Register for this year-long group HERE by September 8th.
One of the sacred tasks of being human is making meaning of our lives, our identities, and the ever-unfolding story we are part of. In these threshold moments—when something ends and something new begins— ritual, reflection, and community provide needed grounding.
As Unitarian Universalists, we are blessed with a tradition rich in honoring life’s passages, especially for our children and youth. Yet too often, adults must navigate profound change without the spiritual scaffolding of ritual or the comfort of shared witness.
If you are living through a major life transition—grief, retirement, gender transition, divorce, recovery, becoming a parent, or any other significant turning point—you are not alone.
We invite you to join “Crossing Thresholds,” a year-long spiritual journey beginning this September. Together, we will explore the depth and complexity of change through:
Monthly meditations in nature to reconnect with the rhythms of life
Personal altar-making, with sacred objects displayed in our community atrium
Quarterly circle conversations, offering space for deep listening and shared wisdom
Reflective practices to honor your unique story of transformation
Our time together will culminate in June’s River of Life service, where participants will be lovingly recognized by the congregation in their new place on the journey. This is an opportunity to be witnessed as you cross the threshold into what comes next with intention, spiritual grounding, and beloved community.
Group will meet from 6:30-8PM in Room 7 on the following dates:
September 11th: Meet and explore the process
September 15th: create altars
November 13th, January 8th, March 12th, and May 14th: Group reflection
*Monthly nature meditation times to be determined by group consensus. Individual atrium meditation time can be schedule with Skyla.
Wondering what’s up in RE? Got some great ideas to share? Well, then you’re invited to a casual RE info session after the service on Sunday, May 25th!
If the weather holds, we’ll gather out back on the concrete benches while the kids frolic, and if its yucky… well, we’ll hang in the back corner of the social hall and speak loudly.
If you can’t make it, but you have questions or ideas, my inbox is always open or you can book an appointment with me here.
See you Sunday!
~ Skyla King-Christison, Director of Religious Exploration
Friends, hundreds of plastic eggs were found when we moved out of the classroom wing, and we’re excited to put them to good use with a UU Values Egg-stravaganza on Easter Sunday. This is a cooperative rather than competitive hunt, so our youngest kiddos will not risk being overtaken by longer legs. Parents are most welcome to help, as well.
Bring your baskets or use our paper bags. I will give instructions all at once at 11:55 — because this isn’t your ordinary egg hunt! — and set them free to gather and eggs-change on the dot at noon. The hunt will take place, rain or shine, so please dress your children accordingly!
I could still use a couple more volunteers to staff tables and monitor eggs-changes, so if you’ve got some time to give after the service, please contact me at dre@uucorvallis.org! I will set up market tents for volunteers, so don’t let the rain keep you from helping!
Questions about conscientious objection, what it is, and what role it plays in Unitarian Universalism are bubbling up more often as the world feels increasingly destabilized. In an effort to address this interest and support our families during uncertain times, a small team has formed to offer resources. Our aim with these offerings is not to convince anyone that Unitarian Universalism has a definitive stance on military service (it does not!) but to help parents and young people collectively explore how their deeply held values and religious beliefs may inform their decisions in the future, and what steps they can take now to safeguard their right to choose should the time ever come when they are compelled into service.
The first 2 offerings in this series are open to any interested adults, with parents strongly encouraged to attend. The film contains graphic footage from war zones and is not suitable for young children. The presentation and Q&A does not contain graphic images or descriptions, but the very reality of having to register for selective service is one that many find disturbing, so please monitor your own and your child’s readiness for those conversations when making decisions about attendance. And finally, the third offering is a workshop to assist youth and their parents in the practical steps of documentation. This session is ONLY open to parents and/or youth who have the written consent of a parent to participate.
If you have any questions or are interested in joining the CO Awareness Team of the RE Council, please contact Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org.
Join veteran professional puppeteer, Linda Zittel, for 5 days of using puppetry and folktales to explore our shared values. Children will create puppets, props and sets, learn performance skills, and put on an original puppet show at the end of the week.
Camp is for children in grades K-5. Space is limited.
Camp is a formative experience for UU youth, and we want as many young people to have the chance to go as possible! As such, the UUFC Endowment Fund has set aside funds to supplement the cost of camp. PLEASE take advantage of these funds! You do not need to prove need to apply. We just want to get you to camp! Very often, these scholarship funds go unutilized, and we deeply want to use them up to create memories and connections for our youth.
$2,000 is available for Camp Blue Boat or Eliot camp attendance in 2025. Four $500 scholarships are available but higher amounts of funding may be possible if the $2,000 is not allocated in $500 lots. Please apply for UUFC scholarships HERE by March 31st, and know that additional scholarships are available from the regional organization HERE.
Early registration for Camp Blue Boat (rising 6th graders through seniors in high school) is open now, and the discount ends on March 17th. If we have youth attend, I will drive the group to Seattle to catch the bus with other youth to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, so please be sure to select that option unless your family plans to drive all the way to Coeur d’Alene.
Budgeting season means we’re looking ahead to next year’s RE programs and we’re dreaming big! A piece of our plan for the coming year involves a banner for each age group, on which they will write a word or phrase for what they learn each week, and we can enjoy watching the banner fill with new ideas and knowledge over the course of the year. If you have the skills and time to contribute to this dream, I would love to hear from you. I will supply the materials for willing quilters to piece together. If you can offer this gift of time to the RE program, call or email Skyla King-Christison for more information!
Do you trip over your words when someone asks you about your religion? Do you find it hard to articulate what UUs believe when you’re feeling on the spot? Well, struggle no more, my friend! There’s a workshop for that!
Join Skyla for a 3-part workshop to help you clarify your thoughts on what UUism means to you. By the end of our time together, you’ll have a short, meaningful elevator speech in your pocket for the next time someone says, “You’re a Unitarian Universalist? What does that even mean?”
April 8, 15, and 22nd from 6-7 PM in the social hall.
There is so much positive energy in RE these days. Can you feel it? Read on so that you don’t miss any of the good stuff!
UPCOMING EVENTS for FAMILIES
2/9 Family Breakfast, 8:45-9:45
2/20 Parent Peer Support Group, 6:30-8PM
3/16 Seeds of Generosity pitches from children, youth, and Families, noon
6/1 River of Life Sunday with children’s performance and rituals
UPCOMING EVENTS for YOUTH
2/2, 2/16 OWL regular workshops
2/15-16 Eugene youth overnight and Non-romantic Ball
3/14-16 Coast Retreat
More information about our events can be found below, and info for all RE events can be found at uucorvallis.org by clicking “News” in the menu bar and then selecting “RE Council” from the drop down menu.
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Our friends in Eugene have invited us to an overnight at their place. Come check out how other UUs “do church” and have fun helping with the non-romantic Valentine Ball. There will be food, opportunities for service, dancing, and midnight worship. Register directly with Eugene HERE by February 5th and don’t forget to email me and let me know you’re registered so that I can arrange for sufficient transportation.
Due to the joyful increase in attendance at the monthly RE Family Breakfast, (last month saw 30 participants!) our gracious hosts, the Polinders, kindly request that parents fill out THIS registration form each month a few days before the breakfast. If you forget, please do come anyway. All are always welcome! Registering simply allows us to be better stewards of the RE budget by helping us prepare adequate amounts of food without over-purchasing. We are grateful for your support as this warm gathering continues to grow!
Thanks to a generous endowment from the Bob Ozretich Memorial Fund and the creative minds on the UUFC Endowment team, we will soon launch a year-long program to cultivate a spirit of generosity in our children and youth.
The Seeds of Generosity program will involve 3 rounds of guest speakers sharing during Sunday morning RE about their experiences with generosity, and a pitch party at which families will enjoy food and drinks while children and youth make pitches for how they would spend $100 to make a difference in our community. Attendees of the pitch party will vote on who gets that round’s $100, and everyone who pitches goes into a drawing to win $50 to spend generously toward community betterment.
More details about the program will come home from RE with your child in late February, but for now, mark your calendars for our first Seeds of Generosity Pitch Party, after the service on March 16th and plan to be there to help us develop a culture of generosity!
I know it’s a long way off, but a LOT of preparation goes into our River of Life Sunday at the end of each church year. In order to pull off something meaningful for our children and youth, we need your help.
First, this year, we’re aiming to have the Spirit Play children offer a very short performance of the JETPIG song we’ve been using to learn the UU shared values. It would be so helpful if parents went ahead and made a plan to be in attendance on June 1st AND listened to the JETPIG song at home or in the car once in a while to help the children gain confidence with the words and motions.
Second, each year we honor children who are transitioning between classrooms with a stepping stone ritual on River of Life Sunday. If your child will falls into any of the following groups, please email me!
1. A new walker — meaning they’ll be planning to be join Chalice Children in the nursery in September.
2. Going into 3rd grade in September. We *may* have the capacity to split into 2 different elementary spaces when the classroom reopens, and if we do, we’ll be stepping the older kids into their own space! 🤞
3. Going into 6th grade AND planning to step into youth group. Because there is a wide range of development in 6th grade, we invite families to decide whether their 6th graders attend youth group (middle and high schoolers) or remain in the upper elementary group.
The Fellowship depends on community members like Russ Anderson and Brian Egan, who arrived with their tools and smiles bright and early just about every day for weeks last month so that our building would be ready in time for official construction to begin. We’re lucky to have their knowledge and skill so freely given! If you see them in the social hall, don’t forget to thank them for their service. They are two of the many volunteers who keep this place moving forward!
If you have any questions about what’s happening in RE, send them my way. And if you’re someone who enjoys being out of the loop, and you want to be removed from the monthly RE Newsletter list, let me know. Wishing you a love-filled February!
WHAT and WHERE? Youth overnight event at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Eugene
WHEN? REGISTER directly with Eugene and notify Skyla via email by 2/5 for event taking place on 2/15. Cars will depart from UUFC parking lot at 4PM on Saturday and return around 12:30 on Sunday afternoon.
DETAILS: Youth will share dinner and games, help set up and participate in the Sweetheart Aromantic Ball, have midnight worship, and attend services in Eugene before returning to UUFC on Sunday afternoon around 12:30. Don’t forget to email Skyla once you register so that we can plan for adequate transportation. The Fellowship will cover the requested fee for youth and advisors.
