Board Report, 1/16/2024

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The UUFC Board of Directors held its regular monthly meeting on January 16th via Zoom following the amazing ice storm from the previous weekend. Discussions focused on three main topics:
1) Planning for our upcoming Board Retreat on February 23-24, when we’ll participate in training together, work on current goals, and generally get to know each other better to facilitate our work;
2) Disaster Response Evacuation Plan – training for leaders is scheduled for February 10th, and the Board approved a request for the associated purchase of emergency supplies/materials for our buildings;
3) Green Sanctuary Status – the Climate Action Team is planning to re-engage that UUA process since our status has expired;
4) We adjusted the current (2023-24) Fellowship budget based on new, mid-year information and year-end giving, ensuring that the Fellowship remains in a strong financial position for the second half of the year; and
5) The Committee on Ministry is fully staffed to support Jill’s ministry to us and our ministry to each other – shared ministry – a topic that will form a core part of the upcoming retreat and church year. Committee on Ministry members are: Mark Aron, Gary Barnes, Nancy Kyle, Virgil Agnew, Alice Lyman.

UUA Annual Membership Certification

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Each year we review our database of UUFC members in order to report our official membership to the UUA in February. About membership, our bylaws state: “A member may voluntarily resign membership by officially notifying the Board Secretary or the Fellowship office or by no longer participating in the fellowship for the period of 12 consecutive months.” Evidence of participation includes attendance at Sunday services or other Fellowship activities, and/or participation on a team or task force, and/or making and fulfilling a pledge of financial support. If your membership status has changed please contact Operations Manager Jamie Petts at office@uucorvallis.org.

Justice Theatre Auditions

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Justice Theatre auditions are this Monday and Tuesday, January 29th and 30th, at 7pm in the social hall. No acting experience necessary! LGBTQ+ performers are particularly invited to audition.

Justice Theatre at UUFC presents Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker's "The Roaring Girl," adapted and directed by Britt Urey. Open Auditions January 29th and 30th.

Proposed new Adult RE Team needs MEMBERS

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How many years now and counting??


Many at the UU Fellowship are very aware that they are getting older and would welcome the chance to consider issues related to aging. In addition, it would be helpful to have opportunities to compare ideas and experiences with one another.


The purpose of the group would be to develop community and assuage concerns related to aging. This may call for monthly gatherings on a variety of topics. Guest speakers could be called in to inform and to help the group sort through the many
possibilities.


If you’re facing this stage of your life and would be interested in contributing to the efforts of a new Adult RE Team, please contact: Janet Farrell at JanetFar@comcast.net. We now have three committed members and need a couple more to qualify in order for this new program to get started. Please consider this invitation to join us!

Lynn Snider, Janet Farrell and Carolyn Madsen

Daily Practice: A Weekly Reminder, 1/21/2024

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Things don’t always go as planned.  Right?  Life is always going in its own ways, which are bigger, wider and more complicated than we understand.  And yet we still, constantly, expect something different. Something expectable.  As if our own expectations are the measure and priority of Life.  My goodness, the self-centeredness of the ego is incredible!

I’ve been studying recently with a Zen teacher, and have been reminded that one of the most important of daily spiritual practices is to allow what is real to be present.  To allow.  Snow and ice are perhaps easy examples – we can see and feel and touch them, and so it’s not hard to be convinced that they are real. (And that we must dress accordingly, move (or not) accordingly).

Yet even with awareness of their realness, we can find ourselves negotiating with that realness, trying to tailor it to our expectations – that the snow and ice should come and go quickly, for example. 

One of the best ways to soften expectations – perhaps even to set them aside for a while and begin to understand their unnecessary urgency – is to allow ourselves to become still.  If we can quiet our bodies enough, becoming aware of the breath as it comes and goes, the mind can follow and take a break from its constant organizing, planning, worrying, expecting.  This doesn’t happen immediately – it takes time – which is what daily practice is for. 

Here in the Fellowship, we have religious ideals and commitments – to the freedom to be safe and to thrive, to justice, to continual learning as a way to become more compassionate, more loving.  None of these can be accomplished through the strategic machinations of the mind, nor merely through expectations.  All involve greater understanding of what is real – within us, between us and around us, all of which take practice.  In the week ahead, may we allow ourselves more time for stillness, for the quieting of body and mind, for allowing the way things are to become more clear.  May we help each other in this practice!  

Free Mental Health Film Screening 2/8 @6:30

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THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED DUE TO THE ICE STORM!

The Religious Exploration Staff is aware that our children, youth, and young adults are facing an unprecedented mental health crisis and we acknowledge the lack of mental health resources available to families in our community. As such, we are elevating our commitment to educating ourselves and expanding our program’s capacity to hold space for children, parents, and caregivers to connect with one another in mutual support.

One of the first offerings we present in this a screening of What I Wish My Parents Knew, a film by Tell My Story, designed as a mental wellness tool to help parents better understand how to support the mental health of their children.

The event will be a two-part, 90-minute experience with a group viewing followed by a discussion facilitated by a licensed mental health professional. Pre-registration is requested.

This film is not available for general public streaming, but this event is open to the public. We ask that viewers be over 18. On-site childcare will be provided free of charge by a team of experienced and background-checked adults.

If you plan to attend, we recommend watching this talk by the creator of the film to prepare. PLEASE NOTE: themes of self-harm and suicide are present in both the talk and the film.

Direct questions to DRE@dreuucorvallis-org

EDI Book Discussion 1-29

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Monday, January 29th, 7:00 pm on Zoom.

With the current controversy around the need for reparations, the UUA common read, On Repentance and Repair, Making Amends in an Unapologetic World, by Danya Ruttenberg offers us an opportunity to explore what true reparation or restitution can be in our public institutions and our own lives. Join us for a timely conversation as we explore Ruttenberg’s book 7-8:30 PM, Monday, January 29th.

Let us know if you need assistance locating this important book.

Contact Elona Meyer to recieve the zoom link.

Organized by the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Team, a member of the UUFC Justice Council.

Write Your Own Celebration of Life 2/3 & 3/2, 9:30-noon

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In this 2-part workshop, Kathy Kopczynski and Skyla King-Christison will help you begin to write suggestions for your own Celebration of Life program as a means of support for those you will leave behind and a meditation on your own life well lived. 

This workshop is open to adults of all ages. Pre-registration is requested.