dre@uucorvallis.org

UU Elevator Speech, Online Class (Wednesdays, Sept 27-Oct 11 @5-6PM)

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Wednesdays, Sept 27 – Oct 11

5:00pm-6:00pm PST on Zoom

This three-week series guides participants through developing an “elevator speech” about their Unitarian Universalist faith. The next time someone asks you “what is Unitarian Universalism?” you’ll be ready with a brief and meaningful statement.

Because UUFC’s RE department subscribes to the Faith Forward program out of the First Unitarian Church of Dallas, our members are invited to this online workshop for FREE! We will register as a group, so please fill out the REGISTRATION FORM BEFORE September 20th, and I will send them our information. You will receive a link to the online platform Teachable, sometime after September 24th.

Direct questions to Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org 

Spiritual Practices, Part 1 (Mondays, 10/2 to 11/6, 6-7 PM)

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Part 1 of the Spiritual Practices Series is a 6-session series that helps participants develop regular disciplines of the spirit – practices that help us connect with the sacred. This series affirms religious diversity while seeking unity in our communal quest for meaning and wholeness. Each session offers a forum for learning, sharing, and growth that can enrich our personal faith journeys.

Join Skyla King-Christison on Monday evenings, Oct. 2nd through Nov. 6th, from 6 to 7pm in Room 7.

Please help us plan by registering here! Thanks!

Session 1: Defining Spiritual Practice

Session 2: Finding Your Spiritual Practice

Session 3: Keeping a Sabbath

Session 4: Prayer

Session 5: Meditation

Session 6: Mindful Walking and Eating

Part 2 of this series will be offered in the spring, at which time returning participants can share about how their spiritual practices have evolved since part one, and all participants, new and retuning will explore the topics of worship and ritual, discernment and devotional reading, hospitality and belonging, work and service, retreat, and life as a spiritual practice.

Trans Inclusion in Congregations Workshop (Thursdays, 9-21 to 10-26, 6-7:30 PM)

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Join us for a 6 week course in culture shift and radical welcome, designed by Rev. Mykal Slack & Zr. Alex Kapitan, and facilitated by Bonnie Morihara.

WHEN: Thursdays from 6 to 7:30pm, September 21st through October 26th.

WHERE: Room 8

WHAT: A video course is designed to watch and discuss together, in an effort to expand our understanding of how to truly welcome folks of all identities into our beloved community.

REGISTER: please help us plan and setup by registering at this link. Thank you!

We offered this warm, challenging workshop over the summer, and at the end, participants said, “This was wonderful! More people need to take this!” If you missed it the first round, we want you to have a second chance.

Ice Cream Social (8-27 at 7 PM)

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All are invited to the ice cream social on Sunday, August 27th at 7pm on the Fellowship lawn.

The RE Council will provide the ice cream bars, tabletop games, and a water zone for cooling off. You will provide the general merriment and community building by chatting with someone new, inviting your friends, and bringing your whole, awesome self to the event.

If you’re available to help with set-up, please contact Skyla dre@uucorvallis.org.

August Youth Event (8-27 at 12-6 PM)

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It’s that time of year again! Register here by August 20th to attend the Annual River Reunion Youth Float on August 27th from noon to 6PM. All youth in grades 6-12 who planning to attend YRUU in the fall are invited. More details are available at the registration link. Please note, you MUST be registered for YRUU in order to attend. Direct questions to Skyla dre@uucorvallis.org.

PWR Cluster Fall Youth Overnight (Sept. 22-23 at UUFC)

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Corvallis is hosting the PWR Cluster’s Fall Youth Overnight! Come get to know youth from the region as we explore the theme of building a new way through touch groups, playshops, worship, and community.

YOUTH EVENTS CALENDAR

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Mark your calendars for fun! Bring a friend! All youth in grades 6-12 are invited to join us for our monthly events.

Updates to the calendar will always be posted here. Registration links will be sent to all registered youth 2 weeks in advance of the activity. To receive email updates, please register for YRUU here.

Please contact Director of Religious Exploration, Skyla King-Christison, for more information on this or any other UUFC program for children and youth.

Youth Programs (grades 6-12)

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OUR PHILOSOPHY

Our youth programs are designed to prioritize the immediate needs of the youth above the regularly scheduled programming, recognizing that these can be turbulent and fruitful years with a high degree of need for compassionate mentoring and social support.

Our formal programming aims to help participants notice their experiences with the sacred, clarify their own personal values while learning what it means to be Unitarian Universalist, and gain practice expressing their own religious convictions through action towards a better world.

It is our goal that these aims be accomplished through adult/youth partnerships rather than direct teaching, so as capacities develop in our youth for leadership, space is made for a greater portion of our time together to be directed by youth, while adults lean into a mentoring and advisory role.

Check our what to expect in YRUU (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists) below!

HOW TO REGISTER

Before the service, we ask that parents register their children for YRUU. You can do this by visiting the tree stump in the classroom wing and tapping on “YRUU Registration,” or by using this link. Registering helps us create the safest possible learning experience for your child!

While youth are permitted to check themselves in and out of YRUU, we ask that you and your children be aware that we do not permit teens to linger unsupervised in the classroom wing. This provides a layer of transparency and safety for both your children and adults, and helps us ensure that our youth are an integrated part of our larger congregational community. Thank you for your support in this area.

WHERE TO GO AND WHEN

Youth should obtain a nametag, just like their parents, either at the welcome desk or from the nametag racks, depending on how long you’ve been attending.

Youth begin with their families in the sanctuary for shared worship. It is important to us that our youth know that they are part of a larger community than just what takes place in the classroom wing. We want them to know and be known by all the members of the Fellowship, and understand their importance and place in our community.

After the time for all ages, the congregation will sing Go Now Children, and a Spirit Play guide with the sign you see to the left will lead the children to the classroom wing. Youth will follow in that general direction and split off to meet their advisors in room 7.

THE EXPERIENCE

When youth arrive in room 7, we will always start with a chalice lighting and brief check-in about how things are going in life, to help get centered in a spirit of community and worship. If appropriate, we move into the lesson for the day. After the session, we’ll have some closing words, extinguish the chalice, and youth are invited to join the wider congregation in the social hall. Light snacks are provided during the session, and donations for the cause of the month are accepted in the social hall after services.

For the 2023/24 Fellowship year, we will be adapting the UUA’s Tapestry of Faith Programming, Heeding the Call: Qualities of a Justicemaker. Each month, the group will explore a different spiritual calling, such as the call to awareness or the call t compassion. These callings will be explored through stories, hands on activities, discussion, and “faith in action” tasks that invite the youth to apply what they’ve learned to the context of our congregation.

SPECIAL EVENTS

In an effort to provide more spaced for young UUs to deepen their connections with one another and between communities, we provide a monthly special event for youth. Often, neighboring communities are invited to join, or we travel to them to ensure that our teens are getting experiences beyond our local congregation. You can check out the most current YOUTH EVENTS CALENDAR HERE. Types of events that you can expect include the fall trip to the corn maze, the spring youth coast retreat, and a summer outdoor movie and camping on the lawn. All youth are welcome to join.

Please send any questions about our children’s and youth programs to Director of Religious Exploration, Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org

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Spirit Play (grades k-6)

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Our Philosophy

Spirit Play is based in story and ritual, play and creativity. It gives children the tools to make meaning of their lives and questions such as Who am I, Where did I come from, and What is my purpose, within the container of Unitarian Universalism. We use the Montessori approach with key elements of a prepared classroom environment, child-directed activities, and trained teachers. These elements free the children to choose their own focus after an initial lesson or story within a safe and sacred structure shepherded by two adults.

This style of learning environment encourages independent thinking through wondering questions, offers children real choice within a structure, creates a mixed age community, and develops an underlying sense of spirituality and mystery.

Check out what to expect in Spirit Play below!

Registering for Spirit Play

Before the service, we ask that parents register their children for Spirit Play. You can do this by visiting the tree stump in the classroom wing and tapping on “Spirit Play Registration,” or by using this link. Registering helps us create the safest possible learning experience for your child!

Please do not allow your children to be unsupervised in any of our classroom areas, and please make sure you check out with one of our classroom volunteers before leaving with your child. When a child is not properly checked out, it initiates an emergency search. We also ask that you pickup your child before attending coffee hour so that our volunteers may have plenty of time to engage with their spiritual community as well.

Where To Go, And When

Children should obtain a nametag, just like their parents, either at the welcome desk or from the nametag racks, depending on how long you’ve been attending.

Children begin with their families in the sanctuary for shared worship. It is important to us that our children know that they are part of a larger community than just what takes place in the classroom wing. We want them to know and be known by all the members of the Fellowship, and understand their importance and place in our community.

After the time for all ages, the congregation will sing Go Now Children, and a Spirit Play guide with the sign you see to the left will lead the children to room 6 in the classroom wing for their Spirit Play time.

The Guides

Spirit Play is staffed with enthusiastic and knowledgeable guides who have been trained in the Montessori approach to classroom management. This means they allow the children to make choices and even struggle a bit, only offering help when it is requested or safety is a concern.

Our guides model the values of curiosity and joy, as they share stories and answer questions. They seek to create a calm environment that is conducive to exploration and community building.

The Experience

The Spirit Play classroom is a highly prepared environment. Children arrive and sit on the rug for a chalice lighting and a shared story with a basket of physical supporting elements to help bring the story to life. After a shared discussion about the story, which is designed to highlight one of our UU principles or central figures, the children are invited into “work time.”

During work time, children can select their own activity from the prepared trays and activity spaces around the room. They may choose to work alone or form a collaborative group to build, paint, write stories, read books, or investigate our natural world with science trays. It is not uncommon to find the whole room silent, as children are deeply invested in their chosen project. Other days, though, you’ll find a raucous explosion of enthusiastic sharing.

When the weather is right, or the children are squirmy, we occasionally end our time together on the playground. When we do, you’ll find the sign to the right on the door of the Spirit Play classroom. To check your child out from the playground, please pass through the classroom find the two exit doors. The door on the left of this pair will take you to the playground. The door to the right will take you to the parking lot. Again, please make sure that a Guide knows you are taking your child.

Please send any questions about our children’s and youth programs to Director of Religious Exploration, Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org

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Nursery Care

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OUR PHILOSOPHY

The nursery. located in room 4 of the classroom wing, is a space where our youngest members can build the foundational trust and sense of community necessary to flourish as spiritual and emotional beings at UUFC and beyond. Our nursery care providers follow the child’s lead, model and encourage sharing and good citizenship, and prioritize having fun!

We know that attachment styles vary widely from family to family and child to child, so parents are always welcome to stay in the nursery to help their child become acclimated. We encourage parents to share their own preferences around things like how long to let their child cry for them before calling them out of the sanctuary and best methods of soothing during those initial trust-building days. We’re here to make this as comfortable and positive a transition as possible for our tiny friends!

Below is a little look at what you can expect in the nursery at UUFC!

REGISTERING FOR NURSERY CARE

Before dropping your child off for the first time, we ask that you register your child. You can do this by stopping at the tree stump in the classroom wing and clicking “Nursery Registration” on the iPad, or register in advance with this link. This allows us to provide the safest possible experience and to contact you if you are needed during the service. Once registered, our nursery care team will be able to check your child in on their phone whenever you drop off.

Please do not leave your child unattended in the nursery when no childcare provider is present, or take them without checking out with a nursery care provider. We also ask that you pickup your child before attending coffee hour in the social hall so that our caregivers can have time with their spiritual community as well.

THE NURSERY TEAM

Michi Araki (she/her) and Haven Christison (they/them) are our primary nursery care providers. Both are high school students with a gift for working with young children. Michi is CPR certified and an active camp counselor, and Haven has completed the Red Cross Childcare Course and is an enthusiastic babysitter. If you have questions about nursery operations, these are the folks to see!

Occasionally, you will find members of our Grandfolks Squad providing supplemental care in the nursery. These are volunteers who enjoy supporting the development of our youngest members. Everyone who works with children at UUFC has passed a nation-wide criminal background check, and children are never alone with one caregiver, as per our safe congregation policies.

THE PHSYICAL SPACE

From building to cooking, driving to climbing, there’s something to spark any imagination in our nursery! Our space is thoughtfully prepared with diverse, non-biased books, toys, and puzzles that encourage creativity, curiosity, and self-exploration. There is always water available in the nursery, and children can bring their own snack , if desired, but because allergies are still being identified at this age, we do not provide snacks or allow snack sharing in the nursery.

For everyone’s safety, we ask that parents take care of their child’s diapering needs. A changing station and diaper pail are provided in the bathroom beside the nursery, and parents are welcome to use the changing pad stored in the nursery if there is a need while that bathroom is occupied.

INDIVIDUAL AND EVENT CHILDCARE

When parents of young children wish to attend UUFC events other than the Sunday service, they can request childcare from the Grandfolks Squad by contacting Skyla King-Christison (dre@uucorvallis.org). Every effort will be made to arrange for a team of Grandfolks to care for your child, free of charge, while you attend a UUFC sponsored event. Please note, Grandfolks are not available for non Fellowship gatherings.

As mentioned above, grandfolks are volunteers who are background checked and serve in teams of two, in accordance with our safe congregation policies.

Please direct questions regarding nursery care and special child to the RE Office!

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