weekly announcements

Phasing Out Zoom for Small Group Meetings at the Fellowship, 12/1

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Beginning December 1st, the UUFC Zoom account will no longer be used for most online Fellowship meetings. We will continue to use it for Sunday services and a few other meetings,  while groups that hold remote meetings will be asked to switch to Google Meets or some other platform, or use personal Zoom accounts. This decision was made for a variety of reasons:

1. It will save us money

2. We can run multiple online meetings at once, which wasn’t possible with our Zoom account.

3. Google Meet has end-to-end encryption for meetings, making it even more secure than Zoom.

4. Groups can schedule and manage their own meetings at a time that works for them without going through the calendar process.

Did you know you can also create your own free Google Meet meetings using your personal Gmail account?

Women’s Retreat, 10/18 and 10/19

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The 2024 Women’s Retreat will be October 18 & 19 at the Fellowship. This year’s theme is “Resilience: Build Your Own Toolkit”. The Retreat will run from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Friday night and 9:00 am to 8:00 pm on Saturday. Please register by October 6.

The cost of our retreat – including a Forks & Corks catered lunch and dinner, snacks, and materials – is $50.

Register Now

To contact the Retreat Planning Team, please email: womensretreat@uucorvallis.org

Roy Zimmerman Concert, 10/13

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Join us on SUNDAY EVENING, Oct. 13, 7 PM at the UUFC to welcome singer /songwriter Roy Zimmerman back to Corvallis and the Fellowship. Especially in these pre-election weeks, we need his wit and wisdom to strengthen and encourage us.

Buy Tickets Now

 
~Roy Zimmerman writes funny, socially conscious songs. He’s sung these songs on stages, screens and airwaves for over thirty years, bringing laughter and encouragement to progressive-minded people across the nation.
~Roy’s songs, at turns heartfelt and hilarious, turn our hearts, minds and ears toward the social justice battles yet to be won. His motto: “Sing. Laugh. Defend Democracy.”
~He’s putting the finishing touches on a new album – his 11th as a solo artist. ROADMAP is a collection of classic social justice songs re-imagined for this fraught moment in our history.
~“He simultaneously inspires me and makes me laugh my ass off,” said Paul Krassner.
~”Roy’s lyrics move beyond poetry and achieve perfection,” said Joni Mitchell.

UUFC Holiday Fair, 12/7

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Get ready for a wonderful time at our annual UUFC HOLIDAY FAIR! Tell all your friends and neighbors. You don’t want to miss this. On Saturday, December 7 from 9:00 to 3:00, you’ll be able to buy:

* Beautiful handmade arts and crafts for yourself or as presents for others

* Tasty baked goods donated by UUFC bakers

* Lovely greenery swags and table centerpieces

* And, until they sell out, coffee, tea, snacks, and a light lunch

“Rosh Hashanah, Entitlement, and Floods” 10/6/24

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Each Sunday during the pandemic lock-down, when we worshipped together online, I began each service with a short reflection on “where are we this week?” more or less. Here at the beginning of October, a few days into the Jewish observance of Rosh Hashanah, I’m beginning in a similar way. What do we need to know, what can we know, how shall we live given the currents states of affairs – floods, elections, wars, and more.

Rev. Jill McAllister

Our Justice Outreach Offerings for October will support our Partner Church in Transylvania, except for this first Sunday of the month, Oct. 6. This week our offerings will support the UUA Disaster Relief Fund, which is raising funds for communities recently ravaged by flooding.

Addressing the Climate Emergency, 10/12 and 10/13

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Dear Friends, I am writing today to invite you to a community meeting where we will talk about how we can connect around issues of climate change. This meeting will bring together folks from all walks of life here in Corvallis. It will be at the Church of the Good Samaritan on October 12th 9am and 13th 1:30pm (for two half-days). Details are in the photo. I hope you can make it. And feel free to spread the word. Thank you.

Take care,
Melissa Bird

Rev. Jill McAllister is one of the principal organizers of this community meeting which is supported by a grant from the Justice Outreach Fund.


Rev. Melissa Bird of the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan issues this invitation.

Justice Outreach Offerings for October – Partner Church

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Our Justice Outreach Offerings in October will primarily support our Partner Congregation in Bozod Korispatak, Transylvania. For several decades we have given financial support to these partners for scholarships for students, a grant for the minister, and support of care of elderly members of the congregation. We are continuing these forms of support.

On the first Sunday, Oct. 6, our offerings will be sent to the UUA Disaster Fund, for direct aid to congregations in North Carolina and other areas hard-hit by recent flooding.

Family Breakfast is BACK!

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Connect with other families while enjoying a chat and a warm breakfast together. Bring your friends and a breakfast item to share if you like! Or just come as you are and recharge.

A big thank you to the Pollinder Family for pulling this event together!

WHERE: Social Hall

WHEN: 2nd Sunday of the month (no breakfast September, December, or June) 8:45-9:45 AM

WHO: Anyone with children or youth who wants to connect with other families!

Registration is appreciated to help with planning how much food to make, but drop-ins are welcome.

Daily Practice – A Weekly Reminder

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In September 2020, a few months into the pandemic shut-down, a week or so after forest fires had turned the air orange around us for days, I went out into a clear morning, and was greeted by the day. I wrote this:

“In the cool breeze this morning, something caught my eye that I didn’t recognize at first – and then I remembered: my neighbor has prayer flags hanging on the porch, and there they were, moving in the breeze, sending prayers out in all directions. I stood in my garden, considering the brown stalks of lavender, the squash suddenly thriving, the apples bulging on their branches – and I felt those prayers coming my way. I felt surrounded by prayers, as they moved around me, as they grew up from the ground and the trees and somewhere inside me. For a moment everything was a prayer – a point of attention, a reprieve, a deep breath in, a knowing that I was held – by the world, by the air, by the garden, by the morning.”

There’s a song we sometimes sing on Sundays: “There is a love holding us, there is a love holding all that we love, there is a love holding all, may we rest in that love.” That’s what it felt like to me that morning in the garden – a knowing, once again, that I am held by a life and love much bigger than me, bigger than a day, bigger than anything I can imagine. I am part of the great progression of Life, moving and moved. Each morning, as I remember the gift of breath, I am grateful for more than I can name. Including this circle of community we share, and this practice which holds us together.