UUFC Services Auction, 6/28

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Our annual UUFC services auction will be in-person on Saturday, June 28. But please don’t worry if you can’t attend that day because we will also hold an online silent auction from June 16-23.

Why does UUFC have a Services Auction? Well, because…

  • doing something for someone else makes you feel good
  • your service or items will make someone happy
  • there’s someone at UUFC who really needs your help
  • it’s a great way to connect with others
  • it’s fun and exciting to bid, and win
  • it’s a great way to raise funds for UUFC

Please donate your service or item to our annual UUFC auction NOW because we need time to enter descriptions into our auction software.

Donation Form

To help one another….

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My decision to retire from the ministry has set in motion a huge transition for me. I’ve worried about the fact that it has set in motion a huge transition for the Fellowship as well.  I’ve worried, but I’ve also begun to be very encouraged by this time of change for all of us.  The life of the Fellowship is a story in chapters – and new chapters are about to begin!   For those of you who are relatively new, I can’t think of a better time to be part of this congregation and its movements and growth.  For those of you who are not new, I have so much faith that making changes will be enlivening and inspiring for you as well.

As part of these movements, the Committee on Ministry and I invite all leaders of teams, councils, projects, tasks (and the Board) to gather together for the next Leadership Supper, which is scheduled for Thursday May 29 at 6 PM.   Leadership Suppers have been happening here for more than 10 years, to help leaders remember and recognize that all the work we do, we do together.  At the coming gathering, we’ll talk about how the transition affects all of us, and what we need to do to be able to manage it well by working together.  

The familiar words of James Vila Blake can be our guide:  “Love is the spirit of this church, and service is its law.  This is our great covenant: to dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another.”

“Still Growing Up” 5/11

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Parenting (from mothers, fathers, siblings, others) is an important part of the process we call “growing up,” though it is only one part, and perhaps not always the most important part.  If we have received good enough parenting to have survived to adulthood, what are the further steps and sources for growing up? (It’s pretty clear that many so-called adults still have a long way to go… for example, most current US government leaders?) Let’s consider religious learning and growth as the next steps. 

With Rev. Jill McAllister

PS – Come greet and welcome visitor Rev. Lynn Gardner, former UUFC member.  

Partner Church Team, 5/11

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The Partner Church Team wants to foster long-term, mutually supportive relationships with Unitarian and UU communities worldwide, promote the exchange of people and ideas, deepen understanding of faith, and strengthen human rights and religious freedom.

Will you help us grow into that mission? Can you help us develop a mission that speaks to our values at UUFC?

Please join us on Sunday, May 11 at 12:00 in the north end of the Social Hall. We will discuss completion of our tasks for this church year and will make the ground ready to sew new seeds for the Team’s future.

Contact PCT lead, Heather E, for more information using this link.

Classroom Painting Update

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Huge thank you to the 25 volunteers who have applied three coats of paint on the entire first floor of the classroom wing for Phase One!

Upstairs painting is happening now – Saturday, May 3 9-12 AM and 1-4 PM, and Sunday, May 4 1-4 PM. Still to come, exterior staining and Phase Two interior painting.

Please sign up on the sheets in the Foyer or contact Wolfgang.

Outreach Offerings for May – Linn Benton Food Share

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Linn Benton Food Share is the central food hub for a strong network of 68 local, non-profit agencies including emergency food box pantries, public meal sites, at-risk population programs and gleaning groups, which collectively distribute over 3 million pounds of food annually.

The food pantries in Alsea, Monroe and Philomath need a little boost since cuts to the USDA March 2025 affected 30%-40% of their food sources. Approximately 400 families, mostly children, are dependent on these pantries for their food sources.

Leadership Supper, 5/29

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All Fellowship leaders of teams, councils, tasks and events are invited to gather once more, on Thursday May 29 at the Fellowship, for coordination and collaboration, and especially to focus on leadership needs and tasks in the coming ministerial transition. A light supper will be provided, beginning at 6 PM. All leaders are needed – please join us!

LEGATO potluck, 5/14

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Can we learn to transform and grow spiritually and ethically in a changing world? Let’s break bread together and see what develops.

The LEGATO potluck is Wednesday May 14 at 5:45 PM at the Fellowship. Come early if you can help set up tables.

Bring a dish to share (please identify all ingredients).

This is a Connect Up Event with the purpose of building community within the UUFC congregation.

Daily Practice

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In the pandemic years, in our isolation and worry, the daily practice we shared was a lifeline for me.  I needed to connect – to myself, to others and to the Earth.  Here is one of the musings of that time, from May 2021:  

“Morning comes early in this season, and I’m surprised how easy it is for me to awaken, to join in the unfolding beauty of these days. I need the beauty.  I need to be reminded of the vitality of life.  I often need to be lifted above the continuing challenges of navigating the human world.  I need help with the mixture of fear and anger which weighs on me – at people and their selfish, short-sighted ignorance. (And meanness).  I need help as I remember that I am one of the people too.  And that we all have egos which lead us astray. 

I’m pondering a Buddhist teaching – I don’t know the source.  It is two definitions side-by-side: “An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the non-living components of their environment, interacting as a system.  An ego-system is a community of old outdated voices in conjunction with the desire to make the moment other than it is, generating a false reality.” 

I’m not sure I quite agree with the first definition – some would say that every component of the world is alive in some way. (But yes, some are not breathing). The second definition is definitely worth pondering.  I’ve learned enough to know that we are always influenced by old outdated voices, within us and around us. Today I’ll try to identify some of my own.

I pause to breathe.  I remember that nurturing inner nobility and steadiness requires time and space and willingness to acknowledge where I am.    With thanks for this part of the path, and this day on the journey, I’m sending love to you all.”