DEMOCRACY ACTION TEAM – Let’s Meet and Chat, 7/14

CASUAL GATHERING! – 7/14 after Sunday Service Come join us in the Sanctuary Gallery at 11:45 to:

• meet Democracy Action Team coordinators and anyone interested in our work

• hear what we’re doing in the run-up to the 2024 election in November

• join us to write letters and put stamps on them

• and just to chat about what we can do to strengthen our Democracy.

Thanks to all of you who have contributed to the UUFC Stamp Fund. You have donated enough to pay for 15,000 stamps!!! You have enabled people to be free to write without worry about postage. We wrote over 20,000 letters to prospective voters in swing states in both 2020 and 2022 and we’ve been writing since March for 2024.

Mini Film Festival, 7/21

“Making the Invisible Visible.” What are the challenges and gifts that often go unnoticed for those with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities or divergence? You are invited to come and see for yourself. You’ll be glad you did! We hope you’ll grab your favorite beverage from the social hall and join us Sunday July 21, in the Sanctuary for 3 short, outstanding “Sprout” documentaries. You’ll laugh, cry, and be inspired by stories filled with courage, humor, love, romance, and compassion.

Brought to you by a collaboration of The Arc of Benton County and UUFC justice teams: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), Climate Action (CAT), and Secure Food and Housing for All (SF&H). Questions? Contact elonameyer@icloud.com

UUFC Family Camping, 9/5 to 9/8

Come and join in fun and fellowship while camping at Cascadia State Park. Group Site ‘B’ has been reserved with a limit of 25 campers. Plans include group meals on Friday and Saturday evening, time for hiking, exploring, building community, and much more. Bring your own tent, personal gear, and food. Parking is very limited (6 cars and 2 RVs – no hook-ups) so carpools are encouraged. Come out for all or part of the event.

The registration fee will be determined by the number of participants and as such will be determined closer to the event. Efforts are being made to keep the fee under $25 per person* (for the whole weekend!) and a family with children rate will apply.

Register for Cascadia Campout

South Corvallis Food Bank Needs Summer Help

South Corvallis Food Bank Needs Volunteers Would you like to give back to your community? The South Corvallis Food Bank is having its usual summer shortage of volunteers Need is four sessions each week where volunteers host clients, explain the limits and help them select their food as they shop.

These shifts are:

Monday/Wednesday at 12:15 PM to 3:15 PM

Thursday 4:15 PM to 7:15 PM

Saturday 9:15 AM to 12:15 PM

When you sign up for a shift, please treat it as a commitment. We need to be sure we have enough people present each time.

You can sign up for July shifts at Stone Soup website. Please sign up as host, check-in requires more experience. A brief training at the beginning of each shift for the tasks required for that shift. In practice often means a brief explanation followed by the new volunteer shadowing an experienced volunteer.

Please wear closed-toe shoes, it’s too easy to drop a can on your toes while working.

Sign Up to Volunteer

“Imagine Peace” 7/14/24

What does PEACE mean to you? no war? Good relations with your neighbors? a life with enough for everyone? Join us as several Fellowship members, including Bill Glassmire, Molly Curry and Joyce Federiuk, share their understandings of peace and why we need to give more attention to it. Rev. Monica Jacobson Tennessen joins us to host the service.

Sign Up For Music Sharing Night, 8/7

Music Sharing Night is coming up! Bring your instruments and your voices to share music with the community, open-mic style. All musical acts are encouraged to participate. In the past we’ve had performers of all ages share a variety of styles and genres of music. You don’t have to be a professional musician. In fact, we’ve had people make their performance debut right here at UUFC. Perform as a solo act, or form a group. Original music is welcome and encouraged. Each act will have 10 minutes to perform.

To sign up, please fill out a form:

Music Sharing Night Participation Form

Space is limited, so please sign up early.

David Servias

UUFC Director of Music

Between Us

These are hard times my friends, as you well know. The weather is extreme and the political situation in our country feels extremely volatile, because it is. There isn’t a perfect answer and we are awash in opinions, some reasonable, some strident, some hard to believe, some inhumane. There is fear and anxiety. We are not immune – we are feeling the effects of everything. Of course we are.

I am no political pundit. I never have been. I don’t want to offer an opinion. I want to remind all of us that these are times which call for the best we can give – to each other. Remember that everyone is carrying some of this burden, and we are acting it out in many ways – often projecting our fears and anxiety on others, trying to find something, anything, to blame.

In case you have forgotten, a daily practice of centering can be very important for navigating these times with care and compassion.

A good place to begin is some variety of the Compassion Prayer: May I be free from fear, may I be safe, may I be happy. May I be as healthy and whole as possible, may I be at ease and know peace. May you be free from fear, may you be safe, may you be happy. May you be as healthy and whole as possible, may you be at ease and know peace. May all be free from fear, may all be safe, may all be happy. May all be as healthy and whole as possible, may I be at ease and know peace.

Outreach Offerings In July

Our Sunday Outreach offerings in July support DRUUMM – Diverse & Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries – which is a Unitarian Universalist People of Color Ministry and anti-racist collective bringing lay and religious professionals together to overcome racism through resistance and transform Unitarian Universalism through our multicultural experiences. As an all-volunteer ministry, DRUUMM continues to lead efforts to fulfill the Journey Towards Wholeness Resolution towards 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 a collective of people who identify as People of Color. Allies are welcome and organized as Allies for Racial Equity. Together we are open to all people.
At the Fellowship, our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Justice Team works in partnership with DRUUMM.

Our Liturgical Year: A Survey

On Sunday June 28 we began a conversation about holidays and holy days, with an aim to create a “liturgical year” calendar specifically for the UUFC. Thanks to all who filled out the short survey that Sunday! I

f you were not there, and would like to participate, the survey is still available:

Fill Out the Survey Now