sermon summaries

Samhain shares the ancient spiritual practice of remembering and paying respects to the ancestors who have died. This Samhain observance will focus on Remembering and Honoring our Ancestors, and on Communicating with Spirits. Everyone is invited to come in costume.

Diana Titus will coordinate this service and the band will play.

Anger and indignation may well up for us as we read the news.  But spiritual teachers such as Howard Thurman have convincing arguments for why love is better for us and for everyone.  Can we perhaps have compassion for our own anger?

Rev. Alex will preach and the choir will sing.

In these political times, joy may seem an impossible thing.  But world religions throughout time have named joy as a human experience that wells up again and again.  Let us explore how to honor it.

Rev. Alex McGee will preach and the drop-in choir welcomes all.

Dave Eckert of the Canoe Family Project and the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition will speak about his experience building relationships with landcestral cultures, and how that has helped him to better understand and act in ways that bridge cultural divides.  Like many of us, Dave grapples with avoiding cultural appropriation and cultural guilt.  UUFC has been able to contribute to the Canoe Project through our Justice Outreach Fund.

As the days and nights are nearly equal in length this week, we have a chance to reflect on the many meanings of balance.

Rev. Alex will preach and the band will play.

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.

This sermon will be an exploration of times in life we are trying to fix something…but the best change will come from looking at a bigger picture.  Special reflections on the exciting new Mosaic curriculum this year.

Rev. Alex preaching.  

Bring water to pour into the common bowl as you name the qualities and commitments you bring for the year ahead. We will commission the board and Interim Minister. We will offer blessings to the guides who will work with children and youth this year and the sermon will reflect on the urgency of helping the world by raising the next generation with UU values.

The choir will be back, and Rev. Alex will preach.

There is no worship service on Sunday, August 31, 2025. Instead, come join us at our annual Tuna Roast in Avery Park on Monday, September 1.

As we look ahead to Labor Day next week, let’s explore the many meanings of work and labor.  What do various spiritual traditions have to say?  What does our Unitarian Universalism have to do with the Labor Day solidarity action planned in Corvallis this year?

Rev. Alex McGee will preach.