The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis
Cameron Last Fall, several members of UUFC went to visit our Partner Church in Transylvania. Today they will share information, illumination, and inspiration: history of partner churches at UUFC; how they observed resilience in action; how Unitarianism there reflects Christian roots; and rituals that were transformative.
Janet Throop, Linda Bruslind, Scott Bruslind, and Patricia Parcells will speak.
It has been four years since Ukraine was invaded by Russia.
Come help show support for Ukraine with a Candlelight Vigil on Tuesday, February 24 , 4:00 to 5:30 PM at the Benton County Courthouse.
Sponsored by Ukraine Assistance Network
www.ukraineassistancenetwork.org
The Kitchen team donates 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 ends 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!
February 20, 2026
From Rev. Alex McGee
I’m envisioning beautiful, dainty pinky-white cherry blossoms floating down over all of you at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis. Spring will come soon, and with it will come change. Indeed, the petals of the blossoms will float off the trees in the breeze. I envision each of them symbolizing a blessing. One of the blessings is patience. Patience to live fully in each moment without over-focusing on the outcome of the ministry search process. The other blessing is integrity. Integrity means to be integrated within yourself, with other members of the congregation, with your community, and with your vision for the future. With these two blessings of patience and integrity, I envision you having a beautiful experience in the year to come as you live into the ministry search process.
SEARCH TIMELINE:
Spring 2026: Congregation works together to elect search committee that they trust to represent their future vision to a ministerial candidate.
Summer 2026: Search committee begins working together 5 to 15 hours a week for the next nine months.
Fall 2026: Search committee gathers information to present to potential candidates.
Winter 2027: Search committee confidentially interviews a few candidates at sites outside of Corvallis.
Spring 2027: Search committee presents one final candidate. Candidate visits on site to meet congregation. Congregation votes, and candidate is only likely to come if over 90-95% of the membership vote yes. If this proces does not lead to a candidate approved by the congregation, the congregation may form a new search committee for the next year.
The Endowment Committee is dedicating funds this year to help families and individuals attend an Eliot Institute summer camp. Eliot offers two 7-night camps – July 11-18 and August 1-8 – with a featured speaker & small group discussions for adults, and full programming for infants to young adults. There are generous incentives available from both the UUFC and Eliot Institute to help cover registration fees, and both are easy to apply for.
The UUFC scholarship applications are due Monday, March 9, and can be downloaded by clicking the button below. You can submit your paper form to DRE Skyla King-Christison, or via email to dre@uucorvallis.org.
For more information contact Linda Hardison, or visit the info table in the Classroom wing after the service this Sunday. Learn more about Eliot at https://eliotinstitute.org.
Your UUFC lawn mowing team needs one more person to complete our eight-person team for 2026. We have quiet (relatively) state-of-the-art electric lawn mowers and associated lawn trimmers and blowers. You can listen to the radio or your favorite podcast while you mow. While mowing takes time (1-2 hours, once per month on your own schedule), it is a pleasant workout experience (1.5 to 2 mi of walking). The UUFC lawns are divided into front and back sections. We need a mower for the front section – less lawn but more maneuvering. If you have interest, please contact the team lead by filling out this form and we can arrange to talk further about this opportunity to be a member of the UUFC’s elite mowing team – a future summer Olympic sport? Thanks for your consideration!
The UUFC Endowment team is offering scholarships to help individuals and families attend an Eliot Institute summer camp this year. See the Eliot website https://www.eliotinstitute.org for more information, or contact Linda Hardison. The UUFC scholarship form is available to download below; deadline for submitting your application is Monday, March 9.
Within the past few days there have been multiple attempts by thieves to steal the UUFC’s membership directory and/or the credentials necessary to access our Breeze site. These types of attacks are not new, and are not unique to our Fellowship. But the frequency of these attacks is increasing, and it’s always worth reviewing active security risks. Membership information for religious institutions is extremely valuable for thieves, as it contains many forms of contact information that can be used in further scams. Below is more information about these types of attacks so you know what to be looking out for.
The attempts took the form of email messages requesting assistance accessing our membership directory and claiming that the sender could not currently log into Breeze. Some emails also asked for credentials with which to login to Breeze. These messages were sent from email addresses configured to impersonate people at the Fellowship by displaying the name of a Fellowship leader or Staff member in the ‘From:’ field. The actual email addresses used to send the messages do not belong to anyone at the Fellowship, and the person whose name was used can do nothing to prevent this.
If you receive a request like this, do not reply to it or send any information. Instead, please forward it to comms@uucorvallis.org and then delete the original email message.
Thank you for working to keep the Fellowship safe.
For several decades, Corvallis has grappled with challenges of what it means to have safe housing for all and shelter accessible to those in need. This UU Fellowship has played a role in many ways. Come reflect on the history of the congregation’s collaboration with Unity Shelter, current local issues, and what might be possible in the future.
Shawn Collins, Executive Director of Unity Shelter, will be our guest speaker. Shawn got his first look at the realities of homelessness and poverty in the Willamette Valley through his volunteer experiences at the South Corvallis Food Bank. After leaving HP in 2016, Shawn worked at United Way of Benton & Lincoln Counties, as the Program Manager for the Housing Opportunities Action Council (HOAC) through 2019. He was instrumental in securing the site that would become the Corvallis Men’s Shelter in 2017.
The Secure Housing and Food for All team invites you to visit the Corvallis Museum to hear an in-depth talk and ask questions about how Unity Shelter is meeting the needs of unhoused people in Benton County.
Join staff from Unity Shelter for a gallery talk inside the microshelter on display at the Corvallis Museum! Learn more about this local program, and how they are helping people here in our community.
Three dates:
Friday, February 27th, 2026
Friday, March 6th, 2026
Friday, March 20th, 2026
Drop by between 2 – 3 pm for a 15 minute tour and talk by a Unity Shelter staff member.
Gallery talks are limited to 10 people and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The tours will repeat through the hour.
The Secure Housing and Food for All team would also like you to know that the South Corvallis Food Bank is still in need of food. Food that is easy to heat up and/or comes in pop-open cans is highly desired. The Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center also needs donations of warm clothing.