At the 2024 UUA General Assembly delegates passed an Action of Immediate Witness encouraging all UU congregations to engage in witness, education, organizing and advocacy in solidarity with Palestinians. In that spirit we will host a presentation from Corvallis Palestine Solidarity on Thursday, June 5, 5:30-7:30 PM in the Sanctuary. Join us for this report and presentation from a recent volunteer solidarity trip to the West Bank. Local retired OSU Professor and community member Joe McGuire will share his experiences and journey – intellectual, emotional and physical – from Corvallis to Bethlehem, Palestine.
weekly announcements
Crossing Thresholds Group
Register for this 9-month 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— loss of a beloved, birth of a new beloved, retirement, new job, gender transition, new relationship commitment, divorce, recovery, or any other significant turning point—you are not alone.
We invite you to join Crossing Thresholds, a 9-month spiritual journey beginning in September. Together, we’ll explore the depth and complexity of personal transformation through three cycles of reflection.
What to Expect
Each cycle will include a rhythm of ritual, reflection, communal support, and creative exploration guided by a team of facilitators:
At the beginning of each cycle (September, December, March), Susan Sanford will lead a simple, grounding ritual that honors the turning of the Wheel and the thresholds we are crossing. Through embodied practices, evocative imagery, and gentle reflection, you’ll be invited to locate your personal story within the greater rhythm of Earth’s seasons.
The next month of each cycle, Dorrie Board will provide a casual and light-hearted approach (mostly, but sometimes laughter evolves into tears, and that’s ok, too) as you travel through your “seasonal” transition. The bulk of this session will be open discussion and sharing/listening, and lots of laughing, and there might be room for related media and movement. Participants will help to create the flow of each experience as Dorrie is the guide on the side. (October, January, April)
At each cycle’s close (November, February, May), Skyla King-Christison will guide hands-on creative art sessions, including altar making (with Ginny Gibson, as a bonus in September), sigil creation, personal history scrolls, and ancestor collage. These projects were chosen to help us engage with the discomfort of transformation through creative exploration. No art skills needed.
Ongoing Practices
All participants will be invited to:
- Create a personal altar to live in the UUFC atrium
- Schedule solo meditation time in the atrium space
- Join monthly nature-based meditations and socials
Our time together will culminate in the River of Life Service in June, where participants will be lovingly witnessed by the congregation as they cross into what comes next.
If you have any questions, please contact Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org
We’re excited to go on this journey together!
Deadline: Donate to UUFC Auction, 6/12
Donate NOW for the UUFC Auction. The deadline for donations is June 12, 2025. Please donate your service, getaway, or item. We need it all to earn money for the Fellowship in our largest FUNdraiser of the year.
Our 2025 Auction will be in two parts. Plan to bid online and come to the live auction if you can.
Online Auction: June 16 – 23
Live In-Person Auction with Silent Auction Tables: June 28
RE Info Session 5/25
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
Final help request before classroom wing move-in!
We plan to have a “Welcome Back to the Classroom Wing” Open House Celebration on Sunday July 6 – so we need more help on the following days:
- Exterior Painting
- Saturday May 31 – 9 AM – 5 PM
- Interior Painting
- Friday June 13 9 AM – noon + 1PM – 4 PM
- Saturday June 14 9 AM – noon + 1 PM – 4 PM
- Friday June 20 9AM – noon + 1 PM – 4 PM
- Move Back Help
- Saturday June 28 – 9 AM – 3 PM
- Sunday. June 29 – 1 PM – 5 PM
PLEASE SIGN UP on the sheets on the Foyer table or
contact Wolfgang Dengler.
Working together, we can accomplish this final push – thanks!
Grounds Care Work Days, 5/19 and 5/26
Help care for the UU Grounds – time for spring mulching!
We have a large pile of shredded bark mulch that we are sharing with the Zen Center. Many hands will make light work! Please join us on Monday May 19 and Monday May 26, 3-5 PM at the Fellowship.
Questions? Contact Joyce with this form.
Construction Project Update
The general contractor’s part of the RE wing construction project is winding down. Final inspections are scheduled over the next 2 weeks and they intend to return the building to us by May 30th, almost a month before the original finish date.
Our volunteers still need to finish some interior and exterior painting but we are hiring professional painters to finish up some work that is beyond the safety and skill levels of our volunteers. We have a long list of other tasks to finish prior to moving furniture back to the building. That list is posted outside the foyer-to-classroom-wing doors. If you are available to help with those tasks please contact Wolfgang Dengler ASAP. Volunteering is a good way to get a sneak peak at the improvements.
Plans for Rev. Jill’s Last Weekend, 7/11–13
Rev. Jill’s official last weekend with the UUFC will be Friday, July 11 through Sunday, July 13, 2025.
At 7 PM on Friday July 11, in the sanctuary, we will have music from a variety of our favorite UUFC musicians, and a light ‘roast’ of Jill.
At 5 PM on Saturday July 12, we will have a congregational picnic outside on our north lawn.
At 10 AM on Sunday July 13, we will celebrate with Jill as she leads her last service with us.
If you have questions about these events, contact Mark Aron or other members of the Committee on Ministry.
Queerly Beloved Pride Party!, 6/8
June 8, 2-4 PM, UUFC Social Hall
Come celebrate LGBTQIA+ community!
Alllies and all ages welcome!
Music, dancing, snacks, teams trivia game, face painting, dress up and photos, crafts, coloring, jigsaw puzzling, and more!
Come join in on the fun!
Volunteers welcome (and needed) for decorating prior to the party and for putting away afterwards.
To learn more, or to volunteer, please contact Anya.
UU Elevator Speeches
Recently, a small group of Fellowship members spent several weeks crafting their elevator speeches about Unitarian Universalism. That is, they worked on how they might best describe UUism to someone in the time it takes to move between floors on an elevator. UUs often find it easier to describe what we aren’t rather than what we are, and many of us are inclined to be rather wordy, so it was no small task. And the task is never done.
The point of the elevator speech is to know what to say on the fly, so it takes practice! If you see any of these brave souls at coffee hour, help them keep their skills sharp by asking to hear their elevator speech.
A few of them will be sharing their speech in an upcoming Sunday service to hopefully inspire you to consider what you might say, if asked, “What the heck is Unitarian Universalism, anyway?” Do you have a go-to answer? If so, Skyla wants to hear it!