WHAT: A fun and connecting communal exploration of radical inclusion through the lens of race and culture.
WHEN: Monday evenings, 9/8 – 10/20 from 6:30-8PM
WHERE: Room 7 @ uufc
WHY: Because the social and political landscape is ever-evolving, there will always be more to learn about how to be inclusive, and this will never be a topic we can check off the old to-do list and call it done. In 2020, the Commission on Institutional Change’s report, “Widening the Circle of Concern” (UUA), the commission recommended that we “hold conversations across generations about issues of inclusion, with the goal of recognizing the evolution in our Living Tradition and that spiritual development needs change over time.” Let’s answer that call in Corvallis!
More details:
Each session will include the following elements:
Opening: chalice lighting and check-in
Read: audio or video of a book or an article to explore together
Watch: video
Do: craft, game, or other activity
Close: chalice extinguishing words and other classroom rituals to close the circle
Take Home: suggested activity and/or conversation starter to encourage further faith development at home
We want to see a majority of our adults engaging with this material. We want to see teams and councils putting this learning to work in all we do in every corner of Fellowship life and beyond. We want to do whatever is needed to help you engage deeply, share bravely, and welcome wildly, so if you want to be included and can’t figure out how, or if you have questions or concerns, please reach out to Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org .
PS Our children will be engaging with Mosaic across the year, too! Below are some pictures of our leaders of the children and youth programs getting ready for the juicy and community-building year ahead!
WHY: Because it’s connecting to spend time playing together!
All ages are invited to join us for a cold treat and meet ‘n’ greet on the Fellowship lawn on Sunday, August 24th at 7 PM, hosted by the RE Council and teams!
Have a casual chance to welcome Rev. Alex, find out what’s coming up in RE for adults, families, children, and youth in the year ahead. Discuss your brilliant ideas with members of the RE Council and special teams. Catch up with old friends and maybe even meet your new Fellowship bestie over a sundae bar!
We’ll have gluten-free and vegan options available, as well as board games to share.
It would be super helpful in our planning if you would REGISTER HERE, but if you forget, please do come anyway!
Part of being a safe and welcoming community for everyone who chooses to be in covenant with us is learning about how to be awesome with service animals when they are present. Curious about best practice when you encounter a service animal out and about? We’ve got you covered!
Notice when an animal is in a service vest, signaling that it is not a pet, but a working companion.
Ask the human how the service dog helps them and get permission before interacting with the service dog.
Speak directly to the human, not the service dog.
Give extra personal space to the service dog and its person.
Always assume the service dog is busy working, not off duty.
More information is available from Guide Dogs of America to deepen your understanding and skills. Thanks for helping us live our values of inclusivity!
Buy your ticket and meet us in section 2 of Goss Stadium on June 29th for a night of scream singing Sweet Caroline and cheering for the home team!
Opening pitch is at 5:00. Come a little early so we can all sit together! By registering HERE, you’ll help us know how many seats to try to save, but there’s no guaranteed seating in general admission. If enough people register to buy a discounted block of tickets together, I will let you know the week before.
We made it through another fabulous Fellowship year! 🙌 With some of your favorite RE activities on summer hiatus, you might be wondering what other opportunities are coming for children, youth, and families. Well, wonder no more!
Grab your calendars and get ready for summer goodness you won’t want to miss!
SUMMER EVENTS for FAMILIES
6/8 Family Hike at Lewisburg Saddle, 1-2PM, register here
6/23-27 Play to Your Values summer camp, 8:30 to 11:30 on the Fellowship Lawn
6/29 Corvallis Knights Game, 5-8ish at Goss Stadium, register here
7/6 Sunday Morning Kids’ Lemonade Stand, during and after the service
7/13 Family Hike at Fitton Green, 1-2PM, register here
8/3 Sunday Morning Sidewalk Chalk Values, during the service for kids Canceled
8/10 Family Hike and Splash at Mary’s River Natural Area, 1-3PM register here
8/16 Outdoor movie night and camping on the lawn, 9PM register here
8/24 Ice Cream Social, 7PM on Fellowship Lawn, register here
SUMMER EVENT for YOUTH
8/24 Youth kickoff river float, noon to whenever, register here
More information about our events can be found below, and info for all events can be found at uucorvallis.org by clicking “News” in the menu bar and then selecting “RE Council” from the drop down menu.
The second Sunday of each month, June through August, we’ll be hosting a family hike. We ask that families preregister so that we know who to wait for at the trailhead, and hikes with fewer than 2 registered families will be canceled via text.
We’ll be starting with Lewisburg Saddle and a little visit to the spot my family calls Salamander Heaven because there are tons of salamanders to see. Then we’ll hit Fitton Green in July. We’ll wrap up the summer with a short walk followed by a splash in a bend in the river that has shallows for little humans and a deeper pool for our confident swimmers on the back side of Mary’s River Natural Area.
Exciting news! The youth will have a dedicated youth room in September and they’ve chosen a wild accent wall to paint themselves. We will begin painting this Sunday and continue on Sundays until the job is done. Please have youth arrive in clothes that can get paint on them.
On the first Sunday of each month, we will have a multiage activity for the kids. In July, we’ll prepare a lemonade stand again to raise money for the charitable organization that the children vote to give to. In August, we’ll spend some time on the playground talking about our shared values and what they mean to us, and then sidewalk chalk the heck out of firwood entrance with 6 word statements about our values.
If you’re nervous about having the kids in the sanctuary again, know that you’ll have relief on the first Sunday of each month!
In addition to hikes and during-service activities, we have a couple of night time activities that are open to the entire congregation, and geared specifically toward families.
On June 29th, we’ll have a ballpark night with the Knights. Buy a ticket and join us in section 2 so we can sing and cheer and eat junk together. Register for that event HERE.
And on August 16th, we’re going to show the classic My Girl on an outdoor movie screen and you’re invited to camp on the lawn and show up to the service in your jammies the next day. Registration for the movie night with camping is HERE. You do not have to camp to come enjoy the movie!
It’s been so much fun getting to know your children over the course of this last year. They are delightful in all the ways and it’s the biggest honor to get to spend time with them week after week and get to know their quirks and gifts.
Thank you for raising such amazing humans and for being committed to doing it in community!
Before you go, some parents have requested to be contacted about RE happenings via text. Our church management software allows for that, but only once you’ve opted in. If you are interested in receiving things like this newsletter via text, please use this form to opt into that service. And please communicate with me about how it’s going if you opt in. Breeze can be a bit fussy, so this will be a new experiment. I’ll be counting on your feedback!
And as always, if you’d like to stop receiving updates about Fellowship RE activities, email me and let me know.
“Welcoming our sorrow eases the hardened places within us, allowing them to open and freeing us to once more feel our kinship with the living presence around us. This is deep activism, soul activism that actually encourages us to connect with the tears of the world. Grief keeps the heart flexible, fluid, and open to others… Our activism is directly connected to our heart’s ability to respond to the world. A congested heart, one burdened with unexpressed sorrow, cannot stay open to the world, and consequently, cannot be fully available for the healing work so needed at this time.” – Frances Weller, The Wild Edge of Sorrow:
WHAT: Workshop offered by Skyla to explore lamentation — the ancient practice of passionately expressing sorrow through language and art. Participants will engage with a formal structure for writing a personal lament and artistically express their grief in the format of a small zine. No artistic skills are needed, and all supplies will be provided.
This workshop was generously provided to religious professionals around the nation by Rev. JaKaren Bell and the UU College of Social Justice, with the invitation to teach this practice in our home congregations. It is our hope that this spiritual practice will provide spiritual sustenance to fuel your justice work.
Register for this year-long group HERE by September 8th.
One of the sacred tasks of being human is making meaning of our lives, our identities, and the ever-unfolding story we are part of. In these threshold moments—when something ends and something new begins— ritual, reflection, and community provide needed grounding.
As Unitarian Universalists, we are blessed with a tradition rich in honoring life’s passages, especially for our children and youth. Yet too often, adults must navigate profound change without the spiritual scaffolding of ritual or the comfort of shared witness.
If you are living through a major life transition—grief, retirement, gender transition, divorce, recovery, becoming a parent, or any other significant turning point—you are not alone.
We invite you to join “Crossing Thresholds,” a year-long spiritual journey beginning this September. Together, we will explore the depth and complexity of change through:
Monthly meditations in nature to reconnect with the rhythms of life
Personal altar-making, with sacred objects displayed in our community atrium
Quarterly circle conversations, offering space for deep listening and shared wisdom
Reflective practices to honor your unique story of transformation
Our time together will culminate in June’s River of Life service, where participants will be lovingly recognized by the congregation in their new place on the journey. This is an opportunity to be witnessed as you cross the threshold into what comes next with intention, spiritual grounding, and beloved community.
Group will meet from 6:30-8PM in Room 7 on the following dates:
September 11th: Meet and explore the process
September 15th: create altars
November 13th, January 8th, March 12th, and May 14th: Group reflection
*Monthly nature meditation times to be determined by group consensus. Individual atrium meditation time can be schedule with Skyla.
We’ve got an addition to the Inquirers Series! The Chalice Circle team will now offer an entire session on their special format for small group ministry as the fifth session in the series. That means, if you’ve attended the whole series, you’ve got something fresh to check out!
If you’re one of our participants who has your eye on completing the series and getting your very own home chalice, don’t fret! The old sessions count toward your progress. We hope that you’ll consider attending this new offering as you are able because chalice circles are a distinctly UU way to build deep connections here at the Fellowship, and we want everyone to know how to get plugged in.
If you are interested in checking out the new session, their first offering is scheduled for December 1st at 11:45 in room 8.
The Inquirers Series is an ongoing series of sessions that you may attend in any order, as you are available. Whenever there is a 5th Sunday in a month, Skyla King-Christison will offer UU Roots, which is a deeper dive into UU History.
“Our Shared Values” with Skyla King-Christison
“Worship and the Liturgical Year” with Rev. Jill McAllilster
“Building and Grounds Tour” with John Bailey
“Overview of Lifespan Faith Development” with Dawn Dirks
“Chalice Circles” with the Chalice Team
“Overview of Justice Teams” with Karen Josephson
“Care and Support” with Sandy Piper
“Membership 101” with the Membership Team
The updated rotation flyer has been posted beside the welcome desk, but here’s a preview!
