Retreats

The 19th Annual UUFC Men’s Retreat will be held this year from 5 PM Friday, November 3 through 1 PM Sunday, November 5.  This renewed annual event provides an opportunity for those who identify as men to develop and deepen relationships with other men associated with the UUFC Fellowship. It also provides a respite from our hectic lives, time for individual reflection, and an opportunity to learn and grow. We’ll meet at the Menucha Retreat Center overlooking the Columbia Gorge in Corbett (https://menucha.org). Through large and small groups, singing, solo time in nature, and play time in the evening, we’ll connect in deep and meaningful ways.  

Our theme this year is: Engagement: An exploration of how we connect and disconnect in our lives. We will explore how the cultural influences of the digital age, including email, social media and smart phones, while providing new connection opportunities can also pull us away from being attuned with ourselves, our families, and our communities. We will also delve into our histories, including our traumas and patterns of behavior, to better understand ourselves and our relationships, and to help clarify our values and commitments moving forward.

We’ll share more information in coming weeks. Attendance will be capped at 36, and we usually fill up, so register as early as you can. We hope to see you there.  

When: October 13-14

Where: UUFC Building

Theme: Mindful Compassion

Keynote Speaker: Jana Svoboda

Cost: $50 (full and partial scholarships available, includes catered lunch and dinner on Saturday, snacks, and materials)

To make payments online for the Women’s Retreat, go to the Online Collection Basket on the website. https://uucorvallis.org/welcome-to-the-online-collection-basket/

Select Give to 23-24 Operations, make a one time gift of $50 (or more if you’re also contributing to the Scholarship Fund), and write Women’s Retreat in the memo. 

For more information, email womensretreat@uucorvallis.org.

If you identify as a woman in a way that is significant for you, you are welcome to join us for our annual Women’s Retreat. We are pleased to have one of our own UUFC members as this year’s keynote speaker. 

Jana Svoboda is a long time Unitarian, mental health advocate, and lover of stories, the moon, and the natural and scientific worlds. She has difficulty with Marie Kondo’s secret of  decluttering as EVERYTHING GIVES HER JOY. She’s led professional and lay-public workshops on creativity, mental health, dealing with trauma and countless other topics, and given UU sermons on uncertainty, “the other”, and a UU lens on sin. She practices clinical social work in her cozy cluttered office downtown, with the help of a big purple couch and a teakettle, along with occasional use of props and crackerbox prizes for homework well done. In both her talks and her private practice, she considers her strengths to be making connections, staying curious, and bringing in lightheartedness to difficult times. You’ll gasp, you’ll giggle, you’ll groan, you’ll become wiser and more connected to yourself and each other, and you may even find yourself in 1980s op dress doing an impromptu funky chicken dance break out after the session. So come open-hearted and open-minded and let the wild ruckus begin!