October Services

October 1 – “Love As Spaciousness” with Rev. Jill McAllister. A new generation of UUs suggests articulating our values in new ways, beginning with Love at the Center  

October 8  – “Not So Like-Minded After All” with Rev. Jill McAllister. We’re learning a lot about the real differences in how brains work – neurodiversity. Turns out we’re more different than we imagine.

October 15  – “What is Transformation?” with Rev. Jill McAllister. Have you ever experienced transformation? How is it part of religious and spiritual growth?

October 22  – “God Is Not One, Neither are We” with Rev. Jill McAllister. One of the unique characteristics of our religious movement is pluralism – the willingness to be different and be  together at the same time.

October 29  – Wheel of the Year – All Ages – Samhain / Halloween

“One Night, Just Write”, 10/1 and 10/15

Want an easy way to get involved with election activism? We have the snacks, paper, pens, envelopes, stamps, and names and addresses of swing state voters who don’t always get to the polls. All that’s needed from you is writing your non-partisan answer to the prompt, “I vote because…”

Tuesday, October 1st and 15th at 6:30 in room 6

Daily Practice – A Weekly Reminder

One of my teachers says, in many different ways, that spiritual growth, or becoming wise, is a process of discovering, at your core, a story that can hold all the other stories. A foundation that makes room for everything that comes your way, for everything that is. In that place, that story, vulnerability and courage are the same thing. Courage is not simply the energy or power to defend our expectations or habits or “knowledge.” Courage is the ability to keep the doors of our minds and hearts open, to change direction, to leave things behind and keep moving, even – or especially – if we are mourning as we go.

“What would it be like to wake into our bodies, our relationships and our work as if seeing them for the first time?”, the teacher asks. Yesterday there was sorrow and joy; today there is sorrow and joy – but today we are not the same as we were yesterday. Nothing is the same.

This is a good daily practice – to find ways and time to open ourselves and our stories to the way things truly are. To be willing to be lived by pain and sorrow and fear in all the ways we are willing to be lived by happiness and love and joy. To move as life moves, in us and around us.

Phasing Out Zoom for Small Group Meetings at the Fellowship, 12/1

Beginning December 1st, the UUFC Zoom account will no longer be used for most online Fellowship meetings. We will continue to use it for Sunday services and a few other meetings,  while groups that hold remote meetings will be asked to switch to Google Meets or some other platform, or use personal Zoom accounts. This decision was made for a variety of reasons:

1. It will save us money

2. We can run multiple online meetings at once, which wasn’t possible with our Zoom account.

3. Google Meet has end-to-end encryption for meetings, making it even more secure than Zoom.

4. Groups can schedule and manage their own meetings at a time that works for them without going through the calendar process.

Did you know you can also create your own free Google Meet meetings using your personal Gmail account?

Women’s Retreat

The 2024 Women’s Retreat will be October 18 & 19 at the Fellowship. This year’s theme is “Resilience: Build Your Own Toolkit”. The Retreat will run from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Friday night and 9:00 am to 8:00 pm on Saturday. Please register by October 6.

The cost of our retreat – including a Forks & Corks catered lunch and dinner, snacks, and materials – is $50.

Register Now

To contact the Retreat Planning Team, please email: womensretreat@uucorvallis.org

Roy Zimmerman Concert, 10/13

Join us on SUNDAY EVENING, Oct. 13, 7 PM at the UUFC to welcome singer /songwriter Roy Zimmerman back to Corvallis and the Fellowship. Especially in these pre-election weeks, we need his wit and wisdom to strengthen and encourage us.

Buy Tickets Now

 
~Roy Zimmerman writes funny, socially conscious songs. He’s sung these songs on stages, screens and airwaves for over thirty years, bringing laughter and encouragement to progressive-minded people across the nation.
~Roy’s songs, at turns heartfelt and hilarious, turn our hearts, minds and ears toward the social justice battles yet to be won. His motto: “Sing. Laugh. Defend Democracy.”
~He’s putting the finishing touches on a new album – his 11th as a solo artist. ROADMAP is a collection of classic social justice songs re-imagined for this fraught moment in our history.
~“He simultaneously inspires me and makes me laugh my ass off,” said Paul Krassner.
~”Roy’s lyrics move beyond poetry and achieve perfection,” said Joni Mitchell.

Birthday Celebrations, 10/6

Please join in celebrating our members and friends with October through December birthdays. Enjoy cake and coffee in the social hall after service.

UUFC Holiday Fair, 12/7

Get ready for a wonderful time at our annual UUFC HOLIDAY FAIR! Tell all your friends and neighbors. You don’t want to miss this. On Saturday, December 7 from 9:00 to 3:00, you’ll be able to buy:

* Beautiful handmade arts and crafts for yourself or as presents for others

* Tasty baked goods donated by UUFC bakers

* Lovely greenery swags and table centerpieces

* And, until they sell out, coffee, tea, snacks, and a light lunch

“Rosh Hashanah, Entitlement, and Floods” 10/6/24

Each Sunday during the pandemic lock-down, when we worshipped together online, I began each service with a short reflection on “where are we this week?” more or less. Here at the beginning of October, a few days into the Jewish observance of Rosh Hashanah, I’m beginning in a similar way. What do we need to know, what can we know, how shall we live given the currents states of affairs – floods, elections, wars, and more.

Rev. Jill McAllister

Our Justice Outreach Offerings for October will support our Partner Church in Transylvania, except for this first Sunday of the month, Oct. 6. This week our offerings will support the UUA Disaster Relief Fund, which is raising funds for communities recently ravaged by flooding.

Addressing the Climate Emergency, 10/12 and 10/13

Dear Friends, I am writing today to invite you to a community meeting where we will talk about how we can connect around issues of climate change. This meeting will bring together folks from all walks of life here in Corvallis. It will be at the Church of the Good Samaritan on October 12th 9am and 13th 1:30pm (for two half-days). Details are in the photo. I hope you can make it. And feel free to spread the word. Thank you.

Take care,
Melissa Bird

Rev. Jill McAllister is one of the principal organizers of this community meeting which is supported by a grant from the Justice Outreach Fund.


Rev. Melissa Bird of the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan issues this invitation.

Justice Outreach Offerings for October – Partner Church

Our Justice Outreach Offerings in October will primarily support our Partner Congregation in Bozod Korispatak, Transylvania. For several decades we have given financial support to these partners for scholarships for students, a grant for the minister, and support of care of elderly members of the congregation. We are continuing these forms of support.

On the first Sunday, Oct. 6, our offerings will be sent to the UUA Disaster Fund, for direct aid to congregations in North Carolina and other areas hard-hit by recent flooding.