October Board of Directors Report, from Treasurer Scott Bruslind

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When food is involved, we have a full house. Attending the October Board meeting/pot luck were Sheryl Stuart (facilitating), Carl English-Young, Jema Patterson, Gavin Araki, Rev. Jill McAllister, Jamie Petts, Mary Craven, Jack Elder, Michael Hughes, John Bailey and Scott Bruslind; joined by two members of the Committee on Ministry: Nancy Kyle and Gary Barnes.

The focus of our October meeting was to begin a conversation on the Charter of Shared Ministry, and the charge to the Committee on Ministry, which has not been updated since 2014.

Sheryl Stuart, UUFC President and Rev. Jill McAllister clean up after the rest of us.

What does Shared Ministry look like?

It looks like this:

UU congregations call a Minister to help fulfill the Mission of their beloved community.

OUR MISSION… Explore. Love. Act. We gather as an inclusive religious community to search for meaning, build deep connections, and inspire action toward a better world for all.

In Shared Ministry, some responsibilities fall to the Minister while others belong to the board and to all the members the congregation. The Committee on Ministry parses out the thin line between: a line that’s fluid and contingent on the strengths of the two parties.

What are the roles of the Minister and staff and where do Fellowship members (mostly volunteers) fill in? Shared Ministry means partnership, based on covenant – which is much more than a simple employer / employee relationship. Helping and guiding all of us to understand the balance of this important work is the mandate of the Committee on Ministry. Congregations rise and fall on how well a Committee on Ministry navigates the currents of current affairs. The Board is working with the Committee on Ministry to clarify and document their important work.Minutes of Board meetings are posted here. We’ll meet again on November 21, 2023. Visitors are welcome to observe and share in whatever snacks we rustle up. Let us know if you’d like to attend. You are most welcome.

Birthday Celebrations

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If you have a birthday in October, November, or December, please sign the sheet by the Happy Birthday bag outside the main Sanctuary entrance. We’d like to celebrate YOU when we celebrate the 4th Quarter birthdays.

Birthday Club

Are you looking for a meaningful way to celebrate each of your years? One good way that helps our congregation is to write a check to UUFC for the number of years you will be on your birthday, put “UUFC Birthday Club” in the memo line, and mail it to UUFC.

November Sunday Services (2023)

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November 5 – Interdependence – with Rev. Jill McAllister

(*Reminder Daylight Savings Ends Nov. 5, so fall back an hour!)

November 12 – Tending our Grief – with Rev. Jill McAllister and Susan Sanford

November 19 – Transgender Day of Remembrance

November 26 – “Disguised As Our Life” Reflections on god and thanksgiving, with Revs. Monica Jacobson Tennessen and Jill McAllister

December Services and Activities

UU Advent Daily Email, December 1 – 24. Register at bit.ly/uuadvent

Fail Fest December 15

Wheel of the Year – Yule Sunday Service, December 17

Winter Solstice Vesper Service Thursday, December 21 at 7 PM

Holiday Sing-Along Friday, December 22. Christmas Carols and UU winter songs, for all ages

Christmas Eve Sunday, December 24, 10 AM Sunday service and 5:30 PM Candlelight Service

Post-Holiday Parents Break Activities for children, December 28 1-4 PM

New Year’s Eve 10 AM Sunday Service, Dec. 31. Any ideas for a later-in-the-day gathering?

Interdependence is Everything 11/5/2023

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We’re continuing a series of Sundays focusing on values identified by thousands of UUs as  central to who we are and strive to be now as we move into the future. We’ve considered  love, transformation and pluralism. This week we’ll consider interdependence, which, before it can be considered as a value, must be understood as a fact of life – biologically,  ecologically, and spiritually. Join us!

Website Feedback Survey

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Fill out a survey, win a prize!

We are making updates to the website and we need your feedback. Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey. If you prefer to share your feedback in person, please contact music director/website administrator David Servias.

Get your survey done by Sunday, 11/12, to be entered into the drawing!!

Take the Survey

Between Us (November 2023)

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It is a challenge to be present to the world – a challenge to be willing to acknowledge all that feels frightening and dangerous. If some years ago many of us felt successful and safe in the world, and deserving of it, we do not have that luxury now. We know more, we’ve seen more, we’ve learned more about what is true. As Unitarian Universalists, that has long been our aim – to see and learn more truth. This is not an exercise in intellectual posturing, though sometimes we have been mistaken in that direction.

We’re working with the theme, “Building A New Way,” this year – because we must! If it were only climate change we were facing, it would be immoral to not change the ways we live and interact with everything and everyone else. As we all know, there is more.

I’ll admit, the amount of change which is happening, and the amount which is needed, is daunting, and often, I feel discouraged. Here at the Fellowship, it can feel dizzying: folks who’ve been here a long time miss the way (they think) things were and wonder who will carry on when they are too tired to do everything, while folks who are new wonder what is going on, how to find out, what are the requirements, and where is the calendar of events?

I try to remind myself, every day, that this is exactly what change looks and feels like! We are in fact changing, and that is very good news. But it’s unsettling. Of course it is. I want to remind all of you of this as well. We need to be able to step back from our wonders, worries and concerns, and help ourselves and each other recognize that we have set off from whatever shore (and assumptions) we may have stood on, and now we are in the currents, together.

Together is the most important thing. When faced with this kind of unsettledness (which is increased by all the anxiety we piled up during the pandemic) we too often resort to finding others to blame for our frustrations and fears – the elders, the younger, the new ones, the old ones, etc.

For these times we need as much openness as possible, as much willingness to learn as possible, as much loving-kindness as possible. We need folks who are willing and able to listen and lead and guide for the good of all. We need to help one another live into our covenant of right relations. The future is unfolding between us – may we stay focused on our highest ideals!

Queerly Beloved 11/19

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Sunday, November 19th 4-6 pm

Join Jess and Bobbi and friends in the Fellowship Social Hall for a potluck with some icebreaker games. Bring a dish of food to share. 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

Ginny Gibson on the Road!

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You may already know that Ginny Gibson courageously took an Adult RE workshop assignment and transformed it into one of the most beloved Sunday services of the year — her Knowings and Callings talk for Pride Month. What you might not know is that last week she quietly took her moving presentation on the road to the Church of the Brethren in La Verne, California. In this full circle moment, Ginny spoke in the Spiritual Formation program as a kind of thank you to the congregation that once supported her so well and that featured prominently in her presentation. She was welcomed by old friends and an evening reception where members of the LGBTQIA+ community came together to reflect on several decades’ worth of social change.

Ginny, we are so proud of you! Thanks for being brave enough to shine your light near and far!