Yikes! Spring is already springing. The Immigrant and Refugee Support Team brings you the Blooming Bulb sale on Sunday, February 25 after the service. Treat yourself to a pot full of beautiful blooms. Proceeds will be used to buy stamps for the Democracy Action Team’s letter writing campaign. Nancy Kyle n.kyle12@gmail.com
david
Secure Housing and Food for All
The Secure Housing and Food for All team appreciates and thanks everyone who contributed money to We Care last month. If you are interested in working with We Care, please take a look at their job announcement below. Also, a big thank you to those who brought in food, coats and blanks for Southtown Food Bank and the Corvallis daytime Drop-in Center.
January 2024: We Care is now hiring for a part-time Intake Coordinator! See the Intake Coordinator job announcement for more information.
Fill out the and the Intake Coordinator Job application to apply, or email Kate@wecarecorvallis.org.
We look forward to seeing you at the Social Justice gathering on Friday February 2nd. Roz Keeney
Mindful Awareness
I’m Patti White, a UU member since 2012. I’m a Mindfulness Coach in a system called Unified Mindfulness and since 2019 I have been leading a meditation practice group associated with the UUFC. We are on Zoom now. Come check us out. Our practice is suitable for you whether you are a beginner and curious about mindfulness meditation or whether you are have had a long experience with the practice.
We meet each Wednesday from 7 PM to 7:50 PM. The group currently meets on Zoom. The room opens at 6:40 for casual socializing.
To be added to the group list, please fill out this form.
“The Endless Conversation,” 1/28/2024
“The endless conversation” is another way to say “Life”, or “living life”, or “the religious life.” It is a recognition that living is not a problem to be solved or a solution to discover, but an ongoing interchange – biological, physical, emotional, spiritual, and more. Recognizing the conversational structure of being human can help us nurture an inner core of strength and courage, and create and sustain true community.
with Rev. Jill McAllister
Emergency Preparedness
UUFC has a new fire management tool for kitchen stove fires, a Fire Blanket. The red bag with black release straps will be prominently mounted in both kitchens for use with any flaming fire. This 3-layer laminated fiberglass Fire Blanket will smother the flames within 15 seconds. Also a person can wrap it around themselves to protect against flames. This method is faster and much less messy than chemical fire extinguisher foam., which is another option especially if flames are wider than the 3 foot by 3 foot blanket Never spray water on such a fire. Please look for the red bag next time you are in the kitchens.
Board Report, 1/16/2024
The UUFC Board of Directors held its regular monthly meeting on January 16th via Zoom following the amazing ice storm from the previous weekend. Discussions focused on three main topics:
1) Planning for our upcoming Board Retreat on February 23-24, when we’ll participate in training together, work on current goals, and generally get to know each other better to facilitate our work;
2) Disaster Response Evacuation Plan – training for leaders is scheduled for February 10th, and the Board approved a request for the associated purchase of emergency supplies/materials for our buildings;
3) Green Sanctuary Status – the Climate Action Team is planning to re-engage that UUA process since our status has expired;
4) We adjusted the current (2023-24) Fellowship budget based on new, mid-year information and year-end giving, ensuring that the Fellowship remains in a strong financial position for the second half of the year; and
5) The Committee on Ministry is fully staffed to support Jill’s ministry to us and our ministry to each other – shared ministry – a topic that will form a core part of the upcoming retreat and church year. Committee on Ministry members are: Mark Aron, Gary Barnes, Nancy Kyle, Virgil Agnew, Alice Lyman.
Wood Chip Work Party, 1/29
Mon 29 Jan, 10:00 AM – Noon. Help steward our beautiful, sacred UUFC grounds. The forecast shows temp in the low 50s with the possibility of light rain.
UUA Annual Membership Certification
Each year we review our database of UUFC members in order to report our official membership to the UUA in February. About membership, our bylaws state: “A member may voluntarily resign membership by officially notifying the Board Secretary or the Fellowship office or by no longer participating in the fellowship for the period of 12 consecutive months.” Evidence of participation includes attendance at Sunday services or other Fellowship activities, and/or participation on a team or task force, and/or making and fulfilling a pledge of financial support. If your membership status has changed please contact Operations Manager Jamie Petts at office@uucorvallis.org.
Justice Theatre Auditions
Justice Theatre auditions are this Monday and Tuesday, January 29th and 30th, at 7pm in the social hall. No acting experience necessary! LGBTQ+ performers are particularly invited to audition.
Daily Practice: A Weekly Reminder, 1/21/2024
Things don’t always go as planned. Right? Life is always going in its own ways, which are bigger, wider and more complicated than we understand. And yet we still, constantly, expect something different. Something expectable. As if our own expectations are the measure and priority of Life. My goodness, the self-centeredness of the ego is incredible!
I’ve been studying recently with a Zen teacher, and have been reminded that one of the most important of daily spiritual practices is to allow what is real to be present. To allow. Snow and ice are perhaps easy examples – we can see and feel and touch them, and so it’s not hard to be convinced that they are real. (And that we must dress accordingly, move (or not) accordingly).
Yet even with awareness of their realness, we can find ourselves negotiating with that realness, trying to tailor it to our expectations – that the snow and ice should come and go quickly, for example.
One of the best ways to soften expectations – perhaps even to set them aside for a while and begin to understand their unnecessary urgency – is to allow ourselves to become still. If we can quiet our bodies enough, becoming aware of the breath as it comes and goes, the mind can follow and take a break from its constant organizing, planning, worrying, expecting. This doesn’t happen immediately – it takes time – which is what daily practice is for.
Here in the Fellowship, we have religious ideals and commitments – to the freedom to be safe and to thrive, to justice, to continual learning as a way to become more compassionate, more loving. None of these can be accomplished through the strategic machinations of the mind, nor merely through expectations. All involve greater understanding of what is real – within us, between us and around us, all of which take practice. In the week ahead, may we allow ourselves more time for stillness, for the quieting of body and mind, for allowing the way things are to become more clear. May we help each other in this practice!