weekly announcements

Fail Fest 2025 is coming on 12/29, register by 12/20

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WHAT: A celebration of the human urge to keep trying, and all the necessary failure along the way.

WHEN: December 29th from 5:30 to 8:30 (maybe earlier, but who knows?)

WHERE: The Social Hall

WHO: Any adults who needs to process the things that didn’t work out last year before moving on to plan with hope for the year ahead.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED: HERE by 12/20

There is no progress without failure. Yet, in our culture that is focused on sharing highlight reels, it’s easy to forget that there are no real overnight successes. The road to “what’s next” is littered with beautiful “almosts” and “not quites.” Before you start thinking about New Year’s resolutions, come share in a celebration of this past year’s failures that got you to where you are now. 

The evening will begin with a comfort food potluck to ease into togetherness and connection. When we’re feeling full and ready, we’ll reflect on a year’s worth of things that didn’t quite go our way, grieve the dreams that maybe we’re giving up on, and celebrate the new vision that is forming as a result of our failures. 

At this event, you can expect some tears, some laughs, and some dancing under disco lights. Best of all, you can expect to walk away with a deeper sense of community because vulnerable sharing and mutual support are an exceptional foundation for new friendships.

Don’t miss it! Come, let us celebrate you and your awesome, brave failures!

Opportunity for Work Cleaning Church Building

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Call for Bids for Cleaning Contract at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis

2945 NW Circle Blvd, Corvallis
Posted November 10, 2025 – open until filled
Contact – office@uucorvallis.org

We are inviting proposals for price and schedule to clean our church building.  The building includes a vinyl-floored sanctuary with free-standing chairs (~2500 sq ft), kitchen (vinyl), social hall (wood), lobby (masonry), six single bathrooms, and 15 other office, library or meeting rooms with carpet, wood or vinyl flooring. We need the building cleaned at the end of the week before our Sunday service and then again early in the week after Sunday service.

Memorial Service for Ron Wrolstad, 11/15

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Memorial Service for Ron Wrolstad

Saturday, November 15th at 2 PM

at

the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis

Ron Wrolstad was a long time member of UUFC.  He and his wife Kathy raised their two daughters here.  Ron was known for his steady attendance, he played the piano, was a longtime member of a book club here, and contributed in many other ways. Ron died here in Corvallis on Saturday, October 11th, 2025 from complications related to Alzheimers disease. Members of the Fellowship have described him as leading an exceedingly meaningful life as a husband, father, grandfather, scientist, teacher, colleague, student mentor, bicyclist, story-teller, and good friend.

Recording

The recording of the service can be viewed below, or on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Zly12v7-73g. It will stay available on our UUFC website and UUFC YouTube page for future viewing.

Evacuation Drill Followup

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Thank you to everyone who participated in the Evacuation Drill on November 2.
A number of issues were identified that need to be addressed to improve our overall plan.

Do you have expertise or interest in Emergency Preparedness at UUFC?
Please contact Wolfgang D. or Rev. Alex to join a team of 3-4 people to evaluate and revise the Evacuation Plan and address other important UUFC Safety Issues.

Show Your True Colors

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“The highest virtue among church greeters is their willingness to express human kindness… suggest, lead, guide, or do anything that is an extension of the human smile.” – Leslie Parrott, author

UU’s live out our faith through our service to others. True spiritual growth, in ourselves and in our Fellowship, arises, in part, through our connectedness with others. You are the smiling, welcoming face of the UUFC.

If you would like to join this Team, please contact anyone at the Greeter desk or contact the Heather E. at this link. We can all use a helping hand. See you Sunday!

UUFC Giving Tuesday, 12/2

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UUFC’s Giving Tuesday is an opportunity for us celebrate and put into practice our UU values of Generosity and Justice. For 2025, our contributions will benefit the South Corvallis Food Bank, where the need is greater than ever. Video: <https://kval.com/newsletter-daily/need-for-food-reaches-all-time-high-in-corvallis-food-bank-says>

You can contribute

  1. via Breeze by selecting Giving Tuesday from the Give To drop-down menu
  2. via check payable to UUFC with memo “Giving Tuesday”
  3. via cash in an envelope marked with your name and “Giving Tuesday”

Thank you.

Questions: treasurer@uucorvallis.org

UU Advent Daily Email Series: Register by 11/27

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Rev. Ralph Roberts created a UU version of an Advent calendar, with little factoids about the influence that Unitarians and Universalists in history had on the winter holidays. We will once again be converting these tidbits into a daily Advent email series to land in your inbox every morning from December 1st through the 24th. You can register to be on that limited-run mailing list HERE by November 27th. Please note that, due to technological limitations, we will not be able to add any recipients to the list after the 27th.

Worship Web offers the following disclaimer about the Advent series: “Due to its temporal nature, many of the historic milestones in this Advent calendar aren’t necessarily recognized on the precise day that they’re celebrated (for example, Kwanzaa is recognized here on December 2nd instead of December 26th, and the December 12 image recognizes Clara Barton’s birthday (December 25, 1821). More than perfect historic accuracy, then, this Advent calendar is offered in the spirit of holding up and delighting in the ways that our Unitarian and Universalist ancestors had a foundational role in many of the winter holidays and the innumerable ways they’re celebrated by people everywhere.”

Connect Up: Rich hosting Thanksgiving Dinner/Potluck, 11/27

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Thanksgiving will be here in just a few days: why not celebrate it with eighty or more people at UUFC?   Members, friends, family, and out-of-town guests are welcome.  Instead of staying home and doing all the work and cooking, come here and do just a little work (if you are willing and able), a little cooking, and with little expense.  The Fellowship provides turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, beverages, and the Social Hour appetizers.  Also a five pound tofu turkey, vegan and GF.  Each family unit (of 1 or more humans) brings a potluck dish (salad, bread, dessert, veggie side dish, vegetarian/vegan main dish, cranberries, potatoes/yams, stuffing, etc.) or cooks one of the 4 turkeys (cost reimbursed).  The suggested donation is $5.00/person to cover costs, but no one is turned away for lack of funds.  Any surplus money will go to the Minister’s Discretionary Fund, or the South Corvallis Food Bank.

We need to know how many tables and chairs to set up for dinner, so sign up after Sunday service (starting at 10 AM) on 11/23, or call/email Rich, or sign up on Breeze, by Wednesday night, November 26, and also tell him what food you will probably bring, and if you are able to volunteer for a job.

Schedule:
10:30 a.m.  Set up at UUFC.
4:30 p.m.  Social hour at UUFC.
5:30 p.m.  Turkey dinner with vegetarian/vegan alternatives.  $5.00 suggested.  RSVP.
7:30 p.m.  Conversation, table games, and clean up.  Please stay and mellow out, visit, or bring a favorite board game.   Is anyone interested in doing charades?

HELP! As of newsletter deadline, I still need people to sign up for clean up, and putting away the tables and chairs, and to help with the social hour.  Also, many people signed up to come but gave no indication of what they might be bringing to the potluck.  At the moment we have only 4 desserts, and two vegetable side dishes.

Childcare is available!

Free childcare can usually be arranged for any Fellowship event by using this link 1-2 weeks prior to the event.