Our Sunday Outreach Offerings for the month of April will support several organizations our Climate Action Team partners with: the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, Seeds for the Sol, UU Ministries for Earth, and UU Side with Love. We hope to contribute $250 to each with remaining funds going to UUFC’s own Carbon Reduction and Responsibility Fund. Your support is needed and welcome!
Between Us, 4/7/2024
April is Stewardship Month at the Fellowship, among other good things (like Earth Month and Poetry Month…) This means it’s the time we each consider our role as part of the congregation, as part of the covenant, as part of this living tradition. It’s the time when we make pledges of support – of our time, our talents and our financial resources.
The UUFC is sustained by pledges, which are not the same as contributions. Contributions are always welcome, but the Fellowship depends upon pledges, which are commitments of financial support for our shared work. If you are accustomed to simply contributing, I strongly encourage you to make a meaningful pledge this year. If you have never pledged before, let this be your good beginning!
The beautiful thing about being part of this community is that we support our work together, each according to their means and situations, yet all joining in. All of us. The most important part of the stewardship pledge drive is that all of us participate, together.
Pledging can be a spiritual practice – an activity we choose to engage in which over time helps us grow in wisdom, compassion and love. To pledge and regularly pay that pledge calls one toward greater generosity.
Each Sunday we say together these words: “From the countless gifts we each have been given, gifts of life, and love, and sustenance, we bring these small portions to share in the works of love, which none of us can accomplish alone.” Our pledges are much the same: we each bring our portions, and together we share in the great works of love which the UUFC can accomplish. As a congregation and a community we can do more together than we can individually.
Making a pledge of support for the Fellowship has never been more important, so take some time during the next week to thoughtfully consider your pledge, and then make a pledge that signifies how and why the UUFC is important, to you and to the world. Make a pledge that you can feel good about, because you know you are making a commitment to your highest values. Make a pledge which makes a difference.
We know that the world needs us, and we know that we need each other in this work. Together we can accomplish so much more than any of us can accomplish alone. Thank-you for joining this year’s stewardship pledge drive.
“What Difference Does It Make?” April 7th, 2024
This Sunday we’ll consider stewardship, pledging and what difference each of us makes when we make a commitment. Oh, and while we’re at it we’ll join in a game of Jeopardy – UU-style – plus some good singing and sharing of sorrows and joys – a regular Sunday at the Fellowship (is there such a thing?) which really means the joy of being together.
with Jill McAllister
Donate an Activity or Item to the Services Auction, 6/8
The annual UUFC Services Auction is a wonderful way to build community while giving back to UUFC! Donate an Item or a Service! Most popular items have been things like yard work, childcare, social dinners, learning lessons and things that bring people together.
Dance Planet, 4/6
This Saturday we’re having a special Dance Planet at the UU. From 7:30 to about 8:45 we’ll move, each in our own way, to a rhythmic flow of music from around the world and across the decades. The mix will include some sun/moon music in appreciation of the upcoming solar eclipse. But starting at 7 we’ll have a special treat: a 30-minute musical journey with world percussionist Dave Chiller. Dave will explore with his hangs and ngoni African harp to create an auditory space for movement, stretching, or just listening.
Admission to this family-friendly event is a suggested donation of $5—15. One hundred percent of the proceeds will be donated to local environmental organizations.
Services Auction: Make Your Donations This Week
Online Silent Auction – Wednesday, May 29 – June 5 at 5:00 pm
Live Auction with Silent Auction Tables – Saturday, June 8
- Doors open at 5:30 – Registration, pick up your dinner salad, strawberry desserts, and drinks
- Socialize and bid on silent auction items 5:30 – 7:00
- Live auction begins – with HOOPLA! 7:00 p.m.
We want EVERYONE to have a chance to enjoy the camaraderie and excitement of our annual Goods & Services Auction, whether or not you are able to attend on June 8. So, the 2024 Auction Planning Team has split the Auction into three parts:
- The Online Silent Auction – Wednesday, May 29, 8:00 am through
Wednesday, June 5, 5:00 pm. Can’t come to UUFC on June 8? You’ll still be
able to bid online for some fine items and services, and help fund our
Fellowship at the same time. - The Silent Auction Tables – Saturday, June 8, 5:30-7:00. A limited number
of items will be available to bid on and take home that night, especially
items such as cakes, pies, plants, bouquets, gift baskets, and arts and crafts. - The Live Auction – Saturday, June 8, 7:00-8:30 pm. Our Auctioneer John
Bailey will entice you to bid high on 30 spectacular service items. Raise your
paddles and let the fun begin!
Request Childcare: In an effort to make the Services Auction a family friendly event, we want to offer childcare during the Live Auction. However, we need to know how many children to plan for and get some additional information about those youngsters from you. Please complete the short Google form before May 19 to allow time to recruit the appropriate, back-ground checked people to watch over your small humans.
Volunteer to Help
The annual UUFC Services Auction is a wonderful way to build community while giving back to UUFC. Many people are needed to make this event a success! We have a variety of jobs, something for everyone!
Donate Services or Goods
Will you donate a popular service item that we can enjoy haggling over in the Live Auction? Or perhaps you will bake a cake or pie, bring a plant, bouquet, gift basket, an art/craft item that some lucky person will win at the Silent Auction table. Or maybe you have a new or like-new item that someone else would love. Some donations will be split between the Online Auction (May 29 – June 5) and the Silent Auction tables (June 8) so that everyone has a chance to participate.
Suggested Auction events and services
Here are some possible services or events. Mix and match and consider your special interests and you will come up with something unique. Please donate. It’s fun, we build community, get to know others, and our work benefits the UUFC.
ESCAPES: Time at your vacation beach house or cottage
WORK FOR HIRE: Yard work. Handy-person tasks. Architectural or landscape
design. Garden planning. Help in organizing kitchen, closets, garage. Car washing, car detailing, carpentry, gift baskets
OUTINGS: Winery/brewery visits. Boat/kayak/canoe trips. Bird watching. A day at the coast.
PARTIES WITH THEMES: Mystery dinner. Academy awards party. Las Vegas night.
GET-TOGETHERS: Tea or wine tasting. Poetry and snacks. Hikes with picnic. Sing-alongs. Karaoke night. Walking tour. Mexican train dominos.
SHARED MEALS: Ethnic dinners. Vegan, Paleo, Keto dinners. Fondue party. Meal and movie night. Salad sampler luncheon.
DELIVERED MEALS: Dinner for 2-4 delivered. Quart of soup for X months. Dessert per month for X months. Home-baked bread.
LESSONS: “Play with clay” day. Cake decorating. Greeting card making. Computer lessons. Music lessons. Dance lessons/party (tango, salsa, line dancing, belly dancing).
PERSONAL SERVICES: Shopping or “taxi” service. Massage. Astrology. Ancestry help. Made-to-order socks, scarf, mittens, hat, jewelry. Personalized song, poem, or limerick.
FAMILY FRIENDLY IDEAS: Children’s sewing project. Cooking class. Pizza or pasta making party. Tie dye party. Scavenger hunt. Child’s birthday party. Kid’s dress up party. Outdoor movie night. Math tutoring.
Climate Action Lunch, 4/20
Saturday, 4/20 at 1:00 PM in the Social Hall
Plant-based foods may be good for the planet, but they are also tasty and easy to prepare. Join members of the UUFC’s Climate Action Team to enjoy a delicious meal prepared by Ernest Cardona — and celebrate upcoming Earth Day.
THE MENU
Appetizers
- Miso soup w/tofu
- Bruschetta with and without seaweed
Entrees
- Black bean, corn, and tomato casserole with cheese and vegan options
- Gandules (pigeon peas) and rice
- Mushroom sauce on pasta
Dessert
- Roasted plantains with coconut ice cream or sorbet
Childcare is available but must be requested by April 7.
Register by April 15 with Nick Houtman, nickhoutman8@aol.com or text to 541-829-3442 to reserve your place. We will cap registrations at 30.
Child Dedication Invitation, 5/12
In Unitarian Universalist congregations, the dedication and blessing of a child signifies the congregation’s willingness to nurture & love the child, & to support parents & caregivers in providing for their children’s spiritual development. It also celebrates the family’s desire to raise their children in a nurturing religious community.
Children are beloved members of the UUFC. Their growth and unfolding personalities are a source of joy to us all, and we are committed, as a congregation, to their spiritual welfare. Our child dedication service is an opportunity to recognize that commitment & to welcome the new children in our midst.
It is our custom to dedicate children on Christmas Eve and Mother’s Day, as well as any time a family makes the request. Participating families will be invited to come forward & introduce their children. Each child will be blessed with a touch of water, the gift of a flower, & words of commitment by the gathered community.
If you would like your child to be dedicated on Mother’s Day, please contact Skyla by Sunday, May 5th.
Your FOC and CAT Have Endorsed a Climate Chaos Report
Banking on Climate Chaos 2024: Fossil Fuel Finance Report Card is a joint effort of the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), Oil Change International (OCI), Reclaim Finance, the Sierra Club, Urgewald and others to document the on-going support that banking and investment firms provide for the fossil fuel industry. It is hoped that by pointing out these direct ties, individuals, pension programs and other investors with money in the banks and investment firms providing the greatest fossil fuel industry support can ask their institutions to consider other investment opportunities. The group preparing these annual reports has asked others to endorse their effort. Your UUFC Financial Oversight Council (FOC) and Climate Action Team (CAT) are well aware of these concerns and trying to do what they can with UUFC monies to step away from fossil fuel industry support. The FOC And CAT have endorsed the report. This endorsement falls within UUFC endorsement guidelines of not endorsing a candidate; does not require a financial contribution or commitment nor work commitment. The endorsement supports the UUFC mission to inspire action for a better world for all and its commitment to divest from fossil fuels. If you have questions about this endorsement, please contact Michael Hughes, Board, CAT and FOC member, or Russ Karow, FOC Chair.