Fellowship leaders and staff are carefully watching the weather, like everyone else, given the forecast for a winter storm tomorrow. Our Emergency Closure Policy gives clear guidance that if “Local or state government declares a weather, health, or seismic emergency and asks people to not drive or to stay home,“ (or if we think too many Fellowship folks will be affected by the conditions) we’ll cancel activities at the Fellowship. IF that becomes necessary, a UUAnnounce email will be sent as soon as a decision is made. Meanwhile, take care!
weekly announcements
Inquirer’s Series 1/14 – Building & Grounds with John Bailey
This week: Building & Grounds with John Bailey. Inquirer’s Series is a series of 9 hour-long sessions designed especially for newcomers seeking more information about UUism and the Fellowship AND open to all others who are interested. Sessions take place every Sunday at 11:45 AM Room 8.
Upcoming session dates:
2024
- Jan 14 Building & Grounds with John Bailey
- Jan 21 Minister’s Q&A* with Jill McAllister
- Jan 28 Lifespan Faith Development with Dawn Dirks
- Feb 4 Worship & Liturgical Year with Jill McAllister
- Feb 11 Social Justice, Community Action & Connect Up with Karen Josephson
- Feb 18 Care and Support & Chalice Circles with Sandy Piper
- Feb 25 Membership 101* with Bobbi Bailey
- Mar 3 Roots with Skyla King-Christison
Men’s Group Meeting, 1/14 CANCELLED
Due to possible winter weather, the usual second Sunday meeting of the Men’s Group is canceled for Jan. 14. We meet again on the fourth Sunday – Jan. 28.
Watching the Weather
Fellowship leaders and staff are carefully watching the weather, like everyone else, given the forecast for a winter storm tomorrow. Our Emergency Closure Policy gives clear guidance that if “Local or state government declares a weather, health, or seismic emergency and asks people to not drive or to stay home,“ (or if we think too many Fellowship folks will be affected by the conditions) we’ll cancel activities at the Fellowship. IF that becomes necessary, a UUAnnounce email will be sent as soon as a decision is made. Meanwhile, take care!
Faith-based climate action this week, 1/7/2024
Climate Action Opportunities: We track (row 25) the number of clicks on the respond link for each suggested climate-action opportunity. The climate-action opportunity tracking results (an average of 3.4 clicks/opportunity) suggest this has not been an effective way to engage members/friends in climate action. Please consider committing the approx. 2 minutes per week needed and/or suggest ways to encourage and boost participation in this, our influence project.
Corvallis Sustainability Coalition: UUFC is a proud listed as one of the engaged partners of the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, with Laura Craig as our representative. There are multiple ways to get involved in the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition to help promote an ecologically, socially, and economically healthy city and county. The Coalition’s annual meeting is this Wed, Jan 10, 4:30 – 6:00 PM, at the Corvallis Community Center, 2601 NW Tyler Ave.
Tree Planting: We still need volunteers to help plant ten (up from our originally planned eight) trees in the islands in the Crystal Lake Playing Fields/Willamette Park parking lot, 10:00 AM to Noon, Sat 20 Jan. This is our third year of collaborative tree planting with the City’s Urban Forestry Program. Questions and/or to volunteer, email Michael Hughes with Subject Tree Planting.
Carpooling to Sunday Service: You’re invited to join the UUFC carpool group at Gomates. Questions: email Scott Bruslind
Cheers, Michael
The one thing we need more than hope is action. Once we start to act, hope is everywhere.
Greta Thunberg
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Fellowship members Blaise Ntakarutimana and Gisele Akima, living now in Portland, on the birth of baby Miley Anaya Shimineza in December. Everyone is doing well, and siblings Shanti and Josh are very excited!
Celebration of Life for Darius Adams, 1/28 at 2 PM
Fellowship member Darius Adams died on December 7, 2023. A celebration of his life will be held at the Fellowship on Sunday, January 28, at 2 PM.
From the “Secure Housing and Food for All” Team
We hope you all had a joyful holiday season. Thank you very much for sharing your time and effort to help the people of Corvallis who are struggling each day to survive by donating warm clothing and food items. It’s a new year and we continue with our efforts to help our less fortunate community.
The Unity Shelter is open again and can use volunteers, the Corvallis Drop-in Center is in need of warm clothing, and the South Corvallis Food Pantry needs to refill its shelves.
The Secure Shelter and Food for All team is meeting in the library of the UU on January 14 after the service. Please join us if you want to become active in this group.
Donation Needs
- Shoes – Especially Boots! (men’s 9+ or women’s 10+)
- Gloves
- Belts (plain, size 30-36)
- ANY Outdoor Wear: hoodies, coats, sweatpants. Water-resistant preferred.
- Bandanas and head wraps
Think Outdoorsy!
Thank you, Corvallis!
Justice Outreach Offering in January – NAACP
For the month of January our Justice Outreach offering will benefit the Linn Benton NAACP. The NAACP works to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.
Learn more at the Linn Benton NAACP Website.
Democracy Action Team: Let’s Buy Some Stamps!
During the last election cycle, members of UUFC’s Democracy Action Team wrote 20,000 letters to voters around the country, encouraging all to vote. Our team is gearing up for another critical election season this year, and to prepare, they need to buy stamps for all those letters. (Given the price of stamps, the cost of being a letter-writer can be prohibitive for some). Several members of the team are offering a one-to-one match for all donations to the Stamp Fund: All donations up to $5000 will be matched! Stamp prices increase on January 21 – can you help raise another $5000 to support this important work?