As part of our Annual Stewardship Drive, the Pledge Form is now live! You can fill it out HERE.
wa_announcements
Post with category “weekly announcements” plus this tag “wa_news_and_announcements” appear on the news page under the weekly announcements tab, under the heading “News and Announcements.”
New Web Page Describing Ministerial Transition
We have added a new page to the Fellowship website that describes the ministerial transition process that we are currently undertaking. You can find the new page at https://uucorvallis.org/ministerial-transition/. Please read through it!
If you have questions about the ministerial transition process that are not answered by the new page, please send them to comms@uucorvallis.org.
Weekly men’s lunch group(s) starting up
The ROMEOs (Retired Old Men Eating Out) are looking for more men to start one or more new lunch groups. Each group will meet weekly as a social gathering to talk about whatever comes up. As the name implies, ROMEOs are predominantly older men and are inclined to discuss topics that interest older men.
One or more YAMEO (Younger but-still-Available-for-lunch Men Eating Out) groups are also forming for men who aren’t retired but still have the flexibility to attend a weekly lunch. Conversation topics will probably differ from the ROMEOs and be of more interest to not-yet-old men.
Attendance isn’t mandatory for all lunches, though there is certainly value in attending regularly! If you’re interested in joining one of these groups, contact Jed Irvine using the form linked below by March 30th and tell him which group interests you. Jed will set up a scheduling poll for each group to determine how many folks are available on which days, and thus how many new groups will form.
Contact form: https://uufc.breezechms.com/form/8b1ec9534943196692348281583519237151
Affirmative Nondiscrimination Statement!
To update our Welcoming Congregation status, we need an affirmative nondiscrimination statement in our bylaws. The Sexuality and Gender Diversity Team proposed and the Board endorsed the following to the introduction to Article II. Membership:
Existing:
The Fellowship offers membership to all people who support its purposes, principles, and programs.
Proposed:
The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis is committed to establishing, supporting, and maintaining a welcoming congregation that lives up to its highest ideals, a place where all can thrive. We strive to be a congregation that affirms all persons, including but not limited to those embracing differences in racial and cultural identity or background, sexual orientation, gender and its expression, religious background, marital status, family structure, age, mental and physical health and ability, political affiliation, and educational and socioeconomic status. We welcome all who accept our Congregational Covenant to share in the leadership, ministry, fellowship, worship, responsibilities, blessings, and joys of our congregation’s life.
The Fellowship offers membership to all people who support its purposes, principles, values and programs.
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Love it? Hate it? Somewhere in between? E-mail comments for the board’s consideration to secretary@uucorvallis.org by April 13, 2025, and plan to attend the annual meeting on May 18, 2025. A bylaw change requires a 3/4 majority vote of the members in attendance at the meeting.
Website Update suggestion form is live!
Website Update suggestion form is live! You can now submit your suggestions and feedback for our upcoming website update using the form linked through the button below. If you have questions or need assistance with the form, please email comms@uucorvallis.org.
Thank you for helping us improve our communications!
For more information on this project, see last week’s announcement.
UUA GA Delegates Needed
The annual General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association will be held June 18-22, 2025 in Baltimore, MD and online. The UUFC is entitled to send seven delegates from the congregation as well as ministers and DREs. In addition to the Business Agenda that will address various issues of policy and action, the program includes enriching addresses, workshops, and musical offerings. To learn more, visit https://www.uua.org/ga/program/highlights.
If you are interested in becoming a delegate, please contact Rev. Jill McAllister (minister@uucorvallis.org). Scholarships for registration fees and/or travel are available.
World Religions for UU’s 4/27 – 6/9
Many of you have asked for another offering of the World Religions class Jill McAllister has taught for Fellowship members and friends during her ministry here. She is happy to oblige! The class follows most of the syllabus used in her undergraduate religion course at OSU – without the quizzes and other projects. If you are truly interested in attending ten sessions – a few in person and most on Zoom; if you are able and willing to read most of two (paperback) books; and if you are willing and able to not only start but also finish the class, then this offering is for you. Here is a tentative schedule, which will be firmed up when at least 10 people sign up:
Sunday, April 27: Afternoon, in person (first session)
Monday, April 28: Evening, Zoom
Monday, May 5: Evening, Zoom
Monday, May 12: Evening, Zoom
Monday, May 19: Evening, Zoom
Monday, May 26: Evening, Zoom
Sunday, June 1: Afternoon, in person
Monday, June 2: Evening, Zoom
Monday, June 9: Evening, Zoom
Sign up using this Breeze form: https://uufc.breezechms.com/form/wruu_2025. Contact Jill at minister@uucorvallis.org with questions.
Outreach Offerings For March
Our monthly outreach offerings in March will support the work of the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice, a state-wide collaboration of faith groups, which the Fellowship has partnered with for several years. IMIrJ’s mission is to accompany and equip communities and people of faith in Oregon to advance immigrant justice through the direct accompaniment of immigrants facing detention and deportation, policy advocacy at local, state, and national levels, and purposeful organizing. Through networks of relationships, we create a more just world for immigrants, migrants, and asylum seekers by taking immediate humanitarian action and long-term collective, intentional action.
Sunday Services This Month
Feb. 2 “Where I’m From: Reflections on Black History” Rev. Jill McAllister
Feb. 9 “What Do You Know?” Rev. Jill McAllister
Feb. 16 “When Comfort Zone Principles Don’t Apply” Blaise Ntakarutimana (Kevin Shimineza)
Feb. 23 Special Guest Peter Mayer – UU Singer / Songwriter
Pema Chodron Study Group
Welcoming the Unwelcome Study Group
Monday evenings from 7:15 to 8:30 September 23rd – December 2nd
Facilitated by Joyce Federiuk
Please register HERE.
Try, once again, to let everything you do be done in love.
I am inspired by these words Rev. Jill uses to close our Sunday service. What would it be like to
live this way? Sometimes I speak or act out of love, and that feels like happiness. But not
everything I do or say comes from love, and when an alternative motivation (like ego, obligation,
guilt, anger, etc etc) takes over, the results are often not so good.
How can we move closer to this lovely ideal? Buddhist nun and teacher Pema Chodron has a masterful way of explaining Buddhist wisdom in an accessible and compelling way. After reading “When Things Fall Apart” I was intrigued by the idea that in our incessant quest to avoid suffering, we often make a mess of things and cause a lot of suffering for ourselves and others. When I attended a weekend retreat with Pema and learned to meditate, I learned that it is possible to train in loving kindness. Meditation allowed me to take these ideas to heart and start to apply them to actual situations. I then gained a new level of appreciation of the power of
Buddhist wisdom.
I’m planning a study group to read and discuss “Welcoming the Unwelcome: Wholehearted Living in a Brokenhearted World”. Here’s a blurb from the cover:
In her first new book of spiritual teachings in over seven years, Pema Chodron offers fresh wisdom, heartfelt reflections and the signature humor and insight that have made her a beloved guide in turbulent times. In an increasingly polarized world, Pema offers us tools to find common ground, even when we disagree, so we can build a stronger and broader sense of community. Sharing never-before-told personal stories from her remarkable life, simple and powerful everyday practices, and directly relatable advice, Pema leads the way in showing us how to become triumphant bodhisattvas- compassionate beings- in even the most difficult of circumstances.
Well, reading and understanding is one thing. But taking the advice to heart and trying it out in our everyday encounters is what I’m hoping to achieve in this Adult RE offering. We will read, we will discuss, we will do guided meditations, and we will try out these ideas in real life.