From the Financial Oversight Council: Giving Tuesday is Next Week – Nov 28!

On Tuesday, November 28, we ask you to consider making a donation, large or small, to the UUFC Emergency Aid Fund. Requests for aid from this fund are managed by our minister and a review team. Its idea is simple – if there are UUFC members or others related to the Fellowship who are in need of emergency assistance with housing, utilities, medical costs, auto and transportation costs, etc., they can make a request to the Emergency Aid Fund, through Jill. In the past several years, we have granted many requests from members of the trans community, who are often in danger of losing housing and employment. We have also used emergency aid funds to support refugees and immigrants seeking safety and asylum in the United States, including Burundians and Salvadorans fleeing violence in their homes.

By policy, grants from this fund are limited to once each year and at this time, no more than $500. Your UUFC board may consider increasing this dollar limit given what we all know about living in today’s world. More than $2500 in aid allocations were made last year. This fund is not part of the UUFC general operating budget. It is funded solely by donations from members and friends.

To give, you can go to the online collection basket – then in the white box in the middle of that page use the top option button to select “Give to Giving Tuesday.” You then enter your donation amount, whether the gift is recurring or one-time, and then choose debit/credit or ACH payment. Alternatively, you can mail a check to the UUFC (2945 NW Circle Blvd, Corvallis OR 97330) or drop a check in the Sunday collection basket. Please write “Giving Tuesday” on the memo line of all checks.

Your gift can make a real difference in the lives of other UUFC members. Please ponder this affirmation we make each Sunday – together we can do more than any of us can accomplish alone – and give generously.

Fellowship T-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs and more – order now!

Just in time for holiday gift-giving, we introduce the official UUFC Merch Shop! This virtual storefront offers a wide assortment of apparel and accessories to show your UUFC pride. The family-owned, PNW-based company gives a percentage of every sale back to the Fellowship! Delivery time is 2-3 weeks, so give yourself a lot of lead time, but know that you’re getting a better, more durable product for the wait. Want your group or special event at the Fellowship to have merch? Contact Skyla (DRE@uucorvallis.org) to get your team’s logo set up in our shop!

Young Adult Pizza Hour 11/26 at 11:30 AM

Join RE Associate Rachel Kohler and other younge(er) adults of the Fellowship (ages 18-35 more or less) for pizza and conversation this Sunday, November 26th at 11:30am in Room 7 for Young Adult Pizza Hour! If you’re new to the Fellowship, this is a great opportunity to meet other young adults. This month, we will be exploring the topic of “Growth and Change.” (Vegetarian/GF/Vegan options available.)

Thank You!

Thank You.

~Thanks to all for your contributions to the South Corvallis Food Bank as our Justice Outreach Offering in October. Together we raised $2339.69!

-Thank-you to our Sunday morning greeters, and coordinator Bobbi Bailey, and our Sunday morning coffee crews, and coordinator Ginny Gibson — we appreciate all you do!

Johansen Celebration of Life, Dec. 9 – Help Provide Refreshments

A memorial service for Kim Johansen will be Saturday, December 9 at 1:00. If you would like to contribute finger food for the reception, please contact Sandy Piper (718-650-0204 or skaypiper73@gmail.com). Kim’s family has requested that we include one or two plates of cheese and crackers with our typical treats. You can bring food to the service or leave it with Sandy ahead of time. Thank you.

Condolences

We send condolences to the family and friends of Josie Silver Alcorn, upon the news of her recent death. 

Holiday Fair

Saturday, December 2 from 9 AM to 2 PM

Don’t miss our UUFC Holiday Fair on December 2, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm at the Fellowship. Twenty local artisans will offer their art & crafts for sale, including jewelry, paper goods, home décor, and more. A beautiful way to shop local for winter holiday gifts, supporting both artists and the Fellowship.

In addition, Fellowship volunteers will once again provide wreaths and swags, and homemade holiday baked goods. The cafe will be open, serving coffee/tea, scones and muffins from 9-11 am, adding light lunch options from 11 am – 2 PM. Aracely Munro Perla will provide her signature pupas.

STILL NEEDED:

  • More home-made holiday goodies – cookies, pies, breads, etc. Calling all artisan bread makers – can you provide a few of your beautiful loaves?
  • A few more folks to help with the cleaning up and putting the Sanctuary and social hall back in order for the Sunday service.

Sign up at: https://uucorvallis.org/holiday-fair/

It’s a beautiful time for meeting and greeting, for welcoming the winter holiday season, for enjoying time with old friends and new. Invite your neighbors and friends to join us!

Inquirer’s Series — Every Sunday

Question Mark

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. 

Queerly Beloved 12/17

Sunday, December 17th, 4:00pm to 6:00 pm in the Social Hall

Join Anya and Jema and friends for hot drinks and cozy crafts and conversation. Bring cookies to share, if you like! An optional walk through the neighborhood to look at Christmas Lights will follow. All are welcome.

We meet monthly on the 3rd Sunday in the afternoon. Join LGBTQ+ folx and allies for social gatherings centered on queer issues and themes. We understand the importance of queer community, and our goal is to provide a safe space where people can find that sense of belonging right here in Corvallis. Questions: connect@uucorvallis.org

Spiritual Practices Workshop Collective Lectionary

The Spiritual Practices Adult RE workshop has wrapped until April. Thanks to all who participated – we learned a lot together!

Check out the RE new page to see our book recommendations for your personal lectionary and some of our art journaling commitments for practice.

We recently completed Part 1 of the Adult RE Spiritual Practices workshop and it was a true delight!

In our time together, we discussed and defined spiritual practice, explored how to pray (even if the G-word makes you itchy), experienced various forms of meditation, mindful walking and eating, tried our hand at the ancient practice of devotional reading called lectio divina, and practiced art journaling our commitments to daily-ish spiritual practice that we will work on individually until we come together for Part 2 of this series in April.

Several of you have expressed interest in attending this workshop during the day so that you don’t have to drive at night. If you would like to see a round of the Spiritual Practices workshop offered on Mondays at 9:30 AM, email me (dre@uucorvallis.org). If enough people are interested, we’ll launch a day-time workshop in February.

As a gift from our Spiritual Practices graduates to the wider Fellowship, we offer this list of book recommendations that you might choose to add to your own personal lectionary. If you don’t have a personal lectionary, or don’t even know what that means, you should consider joining the next round of the Spiritual Practices workshop!

Meditations of the Heart by Howard Thurman
recommended by Sherri Argyres


Love Poems from God by Ana Huang, Eden O’Neill, Ghassan Zeineddine
recommended by Sherri Argyres


Heart to Heart by the Dalai Lama and Patrick McDonnell
recommended by Bonnie Morihara


Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God by Anita Barrows & Macy
recommended by Rebecca Bedell


Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
recommended by Heather Thomas


Untamed by Glennon Doyle
recommended by Heather Thomas


Beauty by John O’donohue
recommended by Jay Coffman


A Religion of One’s Own: A Guide to Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World by Thomas Moore
recommended by Skyla King-Christison


An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith by Barbara Brown Taylor
recommended by Skyla King-Christison


The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices by Casper ter Kuile
recommended by Diane Weisner


Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by adrienne maree brown
recommended by Anya Ballinger


Torah Journeys: The Inner Path to the Promised Land by Rabbi Shefa Gold
recommended by Melinda Sayavedra