Community Kirtan is a gathering featuring talented local musicians who will lead us in kirtan chanting. It’s a peaceful way to end your week. All are welcome!
Contact: Kitzie Stern
Cameron
Message from the UUFC Board of Directors
To the Congregation of the UUFC from the Board of Directors
The UUFC Board has been working diligently to respond to your concerns about David and Lauren Servias’s resignations in a productive way in keeping with our bylaws, policies, and Covenant of Right Relations.
The Board held a special meeting on Sunday August 30th, the third in these turbulent two weeks, to address a petition signed by 37 members to hold a Special Meeting of the Congregation addressing concerns related to their resignations. The petition’s stated purpose of this Special Meeting is to “provide an open forum for members and friends to gain an understanding of the current situation, state concerns related to staffing issues and ask clarifying questions.” Our bylaws require a minimum 30-day notice for congregational meetings, with a posted agenda 14 days prior to said meeting. The earliest available Sunday (given the Annual Women’s Retreat) is therefore October 11th; however, please stay tuned for an official announcement because we have two tasks we’d like to complete prior to the Congregational meeting:
- Per Unitarian Universalist Association recommendations, we’ll host multiple small-group “Listening Circles” to provide the open forum requested by the petitioners for sharing grief and concerns. These will be modeled after our Chalice Circles and facilitated by trained individuals for both moderating and notetaking.
- We will contract with an outside Human Resources specialist to assess the working climate for our UUFC staff who report directly to Rev. Alex. Information will be collected through a structured interview process, and the results of that assessment will be reported directly to the congregation.
We feel that both of these efforts will aid in a more meaningful Special Meeting of the Congregation at which we also will have additional information and guidance from the UUA and other professionals. Work has already started on these tasks, but October 11th may be overly optimistic for those results. Again, stay tuned for the process.
CANCELLED: Inquirers Series, 9/6
The Inquirers Series session for September 6 has been cancelled as many of the facilitators are currently traveling.
Inquirers Series sessions will resume next Sunday!
Care of Fellowship indoor plants
The indoor plants at the Fellowship are being well cared for by a horticulturist. If you want to chat about their care I’d love to hear from you. But please don’t water, feed, repot, or prune them without making sure that I don’t already have plans. Remember the old saying: too many cooks spoil the broth!
Contact: Kris Egan
Skylight Replacement 9/8 to 9/10
Look up! Our sanctuary skylight that casts such wonderful light onto our sacred space is being replaced next week with a more energy efficient unit with less glare. On Tuesday, September 8th the old skylight will be removed and on Wednesday and Thursday the new skylight will be installed, just in time for our rainy season. We are not just replacing the glass but also the entire skylight structure so we can enjoy the new version for many years. Unfortunately, this means that the sanctuary will be off limits during this period due to safety concerns. If you are available to help for a short time after Sunday service, we need help stacking all the sanctuary chairs along the walls so the contractor can put down floor protection.
Contact: Brian Egan
Outreach Offerings for September
Our Sunday Outreach offerings in September support DRUUMM – Diverse & Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries – which is a Unitarian Universalist People of Color Ministry and anti-racist collective. As an all-volunteer ministry, DRUUMM continues to lead efforts to fulfill the aims of becoming an anti-racist, anti oppressive, multicultural UUA, creating space for youth, young adult and our families of color to heal and work collectively, and steward an effective organization that develops new leadership and manages consistent communication with members. DRUUMM is open to all people.
Read more at DRUUMM.org.
Interim Pianist Opening
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis
6-12 Month Interim Pianist Job Description
Position Summary
The pianist works under the direction of the Senior Minister and provides music at scheduled Sunday morning service(s), provides Accompaniment to the choir during performances and scheduled weekly rehearsal(s).
This is an interim position but may be added to the staff in future.
Essential Functions
Under the leadership of the Senior Minister, the pianist provides music pertaining to the worship services – typically, congregational singing, a prelude and postlude, and music for congregational singing.
- The pianist is expected to play a variety of types of music and have the ability to improvise.
- The pianist accompanies the choir and other planned music for Sunday morning worship services.
- The pianist accompanies adult choir rehearsals once per week.
- If an absence is anticipated or an emergency occurs that prevents your availability, the pianist must notify the pastor or worship chairperson as early as possible, and assist in arranging substitutes to the extent possible.
- The pianist should understand that a variety of traditions and styles of music are frequently appropriate for the services and that different instruments are often included.
Job Qualifications and Requirements
- Experience accompanying choral groups and ensembles – soloists, duets, trios, etc…
- Ability to improvise thematic and melodic background music.
- Ability to collaborate with the Senior Minister, and lay musicians.
- Experience in a variety of musical styles and ability to perform with other instrumentalists.
- Ability to work with people of diverse sexual orientations, ethnic, racial, social, cultural, and economic backgrounds.
- Completion of a background check is required for all UUFC employees.
Hours and Pay
Pay: $80 each Sunday and each Wednesday (7-8:30 pm) for choir practice.
Please respond to personnel@uucorvallis.org with resume and/or any questions.
Help Needed Installing New Playset
We need your help!
We have been kindly gifted a new-to-us playset for the RE and preschool playground. On Monday (Aug. 24) we’ll need assistance to take down and remove the old structure. On Tuesday we’ll be picking up and assembling the new structure. The timing for this is very fortunate because the preschool is closed this coming week.
If you can help on either day, please show up at the Fellowship at 1pm on Monday Aug. 24 and/or 9am on Tuesday Aug. 25. Bring hammers, wrenches and work gloves.
Any help would be appreciated
Questions please contact Steve Ferrell or Brian Egan.
Once the old structure has been taken down, the wood will be stored in the northern part of our grounds next to the parking lot. Please help yourself if you would like.
Parents Under Stress Supporting Teens Under Stress
Dear Congregation:
Last Sunday, I read parts of a book during the Time for All Ages. The name of the book is Wildfire, by Breena Bard (see photo).
Because I was speaking to children and youth of all ages, and only had an about five minutes, I lifted up only a few themes from the book. But this amazing graphic novel covers many themes pertinent to families who have just gone through a tragedy. In this book, the family loses their farm in rural Oregon during a wildfire and relocates to Portland. In their effort to be strong for the kids and get through daily logistics, the parents don’t share their grief with their kids. And in an effort not to be pitied by new friends, the main character, a teen, does not share that she knows one of the boys who started the fire — who is now also in her new Portland school. By the end of the book, the pressure builds to a point where the parents and teen are finally able to talk about their grief and anger. This came about in part because of a school teacher who observed the overwhelm in the teen. One lesson from this is that safe adults outside a family can often be a buffer and link to healing within a family.
When I was 16, my father had a stroke and became paralyzed on his left side. During that next year, the church was a place where parents of my friends made space for my emotions. Further, the church’s pastoral counselor offered family counseling sessions where I discovered that saying hard things to my parents could actually lead to all of us feeling better.
My wish for all of us, of all ages, is that when life sends us painful curveballs, and when stress overwhelms us, that we eventually find our way to talking with our closest loved ones. And if any part of the Fellowship can help with that, may it be so.
With care,
Rev. Alex
Democracy Action Team Gathering, 8/16
Meet once monthly during daylight hours to plan and support each other in reaching our goals to uphold and renew our democratic principles and to educate and enjoy ourselves along the way. Karen Josephson, contact.
11:45 AM in the Library.
We will chat and write letters. If you need materials, we are bringing both Letters and postcards. Stamps are available for all writers.