I am a friend of Steve Strauss and am looking for a one- or two-bedroom rental property in or near Corvallis (space to garden is a plus!). I work from home as an editor for an educational publisher. I have one sweet kitty and am hoping to move in March. I can pay up to $1,800/month. Thanks so much for any tips you might have! Contact DeeDee Hughes
david
Art Wall : Beautiful Animal Photographs
With thanks to Art Wall team coordinator Isabel Prusinski, the Sanctuary is currently hosting a collection of pictures from local amateur (!) photographers Larry and Sharon Rosenkoetter. Both are retired from OSU; photographing wildlife is one of their loves. About their photos they say: ” The US and Canada are richly blessed with public spaces where wildlife can thrive, thanks to our ancestors who had the foresight to save lands for wildlife as well a for nature-loving people. We emphatically believe that in this time of climate change our generation must continue to combat forces that would destroy the essential habitats for vunerable creatures.” The photographs are for sale for $150 each. From more information about purchasing, see the information posted in the Sanctuary just inside the door from the foyer.
“The Meeting of Two Giants: A Black History Month Reflection” 2/11/2024
They were two men of small physical stature, but Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh were both giants: religious giants, spiritual giants, moral giants. They met twice – both brief meetings – but the effects of their meetings were and are profound. Between them they gave a depth and breadth to the idea of “Beloved Community” which few since have been able to fully grasp or commit to. What might we learn from the stories of their meeting?
with Jill McAllister
“The Meeting of Two Giants: A Black History Month Reflection”
They were two men of small physical stature, but Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh were both giants: religious giants, spiritual giants, moral giants. They met twice – both brief meetings – but the effects of their meetings were and are profound. Between them they gave a depth and breadth to the idea of “Beloved Community” which few since have been able to fully grasp or commit to. What might we learn from the stories of their meeting?
with Jill McAllister
Inquirer’s Series – 2/11/2024
This week: Community Action & Connect Up with Karen Josephson. Inquirer’s Series is a series of 9 hour-long sessions designed especially for newcomers seeking more information about UUism and the Fellowship AND open to all others who are interested. Sessions take place every Sunday at 11:45 AM Room 8.
Upcoming session dates:
2024
- Feb 11 Social Justice, Community Action & Connect Up with Karen Josephson
- Feb 18 Care and Support & Chalice Circles with Sandy Piper
- Feb 25 Membership 101* with Bobbi Bailey
- Mar 3 Roots with Skyla King-Christison
How to Add a Weekly Announcement
If your group, team, or council would like to add something to the Weekly Announcements, there is a new form! Look for it at uucorvallis.org/news.
The Weekly Announcements are updated on Friday each week. The Weekly Announcements are meant keep everyone informed about what is happening at the Fellowship. If you would like to include something, please fill out the form by Wednesday of the week before the announcement should be published. Announcements may be edited for length and clarity.
How to Request a Weekly Announcement
If your group, team, or council would like to add something to the Weekly Announcements, there is a new form!
The Weekly Announcements are updated on Friday each week. The Weekly Announcements are meant keep everyone informed about what is happening at the Fellowship. If you would like to include something, please fill out the form by Wednesday of the week before the announcement should be published. Announcements may be edited for length and clarity.
“Imbolc” – February 4, 2024, 10 AM
This Sunday we observe and celebrate Imbolc (also known as Candlemas), the point on the Wheel of the Year halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. The first hints of Spring are beginning to show themselves, the light is very slowly returning, and it’s a time to plant the seeds of everything we hope will grow this year and let go of things that no longer serve us! This is a time of year for contemplating mysteries, and speaking about the unspeakable, mysterious, hard-to-describe parts of being alive. All ages join in worship together.
Justice Outreach for February
Our outreach offerings in February will support Unity Shelter, a local non-profit organization which provides emergency shelter and transitional housing, plus wrap around services for people who are without safe housing or shelter. Unity Shelter’s mission is to provide safe shelter through collaborative care.
Between Us, 2/2/2024
When I answered the call to ministry here at the Fellowship in 2013, the letter of call which became the Letter of Agreement between minister and congregation included this as its second point:
1.2 “Anti-Oppression Awareness
This congregation accepts its responsibility to continue to offer its members and minister(s) opportunities to increase their ability to function in a multiracial, multiethnic capacity and to address the systemic nature of oppression within Unitarian Universalism. On-going opportunities for growth and reflection will be offered to ensure the success of the professional ministry and will be scheduled in consultation with the Committee on Ministry.”
Having most recently served a congregation in Michigan which had increased its commitments to understanding and addressing systemic racism, I was very happy to move to a congregation which shared that awareness and commitment. Part of my own work to understand systemic racism had begun very early in my career, when I made a commitment to myself to undertake an annual study of the works of and about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (I’ve now been engaging in this study for nearly 25 years).
Here at the Fellowship, my commitments have only increased, as have those of the Board and many members of the congregation. Now, Black History Month is part of my own “liturgical year”; I set a learning goal during this month each year. This practice has influenced how I learn and study throughout the year. I think that 85-90% of what I read is related to the study of systemic racism and other forms of bigotry. I read predominantly non-white authors, in a wide variety of genres – mostly because I realize that my own perspectives, based on my own experiences in life, are still very limited.
Several years ago, soon after the strong emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, I invited everyone in the congregation to join me. “If you are White like I am, read something – anything,” I said, “that will begin to broaden and deepen your understanding of the nature of systemic racism. Many of you did, and we have been engaged in communal learning and discussion ever since.
This year, this Black History Month, I offer the same encouragement. If you have never made a commitment to learning about Black History, I invite you to begin. In case it might help, here are some of the books I’ve read in the last couple of years, which I highly recommend.
“We Were Eight Years in Power” – Ta-Nehisi Coates
“How the Word Is Passed “ – Clint Smith
“The Radical King” – Cornel West, Editor
“Homegoing”, and “Transcendent Kingdom” – Yaa Gyasi
“The Book of Delights,” “The Book of More Delights,” and “Inciting Joy” – Ross Gay
“Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World – and How to Repair It All” – Lisa Sharon Harper
“Remnants: A Memoir of Spirit, Activism and Mothering” – Rachel Elizabeth Harding