Weeklies – Text Only

WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS – text only

Sunday Services

  • This Week:

    October 26, 2025 – Wheel of the Year:  Samhain/Halloween

    Samhain shares the ancient spiritual practice of remembering and paying respects to the ancestors who have died. This Samhain observance will focus on Remembering and Honoring our Ancestors, and on Communicating with Spirits. Everyone is invited to come in costume.

    Diana Titus will coordinate this service and the band will play.

Services This Month

  • October 5: Learning to be a Neighbor in the Land of the People of the River

    Dave Eckert of the Canoe Family Project and the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition will speak about his experience building relationships with landcestral cultures, and how that has helped him to better understand and act in ways that bridge cultural divides.  Like many of us, Dave grapples with avoiding cultural appropriation and cultural guilt.  UUFC has been able to contribute to the Canoe Project through our Justice Outreach Fund.

    Rev. Leslie Chartier will hold the worship space.

    October 12: Joy as an Improbable Friend

    In these political times, joy may seem an impossible thing.  But world religions throughout time have named joy as a human experience that wells up again and again.  Let us explore how to honor it.

    Rev. Alex McGee will preach and the drop-in choir welcomes all.

    October 19: Compassion as an Open Door

    Anger and indignation may well up for us as we read the news.  But spiritual teachers such as Howard Thurman have convincing arguments for why love is better for us and for everyone.  Can we perhaps have compassion for our own anger?

    Rev. Alex will preach and the choir will sing.

    October 26: Wheel of the Year:  Samhain/Halloween

    Samhain shares the ancient spiritual practice of remembering and paying respects to the ancestors who have died. This Samhain observance will focus on Remembering and Honoring our Ancestors, and on Communicating with Spirits. Everyone is invited to come in costume.

    Diana Titus will coordinate this service and the band will play.

From the Minister

  • Protecting What We Hold Dear:  Shared Responsibility for Safety

    From Rev. Alex McGee Oct 18, 2025

    Dear Fellowship:
    As we live out our values of caring, one way we show that is by caring for each other and our building in physical ways.  And part of that is to be prepared for events in which we might need to think quickly about safety.  

    In the next month, several events will occur at UUFC to help us strengthen our preparedness muscles.  Next weekend, staff and leaders who are responsible for others will spend a morning to train in fire safety and evacuation skills.  Then, on Sunday, November 2, at the end of worship, all present will all have an opportunity to practice evacuating the building.  This will help us see all the great work that has already been done to keep a safe egress, communicate between parents and RE guides, and signage for where to gather after evacuation.  Also, practicing evacuation can help us learn ways we could improve even more.  Next, the week after, staff and leaders will receive a three-hour Know Your Rights training and Human Rights Observer training, so that we can respond quickly and effectively if ICE comes to the building.  

    Finally, the Facilities Committee has been reviewing exterior locks and keys.  This is very important for the safety of those who work in the building — we need to provide a workplace that is as secure as possible, while still being welcoming.  Of course, the balance between having an open door and protecting against harm is a dynamic to hold with wise attention.   Toward that end, I ask that all members and friends remember to avoid propping the doors open, and if you must, to assign someone to watch the door.  Please give gentle reminders to those who have overlooked this.  

    If you are entrusted with a key code, please hold that in a covenant of accountability.  People who know the key code are responsible for the safety and well-being of the building and people in our community.   Not everyone needs a keycode: we provide times of welcome when the office is staffed from 10 – 12 noon on Tuesday through Friday so someone is here to let you in. 

    I invite all of us to reflect joyfully and thoughtfully about the many ways we steward this building and its safety.

    In peace,
    Rev. Alex

This Week at UUFC

  • Secure Housing and Food for All team meeting, 10/19

    The ‘Secure Housing and Food for All’ team is meeting on Sunday, October 19 at 11:45 AM in Room 3. All are invited to attend! The team will be discussing multiple topics:

    1. Thoughts on how UUFC meet needs of unhoused. 
    2. Update on Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center.
    3. Food donation collection at the Fellowship.
    4. Men’s shelter opening in November, and taking volunteers. 
    5. Other ways UUFC folks can be of ‘good’ help. 

    Childcare is available!

    Free childcare can usually be arranged for any Fellowship event by using this link 1-2 weeks prior to the event.

  • Invitation to Visit the Ancestor Tree through October

    In this tender season of remembrance, we are approaching our traditional Ancestor Tree with gentle intention and a small change. In an effort to care well for our grounds and to make this ritual more accessible to all, we’ve reimagined where and how we gather the names of those we carry in our hearts.

    You are invited to visit the table in the classroom wing, just outside the RE office, where you will find an altar box, paper leaves, and pencils. On a leaf, write the name of someone or something that has meant something and has died. A mentor, a teacher, a beloved pet, a family member, a forest, a river, a place that held you. Let this be a moment to name what matters. Add your leaf to the trees placed on either side of the altar box—our new Ancestor Trees.

    There, you will also find a basket of blessings for what was real and lost. You are welcome to take one. Read it there in a quiet moment, or tuck it into your pocket for a day when you need to remember that you are not alone. That love persists. That absence, though real, is never the full story.

    Please linger to read the names others have offered. Let yourself be moved by the web of connections among us—the invisible threads of people and places that have shaped the ones we now hold in Beloved Community. These names are echoes of resilience, tenderness, and transformation. They remind us that we are always standing on sacred ground.

    And as you reflect, consider this: What does it mean to become an ancestor? To live in such a way that one day, someone might speak your name with love and longing?

    This is not just a ritual of memory. It’s a quiet invitation to live with greater intention, greater courage, and greater tenderness, for those who came before, those who walk beside us now, and those who will follow.

    With you in the mystery,

    Skyla

  • No Kings Protest, 10/18

    Join us on Saturday, October 18 at 12 PM at the Benton County Courthouse for the No Kings protest!

    A little worried about recent developments? What we know is that the only way out of this slide to dictatorship is for everyone to get involved. THAT is what has stopped a tyrant. And only that. No one else is going to save us, as much as we watch and hope things will change. So WE must make the 18th the largest protest ever on the planet. So each ONE bring ONE (or ten) to the October 18th protest.

    For more information and resources, visit https://www.nokings.org/.

  • Speaking of Democracy Online Discussion Series (Sept 16 – Oct 21)

    The Statewide UU Advocacy organization, Oregon UU Voices for Justice is sponsoring weekly online gatherings for UUs to meet to share and learn about actions that each of us can take to save our Democracy. Beginning Sept. 16, we will gather on zoom each week on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 PM. There will be time to acknowledge what we are experiencing in the moment and also to get resources and information about topics concerning our current moment of democratic backsliding.

    Email Robin Lancaster for the link or join the Democracy Action Team in person for a watch party in the Fellowship Library. We will continue to learn and listen about how our Fellow UU Congregations are responding to this difficult moment in American civic life.

    Sept. 16 The UUA Action of Immediate Witness: Faithful Defiance of Authoritarianism

    Sept. 23 Characteristics of Successful Pro-Democracy Movements

    Sept. 30 Boycotts and Economic resistance

    Oct 7 Digital Safety

    Oct. 14 Mis and Dis information

    Oct. 21 Advocacy

Announcements

  • Greeters Got Game

    As a Greeter, you are the friendly face of the fellowship and extend an invitation to all who would like to join us; therefore, being friendly and welcoming is most important.

    You’re invited to learn more about being a Greeter on Sunday, October 26 at the TRICK or TREAT RESOURCE FAIR. Drop by the Greeters Table and sign up – we’re game if you are!

    Contact Team Lead, Heather E, for more information.

  • CANCELLED: Parking Lot Closed for painting

    The parking lot painting has been cancelled due to expected rainy weather. The painting still needs to happen, so we’re holding out for the next span of dry weather.

  • Classroom Wing update

    Apologies for the continued difficulty with the new heat pump heating system. Rooms 9 and 10 are still shut down until repair on October 15. Rooms 7 and 8 work, with variable response to the handheld remote. Please report any problems to Wolfgang Dengler via Breeze.

    There will be changes coming soon regarding keyed and key-less entry into the building as we continue to improve the safety and security of our building.

    We plan to mount hooks for hanging jackets and bags in the restrooms.

    A giant THANK YOU to everyone involved in the Classroom Wing remodel project for ALL your help in the last 10 months. We did it together, our community in Action. The Classroom Wing is now safely protected against earthquake and fire, and has become a warm inviting space for congregants and visitors. Let’s Go UUFC!

  • Holiday Trees For Sale

    Members & Friends, for the third year in a row, the Climate Action and Fundraising teams are collaborating to offer small, native, conifers for sale as table-top holiday trees. After the holidays, you can either return trees to us to plant, or you can plant them yourself.

    This year we will have 36 trees available: 18 Doug Fir and 18 Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine. All trees will be in 3-gal pots (up from last year’s 2-gal), will cost $25 each, and will be available beginning Sunday, November 30. We will take trees back for planting on Sunday, January 4 and Sunday, January 11.

    With supplies limited, look for the opportunity to reserve your tree(s) via a pre-order. Trees not reserved will be available on a first-come first-served basis before and after Sunday services and at the Holiday Fair.

    Questions: <treasurer@uucorvallis.org>

  • Helpers Needed for Holiday Fair, 12/6

    If you are a musician, consider joining the fun of the Holiday Fair by volunteering to play seasonal music during the fair for a half hour between 9 am and 3 pm on Saturday, December 6. One of the highlights of last year’s Holiday Fair was the live music in the lobby during this beloved annual event.

    The fair organizers are also looking for someone to be in charge of organizing the volunteer bakers who will make Baked Goods for sale. These very popular tables usually offer pies, cookies, candies, and other delicious items for sale. The organizers will help you recruit volunteer bakers and take payments! You only need to receive the baked goods from the volunteers the day before or the day of the Fair, then present and price them.

    If you are interested in either (or both!) of these opportunities, please email Holiday.Fair@uucorvallis.org.

  • How to donate to the monthly Outreach Offering

    Each month, the Fellowship gathers donations for a certain charitable cause. These are our Outreach Offerings. You can contribute to this month’s offering in a few ways:

    1. Give to the Sunday collection plate
    2. Donate online
    3. Donate to the refreshments during the social hour

    The Social Concerns team donate an assortment of sweet and savory refreshments, including gluten-free and vegan choices, for our enjoyment at the social hour following Sunday worship. These items are purchased and prepared by the team to encourage donations to the Outreach Offering. Collection baskets are always found at the end of the refreshments table. The next time you’re eyeing something tasty on the table, consider putting a donation in the basket first to show how much you appreciate having that treat ready and waiting for you!

  • RE Newsletter for October

    “October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!” ― Rainbow Rowell , Attachments

    Greetings, Families!

    The soggy, foggy season of all things cozy is finally upon us! Between sipping soup and reading Pumpkinheads to the kids, please take a moment to catch up on your Religious Exploration news and add some events to your calendar.

    Please note that this is the last month that this newsletter will be sent to last year’s registered families. If you are not sure whether you have registered your child for this new year in RE, please reach out to me, and I’ll help get you all squared away so that you don’t miss any of the fun!

    UPCOMING EVENTS:

    10/12 Monthly Family Breakfast is Back! register HERE

    10/16 Parent Peer Support Group is Back! Register HERE

    10/25 Youth Overnight: registration information was sent home and to parents’ inboxes.

    10/26 Teams and Councils Trick or Treat (wear your costumes to service!)

    More information about our events can be found below, and info for all events can be found at uucorvallis.org by clicking “News” in the menu bar and then selecting “RE Council” from the drop-down menu.

    You want to know what’s going on at the Fellowship and what different groups there are to be a part of. Your kids want to have some fun and wear their costumes. Okay, let’s face it. You want to have fun too! That’s why we’re hosting the annual Teams and Councils Trick-or-Treat event after the service on October 26th.

    Wear your costumes to the service and plan to hang out after to wander around and check out the information, goodies, and games presented by many of the wonderful groups, teams, and councils that keep us up to good trouble at the Fellowship and beyond!

    Registered OMG! youth and their friends are invited to this year’s Fall Overnight at UUFC! As always, we’ve invited youth from Eugene, Salem, and Willamette Falls congregations to join us, but it’s still unknown as to whether they have enough volunteer support to get their youth here this year.

    Please ASAP, but no later than October 8th. Registration information went home with youth and was included in the email version of this newsletter. If you have not received it and are interested in registering yout youth please reach out to Skyla at dre@uucorvallis.org.

    We will have a pizza dinner, and social hour, followed by a trip to the Melon Patch corn maze, and then come warm up with a candelight worship before bed. More details can be found in the Registration link!

    By request, we took September off of our regular family gatherings, but it’s time to get back into the swing of things with the return of the Family Breakfast and the Parent Peer Support Group.

    The Breakfast will be sticking with its 2nd Sunday Schedule this year, so please come join us on the 12th at 8:45. Registering each month helps us plan, but please come even if you forget to register.

    The Parent Peer Support Group (with free childcare!) will start on the 3rd Thursday in October, and will be on 2nd Thursdays beginning in November. You don’t want to miss this first session back on October 16th! Register anew with this link to be kept up to date on changes regarding this group.

    All of our Sunday morning groups for school-aged children are using the Mosaic antiracism curriculum this year. One of the upcoming lessons involves the use of candy. Because we don’t generally hand out candy in RE, I want to give our parents a heads up and a chance to share their family norms and concerns around sweets so that we can make sure all children are included and their dietary preferences are honored. These lessons will be taking place in Spirit Play on October 19th and in the Seeker Space on November 9th.

    Kids will sanitize their hands and then sort and handle various candies throughout the lesson.  Each child will be invited to taste 2 pieces of candy during class time, and the rest will be divvied up and sent home with consenting parents at pickup. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to me!

    I’m so pleased to share that a new RE team has formed with the focus on safety! Below is a copy of what they shared in the monthly journal. Because there is information specifically for parents, I want to make sure you have a chance to encounter it, even if you aren’t in the habit of reading the journal.

    We are fortunate to have a growing Religious Exploration program here at UUFC! To support this program, we have formed a Safe Congregations Support Team made up of parents and other members of our fellowship. Its purpose is to bolster the safety of all who engage with Religious Exploration programs by partnering with the Director of Religious Exploration to support uniform policy and procedure implementation and execution, consult on ambiguous background check results or interpersonal conflicts that have the potential to disrupt RE community-building efforts, and lovingly invite RE volunteers and participants back into covenant when our safety policies and procedures have been violated.

    As part of our role of fostering the safest environment possible for our UUFC families, we would like to remind parents and guardians that RE staff and volunteers do not supervise children during the coffee hour after the service or at any time they are not engaged directly in RE programs. Please stay mindful of your children’s whereabouts and safety during social gatherings and bear in mind that, as an inclusive community that values transformation, we welcome strangers and individuals with diverse histories into our midst.

    If you have a concern that needs to be addressed by our team, please contact Kyle Cupp, chairperson of the RE Safe Congregations Support team. Additionally, if you are passionate about safety and have skills and time to share, we’d love to hear from you!

    If you have any unmet needs for support, unanswered questions about how or why we do what we do in RE, please reach out any time! Our offerings exist because families share their dreams and needs, and we rely on your partnership!

    May we hold Love at the center of all we do together in this new RE and beyond!

  • Outreach Offerings for October

    Our Outreach offerings in October support South Corvallis Food Bank, which is a shopping-style food pantry offering a 5-day supply of food to households every other week. Partnered with Linn-Benton Food Share & Oregon Food Bank, the Food Bank strives to increase food-security in our community through compassionate care.

Plan Ahead

  • Memorial Service for Ron Wrolstad, 11/15

    Memorial Service for Ron Wrolstad

    Saturday, November 15th at 2 PM

    at

    the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis

    Ron Wrolstad was a long time member of UUFC.  He and his wife Kathy raised their two daughters here.  Ron was known for his steady attendance, he played the piano, was a longtime member of a book club here, and contributed in many other ways. Ron died here in Corvallis on Saturday, October 11th, 2025 from complications related to Alzheimers disease. Members of the Fellowship have described him as leading an exceedingly meaningful life as a husband, father, grandfather, scientist, teacher, colleague, student mentor, bicyclist, story-teller, and good friend.

Connect Up/Affinity Groups this Week