The unexpected is completely common, and we try to prepared for a variety of possible events – earthquakes, fires, ice storms, tsunamis, power outages, births and deaths, new love and break-ups, aging and related losses, political upheaval(?) and so much more. Statistics (what might happen) and logistics (possible responses) are something, but not everything and maybe not even the most important. What does it mean to be prepared?
sermon summaries
“A Larger View” 8/18/24
Among the many things we know (and think we know) is that we are part of a Life which is much more than our individual selves. Understanding what this means is one of the fundamental religious questions. Understanding how to live with what this means is a foundation for spiritual practice. What is involved, for each of us?
with Rev. Jill McAllister
“Making the Invisible Visible” – 8/11/24
Our UUFC mission statement begins with “We gather as an inclusive religious community…” And we do our best to be welcoming to all who come. And, we still have lots to learn about what broad inclusion really means, and needs, and looks like. We’re at the beginning of a new collaboration with ARC of Benton County, and look forward to learning more today from ARC staff member Misha Marie and Board President John Gottchall, about the work of ARC, serving and supporting people with Developmental Disabilities.
Please join us. The service will be indoors today. Following the Sunday Service, at 2 PM, please join in the Celebration of Life for Louise Ferrell. Those wishing to join online may do so by using the regular Sunday Service link.
Lughnasadh – First Harvest 8/4/2024
Lughnasadh, or Lammas, is the point on the Wheel of the Year which celebrates the beginning of harvest season — a time of ripening fruits and fields, a time of abundance, a time to give thanks. Join us to once again be reminded of the seasons and gifts of the earth here in the Willamette Valley. For all gardeners – bring some of your harvest to share, if you like — zuchinni, basil, first apples? If you’re not a gardener, blackberry season has begun – bring some to share!
“Living In End Times” 7/28/24
Rev. Jen Youngsun Ryu Minister, UU Church in Eugene From Christian fundamentalist to climate scientists, people around the world believe that we are living in the end times. But isn’t the world always ending? Don’t we live between the end of one thing and the beginning of another?
Pulpit exchanges between ministers and congregations are a long-time tradition in UUism. This week we welcome Rev. Jennifer Youngsun Ryu, minister of the UU Church in Eugene, OR, to the Fellowship, while Rev. Jill McAllister will be traveling to the Eugene congregation. Rev. Jen was born in Seoul, grew up in Toledo, became a UU in Baltimore, and went to seminary in Berkeley. She has served congregations in Virginia and Oregon and is a also a certified hospital chaplain.
“Housing, Shelter, and Deservedness” 7/21/24
The world’s problems are local as much as global. Members of our Secure Housing and Food For All team work locally on issues of food, shelter and housing, right here and right now. They’ll help us welcome our speaker — Fellowship member Andrea Myhre who is the Executive Director of Corvallis Housing First. Andrea has helped change the landscape in Corvallis around with regard to homelessness, and she has much to share with us.
“Imagine Peace” 7/14/24
What does PEACE mean to you? no war? Good relations with your neighbors? a life with enough for everyone? Join us as several Fellowship members, including Bill Glassmire, Molly Curry and Joyce Federiuk, share their understandings of peace and why we need to give more attention to it. Rev. Monica Jacobson Tennessen joins us to host the service.
Join us outside on the Fellowship back lawn this Sunday.
Service Cancelled Due to High Temperatures, 7/7
Stay cool, Everyone!
“Be Careful What You Worship” 6/30/24
It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who said “… it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping, we are becoming.” This brings up the question of our “liturgical year”: What are the holidays / holy days we observe, or celebrate, and why? If we could choose, what would be the most important days or events or observances to include in our congregational life, as a way of helping to orient us to what is most important? Maybe we can choose! This is worth some discussion.
“She, They And Me” 6/23/24
“In the places and times of my growing up, definitions of and attitudes toward gender and sexuality were highly circumscribed, biased, narrow-minded, and I realized later, oppressive. My introduction to broader views and my evolving understandings of gender, sexuality and myself have been deeply intertwined with my life in the Fellowship and within Unitarian Universalism. This is one of the reasons that I appreciate Pride Month, which at the very least reminds me to keep learning.”
With Rev. Jill McAllister