The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis
Authentic Selves Workshop
Fifty allies and queer folks are needed to experience four successive workshop sessions centered around this year’s UU Common Read. Mark your calendars for the meetings (7/15, 7/29, 8/12 and 8/26, 6:30 to 8:00pm in the UUFC Sanctuary) and order the book: Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families. Tell us you plan to participate by registering here: https://uufc.breezechms.com/form/a93a00
Our next gathering will be Sunday, May 11th – 4-6 PM in the social hall at UUFC.
Christine will be hosting a Talent Show for our next QB meeting. But that doesn’t mean you have to be “talented”, just willing to share something. Some of the activities you can share include:
Read or recite a quotation, long or short
Sing a song
Play an instrument
Tell a story (true or not)
Read a poem (yours or someone else’s)
Act out a story
Tell jokes
Show us your craftwork
Magic tricks
Juggling
Riddles
or anything else that might be inspiring, interesting or amusing. Perform alone or in groups. Everybody’s got talents!
🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
Queerly Beloved meets every Second Sunday! 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.
If you need childcare for smaller children, please contact the Grandfolks Squad here: https://uufc.breezechms.com/form/8c8211
I caught my breath and sighed deeply at the news of the death of Pope Francis this week, another seismic change in the world. Then I picked up a book I very recently received – his autobiography, published only a few months ago, titled “Hope.” Day by day I have begun to read it, as I consider both the gifts of Christianity and its horrible perversions. We are living in this country with the perversions, writ large. Pope Francis had a much different perspective.
This is what he said in the introduction: “People often say ‘wait and hope’ – so much so that the word esperar in Spanish means both ‘to hope’ and ‘to wait’ – but hope is above all the virtue of movement and the engine of change. It’s the tension that brings together memory and utopia to truly build the dreams that await us. And if a dream fades we need to go back and dream it again, in new forms, drawing with hope from the embers of memory.”
Last Sunday we heard similar perspectives from climate activists such as Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Terry Tempest Williams, Leah Penniman, and more. Hope is the motion, the movement, that keeps us aiming and working for our highest goals. Even when we think all is lost. Love is the motivation.
I also received this quote from the writings of Tennessee Williams this week, with gratitude: “This world is violent and mercurial – it will have its way with you. We are saved by love – love for each other and the love that we pour into the art we feel compelled to share; being a parent, being a writer, being a painter, being a friend. We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it, all the time, is love.”
On the wheel of the year, Beltane comes between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Spring is in full bloom, new growth is all around, and the days continue to lengthen. The Earth calls us to give attention, to rejoice in beauty, to keep moving with the season. Join us for a Beltane of Homecoming—not to the past, but to relationship. When the world feels uncertain, Earth still turns. Let us turn with Her.
The UUFC Annual Meeting is happening on Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 12 noon in the Sanctuary after the service. Members may sign in following the service, and the meeting will commence at noon. All UUFC members are asked and encouraged to attend! The Annual Meeting is where members vote on Fellowship matters, such as election of the Board of Directors, affirming the annual budget, and changing the Bylaws. If you are a member of the Fellowship and want to participate in its democratic governance, this is the meeting to attend!
Members may choose to attend the meeting on Zoom, rather than in person. In-person attendance is greatly preferred, as Zoom can fail in multiple ways. Zoom attendees will vote using the polling tool built into Zoom. PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE USING ZOOM OR UNSURE IF YOU WILL BE ABLE TO USE THE ZOOM POLLING TOOL, PLEASE MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND IN PERSON.
Per the Fellowship Bylaws, one-fourth of current members must be present at the meeting to form a quorum. Motions pass on majority approval of those members present and voting, except for motions on ‘momentous issues’ as defined in Article III Section 5 of the Bylaws. Amending the Fellowship Bylaws is one such momentous issue, and will require a three-fourths majority of members present and voting to approve.
Some items that will be up for vote have already been announced. Read more about them through the links below.
Nominating Committee Slate for 2025-26
Affirmative Nondiscrimination Statement
You can still register for this 6-week, 9-session course with Jill McAllister. Two sessions will be in person (Sundays April 27 and June 1) and the rest will be online on Monday evenings. We’ll be reading from two paperback texts, available in local bookstores. Sign up using the button below.
You can read more about this class here: https://uucorvallis.org/world-religions-for-uus-4-27-6-9/.
WHERE DO WE COME FROM – for 70+ years (the UUFC was established in 1954) our predecessors have provided the funds to allow our Fellowship to grow and thrive.
WHERE ARE WE – 100% of current Fellowship members and friends will complete their stewardship/pledge drive form before going to bed on Sunday April 20.
WHERE ARE TWO GOING – two “pledging units” among those who have submitted their pledges by bedtime on Sunday night April 20 will be going to a local eatery legend for breakfast or lunch – New Morning Bakery or Sharon’s Cafe (by virtue of having their names drawn in a virtual drawing).
Michael Hughes – our UUFC Treasurer – will do the random selection on Monday morning and notify prize winners. Please assure that your name is in this drawing by taking 3-4 minutes to complete your stewardship form by clicking the button below.
Our annual Services and Silent Auction is Saturday, June 28. Please join in our largest fundraiser by offering a fun service, event, or item. Do you have access to a getaway at the beach, in the mountains, or other vacation spot? These prized offerings always earn lots for our Fellowship.
Do you have a skill, interest, or hobby that you would like to share with others? Some possibilities:
Or maybe you have some special items that you no longer want or need, such as jewelry, furniture, or artwork that you would be willing to donate. Everything goes to help support the UUFC.
Please fill out our Auction Donation Form as soon as possible. You can access the online form using the button below. Paper forms will be available in the Fellowship foyer.
Please submit your offerings soon so the auction team has time to enter all items and services into our Auctria software, along with photos (jpg or png only. Auctria can’t accept PDF). We use Auctria to generate the live and silent auction catalogs and to track and record sales.
Please sign up for a three-hour painting shift(s) on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday April 25, 26, 27 or May 2, 3, 4.
We have just 16 days to paint everything three times (primer plus two finish coats)! Sign up sheets on foyer table or contact Wolfgang with your sign-up requests using the button below.
Join us for our last scheduled event of this church year on Wednesday, May 14, 2025
5-7 PM
C3 (Corvallis Community Center)
2601 NW Tyler Ave. Corvallis
Bring:
We will provide beverages, conversation starters, & a review of the past year.