all here searching for ways to belong and seeking skills to make the process easier. I use my time in the classroom to surreptitiously introduce feminist ways of being and encourage independent thought.

I’m “retired” from a very left brain centered career as a software engineer and find my time spent on more physical pursuits, despite my body aging which brings its own new challenges. Sometimes weeding can feel like a contact sport! Two beautiful daughters have grown and flown, so the mothering portion of my life has turned a corner. I’m *sure* they appreciate all my advice via text. 

I don’t feel like I have free time to add more activities to my plate but this particular role to be a part of the Search Committee for our next minister is one that I couldn’t turn from. I plan to enter into this journey with curiosity-to uncover where we’ve been as a congregation and how we think we need to be and grow in this ever changing world. There are many perspectives to consider, and I look forward to conversations with each other as we all look to our future together.

Rachel Houtman

Rachel Houtman has been a member of the UUFC for 13 years. She has lived in Corvallis since 2005 and currently shares a home with her parents and three children. Rachel was raised in UU congregations from the age of 5, first in Madison, Wisconsin, followed by 14 years in the congregation in Bangor, Maine. She moved to Corvallis with her family in 2005 and attended services at the UUFC sporadically while working and completing a master’s degree in Forestry in 2011. In 2013 she became a member of the congregation, a year before her first child was born. Over the years she has served on the Program Council, as a youth advisor, run cash registers at various events, and facilitated a youth OWL program. The responsibility task to a group of congregants in the search for a new minister is weighty. This liminal space can create excitement and trepidation about what is to come. Rachel holds this as a time to open to what comes next for our congregation and is excited to be a part of this work.

Joyce Standing

Joyce Standing spent her first eight years on a farm on Stahlbush Island just east of Corvallis. Her family moved to Portland where she went to school in David Douglas School District.  She returned to OSU for her BS in Elementary Education. After completing her MAT at Lewis & Clark and four years teaching in Beaverton, she and her husband moved to Kirkland, WA where Joyce lived until 2023 when she returned home to Corvallis once again. She taught fourth-sixth grade in public and private schools for twenty-five years before starting her own private tutoring business which she continues part-time today.

The UUFC felt welcoming and positive to Joyce from the moment she walked into the foyer two years ago. She enjoys learning more about being an active UU member and has held the Membership Lead for a year and a half. The idea of exploring values and beliefs along with her strong sense of connecting with others is what drew her to accept a role on the Search Committee. She looks forward to meeting others, listening to ideas, sharing opinions, and learning more about what it means to be a member of our thriving fellowship.

The Nominating Committee has nominated fifteen individuals to fill elected positions at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis for the coming liturgical year. This slate of candidates will be voted on by all signed members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis at the UUFC Annual Meeting on May 17, 2026.

UUFC NOMINEES FOR ELECTED POSITIONS ‘26-‘27

(Terms are for one year unless otherwise noted)

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President – Carl English-Young
Secretary – John Bailey
Treasurer – Michael Hughes
Board – Claire Montgomery (2nd year of 2-year term)
Board – Carolyn Madsen (2nd year of 2-year term)
Board – Kathy Kopczynski
Board – Bonnie Morihara (2 year)
Board – Mike Jager (2 year)
Board – Kris Egan (2 year)

Nominating Committee 

Steve Strauss
Rachel McGrath
Nancy Kyle
Thea Hart

Financial Oversight Council Chair

Scott Bruslind

Personnel Committee Chair

Jamie Petts

Committee on Ministry has been paused

Respectfully submitted,
Nominating Committee (2025-’26): Kris Egan (Chair), Heather Thomas, Steve Strauss, Jim Good, John Bailey