The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis
The UUFC Choir meets every Wednesday at 7:00 PM in the Sanctuary and is open to anyone – whether you have musical experience or not. There is no audition.
We sing a variety of pieces – each with unique style, instrumentation, and cultural significance – which allows for diverse musical exploration and personal expression.
The Choir is a great way to be of service to our Fellowship community…. and it’s FUN! Contact Choir Director Steven Evans-Renteria for more information.
Come to the next meeting of Queerly Beloved on Sunday, October 12 from 4-6 PM in the Social Hall! Queerly Beloved is an LGBTQIA+ group offering a safe space for individuals to foster queer community. Allies, friends, and family members are also welcome. We hope you will join us for talk, listening, connection, community.
Members of the Democracy Action Team are collaborating with Benton County Indivisible and Standing Up for Racial Justice to place signs of solidarity supporting immigrants around Corvallis. If you would like to join this effort, contact Karen J. Or you can print out your own copies of the posters and take them to local businesses! You can find the digital poster files here: https://brandfolder.com/indivisibleproject/signs-of-solidarity.
The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, the Corvallis Interfaith Network and the Interfaith Kirtan Band are hosting the event “Celebrating the Wonders of Faith” on Sunday, October 5 at 3 PM in the Sanctuary and Social Hall. We invite members of any religious affiliation, faith community, or spiritual path to join us. We welcome members who are non-affiliated spirit seekers as well. Each presenter is encouraged to share their individual ways of living their spiritual lives, not in an attempt to convert another, but as a way to seek the universal truths alive in all people.
Please join us for an evening with members from many faiths as they share their music and wisdom!
Enter with an open mind, listening ears and a gracious heart — leave in faith, trust and LOVE.
Strengthening UNITY
In our CommUNITY!
The Statewide UU Advocacy organization, Oregon UU Voices for Justice is sponsoring weekly online gatherings for UUs to meet to share and learn about actions that each of us can take to save our Democracy. Beginning Sept. 16, we will gather on zoom each week on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 PM. There will be time to acknowledge what we are experiencing in the moment and also to get resources and information about topics concerning our current moment of democratic backsliding.
Email Robin Lancaster for the link or join the Democracy Action Team in person for a watch party in the Fellowship Library. We will continue to learn and listen about how our Fellow UU Congregations are responding to this difficult moment in American civic life.
Sept. 16 The UUA Action of Immediate Witness: Faithful Defiance of Authoritarianism
Sept. 23 Characteristics of Successful Pro-Democracy Movements
Sept. 30 Boycotts and Economic resistance
Oct 7 Digital Safety
Oct. 14 Mis and Dis information
Oct. 21 Advocacy
Our guest speaker is Ben Martens, who serves as Community Engagement Coordinator at Jackson Street Youth Services, which offers youth a safe place to live and resources to work through crises and towards a brighter, more stable future. Founded to fill a gap in housing for homeless youth, they now serve youth throughout Linn and Benton Counties.
From the Interim Minister, Rev. Alex McGee
Dear Fellowship:
While many religions are hierarchical, Unitarian Universalism is not. While many religions have a creed, Unitarian Universalism does not. But what we do have that binds us together is covenant. Covenant is not rules. It is agreements. It is voluntary. It allows risk and trust, because of setting an understanding of how we will be in relationship.
The reason I love covenant is because I can explore with others when we feel tension but know we want to stick together. I love covenant because it names the ways we want to be, and honors that sometimes we fall short, and gives us space for repair. I love covenant because it creates a circle of intention that gives me happy chills of what is possible for love and courage in humanity.
I have been reminded of covenants all summer. At the Unitarian Universalist Minister Association national meeting in June, a thousand of us started our meeting by reading our covenant together. When I arrived in Corvallis in July, I met with Rev. Jill and she and I discussed how we wanted to honor and act with one another in our unique roles related to UUFC; then we put it in writing as a covenant. When I arrived at the UUFC building in August, I immediately noticed the congregational covenant printed on green sheets in the lobby. This past Sunday, the staff brainstormed, laughed, and discerned together how we would like to show up together; we expect to finalize our Staff Covenant next week. And on Tuesday night at the board meeting, the board read out loud a past covenant and agreed to covenant again to it for the coming year.
Since I arrived there have been a handful times when I felt a tension or an “ouch” with someone, but then I chose to rally my courage and centeredness to check in with them so we could get aligned again. I felt a building of trust when the other person welcomed the chance to see from each other’s perspective. As a result, we can go forward to even deeper and stronger work together.
I see again and again that covenant is both a verb and a noun. And it is a living document — reviewed and renewed. I encourage you to look at the formal covenants you have with other Unitarian Universalists, and perhaps in other areas of your life. May they allow courageous action and loving relationship interwoven.
In Peace,
Rev. Alex McGee
Alex is happy to meet with members and info on how to reach her is on her bio page.
The Corvallis Fall Festival takes place on the last weekend of this month in Central Park. Saturday, September 27, 2025, 10 AM-6 PM.
Saturday Night Street Dance: 6 PM-9:30 PM
Get your steps in as you visit the artist booths and dance the night away! There will be UU friends there – check out the Benton County Historical Museum booth, for example.
There will be no Connect Up hike this month.
Due to the shifting nature of our Sunday morning services, several of our RE leaders have requested that we have a designated pickup time rather than trying to monitor the service progress and quickly wrap up at various times. We would like to experiment with having parents pick up their children from their RE spaces at 11:30, even if the service wraps up earlier than that. If it runs longer, you do not need to step out to pick up your children. We would simply like to have at least until 11:30 to move through our materials and enjoy each other’s company.
If you have any questions about the plan, please contact Skyla at dre@uucorvallis.org.
We are delighted to announce that the Inquirers Series is finally moving home to Room 7!
If you’ve been attending, you’ll be happy to know that your new space in the classroom wing will come with more comfortable and available seating, and far fewer interruptions. Why? Because Room 7 is a meeting space and not an administrative space.
If you’re wondering why our group was meeting in an office instead of a meeting space, it’s because our beautiful classroom wing was under renovation for the last 6 months and was unsafe for our purposes.
If you’re wondering what the Inquirers Series even is, I’m so glad you’re seeing this! The Inquirers Series consists of 8 regular sessions (outlined in the image below), offered 15 minutes after the Sunday service ends, and designed to help visitors and newcomers understand who we are, what we do, and how to plug into life at UUFC. It’s also an excellent space for folx who have been around for decades to jump in and reconnect with the way we describe ourselves and some of the newer ways of working in concert with others engaged in similar efforts. Whenever there’s a 5th Sunday in the month, Skyla King-Christison offers a special session called “Roots,” which is a deeper dive into our Unitarian and Universalist heritage.
Sessions can be taken in any order, and those who complete the entire series will be recognized with the gift of a lovely ceramic chalice for home or office use.
If you’re new and considering whether to become a member, the Inquirers Series is for you! If you have any questions about the series, please contact Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org.
See you at Inquirers Series!
