Four generations of winemaking tradition, commencing in Germany and culminating in Oregon, yields a nice collection varietals that include Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Marechal Foch, Chardonnay, and some limited-production specialty products.
We will travel up the valley on Sunday November 10th and visit Wetzel Estate Winery’s tasting room, open seven days a week, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Bring finger-food snacks to share with the group as we enjoy a glass of wine and get to know one another! If you are a wine passport holder, this is a BOGO event (half off). Wetzel Estate’s flight menu rotates every month ($15.00 for 5 wines; one tasting fee will be waived with a 3-bottle purchase). We will leave the UUFC after the Sunday service at 11:45; you might consider carpooling.
RSVP to Heather by Friday 11/8 so she can alert Wetzel of our numbers. Heather will send participants a confirmation email and driving directions on Saturday.
Members and friends with November birthdays, you are invited & encouraged to join the UUFC Birthday Club by making a donation in the amount of their age. Ex. On turning 74, make a $74 donation. Please donate via check to UUFC with memo “Birthday Club.” At the end of the financial year, contributions to the Birthday Club are split 50% Operations, 20% Endowment, 20% Reserves, and 10% Justice Outreach.
Join us for an election evening gathering at the Fellowship beginning at 5 PM on Tuesday Nov. 5. Bring snacks to share if you can. We’ll listen to incoming election reports and mull it over together as we begin to get an idea of where things are heading.
Two gatherings are also planned for Wednesday, Nov. 6. From 10am – 1PM come for a drop-in open house gathering in the Social Hall. Bring finger foods to share if you can, or bring your own lunch if you like. Or, join others for a potluck supper beginning at 6 PM in the Social Hall. Bring a dish to share.
Other gatherings remain tentative, until we know a little bit more about how the week is unfolding, except for Sunday, Nov. 10 after the service, when the Democracy Action Team plans to host a gathering to celebrate and strategize. All are welcome to any and all of these gatherings.
Our November Justice Outreach offering will support the Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center (CDDC). CDDC is a community-based resource hub providing information, referral, and direct services for people experiencing homelessness and poverty in Benton County and beyond.
On November 14th at 7:15 PM, the RE Council is offering a spiritual enrichment opportunity for our volunteers, and we have some space left for volunteers from other Fellowship teams! If you regularly give your time for the good of the Fellowship and could use some deep relaxation in the form of a 90-minute private sound bath offered by the talented Mark Clem of Sonic Journey, please REGISTER HERE and join us.
Because space is limited, you MUST PREREGISTER, and once the event is full, the registration form will be disabled. Additional instructions for what to bring and what to expect will be emailed to all registered participants on 11/10.
Developing a satisfying spiritual life requires that we regularly set aside time to grow our spiritual muscles with intention rather than always sliding through life on autopilot. Observing a sabbath is one way that we can craft a spirituality that nourishes and sustains us when times get tough. What elements go into a meaningful sabbath practice? What even is a sabbath? Let’s explore together!
Wayne Muller wrote, “We meet dozens of people, have so many conversations. We do not feel how much energy we spend on each activity, because we imagine that we will always have more energy at our disposal. This one little conversation. This one little, extra phone call. This one quick meeting….what can it cost? But it does cost. It drains yet another little drop of your life. Then, at the end of days, weeks, months, years, we collapse, we burn out. We cannot see where it happened. It happened in a thousand unconscious events, tasks and responsibilities that seemed harmless on the surface, but that each one after the other used a small portion of our precious life. And so, we are given a commandment, which is actually a gift- ‘Remember the Sabbath'”
An updated, family-focused version of his list of life-sucking small things might involve carpools, Instagram scrolling, and cleaning up dog barf before setting the table, but the reality is the same now as it was when he wrote those words. We need a Sabbath. We need it for so many reasons. Parents and children, alike.
A Sabbath is a reset and a return to the things that matter most. It does not involve productivity or tangible results, but rather centering connection with ourselves and our values rather than rushing through every minute to get the most things done. Yes, traditionally the Sabbath or Shabbat has taken place on Sundays for our Christian neighbors and Friday evening through Saturday for our Jewish friends. And maybe one of those days works best for you and your family. The spirit of a sabbath, however, can be enacted any day of the week which makes it a sustainable practice for you and your household. Ever since the Spiritual Practices workshop in Adult RE last year, I’ve been engaged in a Sabbath practice on Wednesdays, because I work every Sunday. Choose a regular day of the week, or hour of the week if it’s all you can manage, and make a sabbath plan that serves you and your family.
What should go into a sabbath plan? I’m so glad you asked!
The purpose of a sabbath plan is to assist you and your family in spending time in a different mode, intentionally engaged in practices that help you refocus on that which matters most. That’s going to look different for everyone, but here are some common elements to get you started:
~Many find it helpful to reconnect with their community during their Sabbath, so attending a service with your religious community is a common element of Sabbath.
~Appraoching the routine with a heightened level of awareness and awe is another mode of approaching Sabbath. Members of the Jewish community drop everything, light a candle, and share a family dinner on Shabbat. Sure, we eat dinner every night, but changing the lighting, speaking sacred words of prayer, and preparing a ritual food that is reserved for this special occasion all help us slow down and renew our intention as a family made up of spiritual beings.
~Reconnecting with nature is something that showed up in the vast majority of Sabbath plans that were written in our workshop last year. As Unitarian Universalists, we speak to the importance of living in harmony with our natural world, and spending time fully immersed in our beautiful Pacific Northwest forests and streams can help anchor our hearts in commitment and gratitude for the earth’s bounty.
~Schedule time for a slow spiritual practice like contemplative reading, meditation, or a slow cup of tea by the window to watch the rain and nothing else.
The possibilities are endless because it’s the quality of attention and energy given to the actions that make them worthy of your sabbath.
HOMEWORK FOR CAREGIVERS
Giving your children a rich spiritual vocabulary that includes words like the Sabbath is an easy place to begin if you’re new to this concept. You’re already coming to the Fellowship on Sundays, so ask your children what activities make them feel calm and at peace, what foods do they love that take time to prepare, what do they feel in their bodies when they get the chance to slow down, and see if you can add one thing from their answers to your existing Sunday plans each week. Or, if you’re not reliably together on Sundays, choose a different day to imbue with sacred attention. ask yourself the same questions and make sure that you design, little by little, a Sabbath plan that serves your whole family’s wellbeing.
It might be tempting to commit a longer amount of time on a less regular basis to this practice, and retreats do have their place in the Faith Formation Toolbox, but the Sabbath works on us specifically because it’s regular. You wouldn’t go to the gym for twenty hours straight once a month and expect to develop healthy muscles. You’d expect to get a serious injury! The Sabbath is much the same. Smaller and more frequent commitments to devoting your attention to that which is most important is essential. If you’re not regularly engaging in a sabbath practice, you very well might go on a retreat and experience an unbearable amount of discomfort!
Get out a piece of paper, make a plan, and display it proudly in your home. Make sure everyone in your house participates in the plan, and then everyone can help you remember that, “Hey, Dad! It’s our sabbath day, remember?”
I’m always excited to chat with you about your family’s spiritual practices and rituals. If you need any support in owning your role as the primary religious leader of your household, I’m always just a call or text away!
For the third year, we are offering table-top size live holiday trees for sale as a UUFC fundraiser. After the holidays you can return your tree for us to plant, or you can plant it yourself. Trees are $20 each, and we are offering Grand Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Doug Fir, and Sitka Spruce, all in #2 pots. Trees will be available after service, starting Sun 24 Nov.
Jamie Petts’ husband is having major surgery on October 30. In response to the Care and Support team’s offer to help Jamie (UUFC Operations Manager) negotiate caring for Dave and their four children plus work and home responsibilities, she suggested breakfasts for the children (delivered the day before) that would be easy for them to help themselves. She has provided a list of suggestions and has an easy way to deliver. Dates are MWF Nov.4- Dec. 6. Please contact Sandy Piper for details if you would like to support Jamie in this way.
