The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis
Pick fruits and vegetables at our mini farm for your dinner table & join us in a glass of wine or home made peach or grape juice.
The Biegel’s mini farm and orchard, 33073 SE Peoria Road. (.2 miles past Peoria market)
Come visit any day you like, until harvest ends… Call Craig to schedule your visit!
In Roraima, Indigenous communities forge sustainable solutions amid threats
Researchers make surprising discovery about lifespan of EV batteries
New Consortium To Make Batteries For Electric Vehicles More Sustainable
A bright spot at the intersection of farming, electric vehicles and solar energy
US Crosses the Electric-Car Tipping Point for Mass Adoption
Research: Consumers’ Sustainability Demands Are Rising
Discovery Education and Leading Corporate and Nonprofit Partners Launch
First-of-Its-Kind Initiative Supporting Sustainability
EPA emissions report shows ag advancements in sustainability
Florida is now adding more solar power than any other state
Renewable power expected to grow as Louisiana marks clean energy transition
How rural southwest Utah is proving the potential of renewable geothermal Landmark Wave Energy Legislation Heads to California Governor Newsom’s Desk after
Unanimously Passing California Legislature
Germany to Surpass 50 Percent Renewable Power This Year, Official SaysEurope’s Europe’s largest solar thermal energy plant opens in BelgiumSolid-state and sodium-ion batteries spark hope amidst the lithium supply crunch
Minesto preps seabed connection system for 1.2MW tidal energy device
There is no more important climate work than the influencing of legislation and policy, whether at the national, state, or local level. Climate Action Opportunities, refreshed weekly on Saturdays, provides three or four curated, quick opportunities to do just that.
To help assess the engagement of UUFC members and friends in faith-based climate action and to encourage such action, please anonymously <Share> the number of the actions below you take this week. Optionally, you may anonymously also share other recent climate action.
The organizations whose calls to action we amplify, and the number from each organization, are listed <here>
Sat 23 Sep
Climate Action Team
A carbon fee and dividend will drive energy innovation, giving every American community access to abundant, affordable clean energy at a predictable price. With a price on carbon, polluters pay, and people get a carbon cashback. It will (a) help low and middle income people afford higher energy prices, (b) keep Americans healthier by reducing air pollution, & (c) help reduce America’s carbon pollution 50% by 2030, putting us on track to reach net zero by 2050. Do your members of Congress know these benefits? Email your members of Congress
Remove Snake River Dams: Indigenous peoples throughout the Northwest have depended on their relationship with Snake River salmon since the beginning of time. But against the wishes of Tribal communities, dams were constructed in the Snake River that threaten endangered salmon.
Native communities along the Snake River are calling on the Biden administration and members of Congress to honor legally-binding commitments that the federal government made to Northwest Tribes by removing the lower Snake River dams in order to restore abundant salmon. Sign & send
Remove Snake River Dams: Indigenous peoples throughout the Northwest have depended on their relationship with Snake River salmon since the beginning of time. But against the wishes of Tribal communities, dams were constructed in the Snake River that threaten endangered salmon.
Native communities along the Snake River are calling on the Biden administration and members of Congress to honor legally-binding commitments that the federal government made to Northwest Tribes by removing the lower Snake River dams in order to restore abundant salmon. Sign & send
Of Note This Week is a source for current climate-change information at the local, state, and national levels. It is refreshed weekly on Saturday.
Sat 23 Sep
Care.org
Climate change & the floods in Libya
Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Africa Climate Summit calls for global carbon tax
Native News Online
Reasons to be Cheerful
Getting the Soil Right: How Carbon Farming Combats Climate Change
We’re asking the wrong question about EVs and grid resiliency
Sunday, October 29th
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Around the time of Samhain, or All-Hallow’s-Eve, we take time to remember those who have died. We honor our ancestors through a ritual supper, eaten in silence. A time for conversation and reflection will follow.
RSVP required, so we have enough place settings! Register here: https://uufc.breezechms.com/form/5fd6ba
Participants should bring:
1. an item for the altar; such as a photograph or small token that reminds you of someone who has died
2. food to share; can be homemade using a recipe from your ancestors, or it can be store bought, such as your grandpa’s favorite brand of potato chips.
An event in collaboration with the Wheel of the Year Samhain service.
Maybe you’ve got an awesome minister (If you’re at UUFC, you do! ☑️), and a caring Religious Exploration team (Lucky you! You’ve got that too!☑️), and excellent friends and family support (I sure hope you do! ?). Did you know that even with all that, parents and grandparents are still a child’s first and most influential spiritual guides? Yes, YOU! You’re the biggest factor in your child’s spiritual growth and development. How cool ? (and maybe scary ?) is that?
In an effort to support families as they raise faithful and spiritually grounded children, we offer you the Family Faith Formation Toolkit with you! On the 4th Sunday of each month, I’ll be adding a new tool to our toolkit below. Each tool will come with resources and practical ideas for how to explore matters of the spirit with your family, and grow in confidence as a spiritual leader. As always, if you have immediate needs relating to your family’s faith formation, I’m available to chat. Just reach out to dre@uucorvallis.org to set up a time.
Saturday, October 7, 9:30 to 1:30
Sunday, October 8, 11:00 to 1:00 in the UU Parking Lot
Pumpkins, jams, jellies, salsa and more will be for sale! If you have produce, plants, art, or crafts to contribute, please bring them! Volunteers are needed! Contact Nancy Kyle.
Proceeds will benefit Corvallis Multicultural Literacy Center and their efforts to support immigrants with fees needed for work permits and citizenship, and the Benitez family, our most recent Salvadoran immigrants.
September arrives and soon we’ll begin a new Fellowship year. First, however, we’ll take a small break in the usual routine of Sunday services – a Sunday off, a chance to intentionally pause, a chance perhaps to consider and mull: what does this routine mean to me? What is it for? Whom is it for? The Fellowship is many things and includes many things, yet at its heart it is a worshiping community – which means at the very least that it is a gathering of people who are committed to a shared endeavor, a shared religious life. If you’re simply in the habit of attending, I invite you to take this time to consider what it means to you to be part of this worshiping community.
Our theme for the coming year will be “Building A New Way.” Whether we had decided to be aware of that need or not, the call to build new ways of being together, of being in the world, of sharing and caring, of searching for meaning, of building deep connections, of inspiring action – the call to build new ways is clarion. The world has changed, is changing, is in need of change – and we are part of the world.
Some of the areas we’ll continue to work on are living in a climate crisis, learning to understand and dismantle systems of oppression – racism in particular, how to be welcoming and inclusive, generational differences and bridges, and what religious and spiritual practices can help us in this work. Some of the new areas we’ll explore include leadership for now and the future, and especially leadership for the life and work of the Fellowship.
Enjoy this small break, use it well, and come again on September 10 ready to joyfully begin again, sharing the work and the beauty of being the UU Fellowship of Corvallis.
~Public Videos from the UUA General Assembly in June 2023
Whether you attended or not, whether in person or online, everyone can now view and share the Public Videos from GA 2023. Public Videos include all General Sessions, plus three mainstage worship services: Service of the Living Tradition, Synergy Bridging Service, and Sunday Worship.
~Recommended for Families with young children: “The Tending Years” by J.L. Shattuck
Every day you meet your child’s spiritual and emotional needs—you just don’t know it. In this accessible and comforting book, J.L. Shattuck provides insight into your child’s earliest rituals. Unlike parenting books that ask you to change the way you interact with your child, this easy-to-read volume details the ways in which you’re already tending to your child’s needs and offers inspiration and support to help you throught he preschool years and beyond. Available for pre-order from the UUA Bookstore (InSpirit, at
UUA.org).
Today’s story is the first in a quartet of elemental stories. In honor of the Joining of the Waters, this is a story of Yemaya, the Orisha of water. The Orisha are personifications of the forces of nature, aspects of the divine as they are understood in the faith of the Yoruba religion, as well as other faith traditions in the African diaspora.
This story was inspired by an article in Teen Vogue that was written in response to the oddly heated internet discourse surrounding the casting of a young Black woman to play Ariel in the recent live action adaptation of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. It argues that in the context of Yemaya, who is often depicted with a fish tail, a Black mermaid actually makes a great deal of sense!
Sound and Music Attributions
Easy Lemon (30 second) by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3695-easy-lemon-30-second-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Winter Night by Frank Schröter
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6910-winter-night
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Cinematic Epic Emotional by Alex-Productions
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/9193-cinematic-epic-emotional-
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Mystical Universe by MusicLFiles
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7646-mystical-universe
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
“Thunder, Very Close, Rain, A,” InspectorJ
https://freesound.org/people/InspectorJ/sounds/360328/
Tue 12 Sep, 4:00 PM, online
Clean Energy Revolution: What’s the Next Big Step? It’s been one year since President Biden signed the historic Inflation Reduction Act, an unprecedented investment into clean energy. Since the signing, over 211 clean energy projects have been announced across 38 states—a true clean energy revolution! Or so we’re hoping. So far, countless clean energy projects have faced challenges with grid transmission, interconnection, and siting. The clean energy revolution is at risk of being stopped right in its tracks. At this webinar you’ll hear from experts on the most impactful policies for responsible transmission, interconnection, and siting reforms. Register
Thu 14 Sep, 12:00 – 1:00 PM, Corvallis-Benton Co.Public Library
“GROWING A VEGETABLE GARDEN” LECTURE SERIES
Shonnard’s nursery manager/educator Darren Morgan on how to tend your garden soil, from soil testing and amending to cover crops, mulch and other methods of covering for nutrients, controlling weed growth, and allowing earlier spring planting.
Sun 17 Sep, 2:00 -4:00 PM, Central Park Gazebo
Local rally to support the NYC March to End Fossil Fuels, prior to the Sept. 20th UN Climate Ambition Summit, urging world leaders to commit to phasing out fossil fuels. Our house is on fire! All hands on deck!! Join the bucket brigade to muster climate action and nurture hope. Speakers, music, skits, chants, art, and tabling info by climate groups. Please walk, bike, bus, scoot, or carpool to the rally.
Sun 17 Sep, 5:45 – 7:15 PM, Natural Grocers, 1235 NW 10th Street
WHOLE FOOD PLANT-BASED POTLUCK We are vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores who are attempting to eat and/or learn more about the health benefits of a WFPB diet. First time attendees do not need to bring a dish. RSVP for more details about this monthly potluck; usually the 3rd Sun.
Wed 20 Sep, 7:00 – 8:30 AM, online
Eco-municipality Webinar 1: Virtually visit the rural Arctic Circle, Swedish community, Overtornea, that was inspired to rise up from population loss and other hardships by taking an ecological and participative approach to economic revitalization. Join us to celebrate their 40 years and to learn about the evolution and ongoing success of the eco-municipality of Overtornea with the founder and leader of the Swedish Eco-Municipality Movement, Torbjorn Lahti, co-author of The Natural Step for Communities. Register
Thu 21 Sep, 5:30 – 7:30 PM, Common Fields, 545 SW 3rd Street
INVASIVE ASH BORER AND AREA FORESTS Ecology Pub Talk by Jennifer Killian, City of Corvallis Urban Forester, presenting information on the invasive Emerald Ash Borer and its impact on area forests. A portion of food/beverage sales benefits Marys River Watershed.
THUR 21 SEP 21, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, Corvallis Community Center, 2601 NW Tyler Ave. Online option, contact: audubon.corvallis@gmail.com
“The importance of Fire in Ecosystem Restoration” Aaron Groth
Wed 18 Oct, 7:00 – 8:30 AM, online
Eco-municipality Webinar 2: Virtually visit the eco-municipality of Karlskrona in the south of Sweden. Learn about the science-based framework of the Swedish network of ecomunicpalities, SEKOM, and the Karlskrona eco-municipality. Register
