The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis
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The Annual Meeting on May 17 is also online. If you are unable to attend the Annual Meeting in person, it will be available on Zoom using the same link as the Sunday Service, included below. You will also be able to vote using Zoom. The meeting will start after the service at approximately 11:30 am.
Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/96231448170?pwd=cUoxaWxyei9wOTE5cVFVZ0t0Qk5KUT09
“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:
WHEN: June 8 @ 6:00-8:00
WHERE: Room 3
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. You are most welcome to bring your favorite art supplies, though no artistic skills are required and all necessary 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.
This gathering is appropriate for thoughtful teens and adults of all ages. Childcare for those 12 and under is available upon request using THIS FORM.
Please contact Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org with any questions you may have.
“May, queen of blossoms, and fulfilling flowers! What pretty music shall we charm the hours?” – Lord Edward Thurlow
Greetings, Families!
Please grab your calendars and read carefully all that is below. This month’s newsletter is ripe with date changes, summer event previews, and more!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
5/3 Family Breakfast @ 8:45 (register HERE and bring a dish if you are able)
5/14 Parent Connection Dinner @ 6:30 (register HERE one time, to get reminders) BRING YOUR OWN DISHES!
5/17 Annual Meeting (childcare is provided!) @ noon
5/24 Parent Q&A with Skyla on Playground deck @ 11:45
PLAN AHEAD
6/7 River of Life RE Service
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.
If you love Family Breakfast — and we know you do — take special note: May’s breakfast is happening one week early so we don’t overlap with Mother’s Day.
If the mother in your household dreams of nothing more than sleeping in on her special day but simply cannot bear the thought of missing monthly breakfast, please consider this our humble gift to you.
May Family Breakfast will be Sunday, May 4. We hope to see you there!
Summer Sundays are made for lingering. A post-service hike, a splash in the river, a snack shared with friends while the kids run ahead.
While Parent Connection Dinner and Family Breakfast take their annual break from June through September, we’ll be leaning into a few casual, low-prep ways to stay connected this summer:
June 28 – Fitton Green Hike & Snack
July 26 – Marys River Natural Area Splash & Chat
August 29 – Family BBQ & RE Orientation (this one is a Saturday!)
Each month’s RE newsletter will include registration details and gathering information. If we need to cancel due to extreme heat or low registration, I’ll contact registered families by text.
I’m especially excited for the August BBQ, because it will serve as our joyful on-ramp into the new church year. We are planning to lean hard into family fun, stronger connections, and fuller attendance in the year ahead, and this gathering will be our first step.
We’ll eat together, play lawn games, and welcome both new and returning families. Children who register early will receive their RE t-shirts as we unveil this year’s theme. Then, as the kids head off with their guides and advisors to play games and create their group covenants, parents and I will spend some time talking about our shared hopes for Religious Exploration, and about how we can partner with you to make Fellowship Sundays a place your child is genuinely excited to be.
Please get these dates on your calendar now, and let me know if any of them land squarely on family vacation plans. If a large portion of families are excluded and there’s a better option available, I am more than willing to shuffle things around. The earlier we compare calendars, the easier it is to make summer work for everyone.
Speaking of communicating your needs with me, I’m delighted to invite you to our annual Parents’ Chat with the DRE.
This is a casual chance to share your questions, your calendar conflicts, your hopes, your frustrations, and your wildest ideas for how we can get you and your children genuinely engaged in UU faith formation. If there’s something you’ve been wanting me to know, this is a great space for it.
Join me on May 24 at 11:45 a.m. on the RE deck. I’ll have pitchers of lemonade, the kids can play on the playground, and we can chat in the sunshine.
What you share in this conversation really does shape the plans we make over the summer as we prepare for fall, so I hope you’ll come help me dream a little.
Thank you to everyone who came out for the JETPIG Easter Egg Hunt last month! The feedback was fabulous. Our big kids were wonderfully caring with the littles, and our volunteers kept their cool under some very real crowd pressure at the slime and candy tables.
I especially want to share one story that came out of our volunteer debrief.
When I asked one volunteer how the event had gone, they told me they had spent part of the night before studying the value assigned to their station so they would be ready to talk about it from every angle and ready to help children think a little more deeply instead of simply grabbing the prize and sprinting off to the next table.
They were positively beaming as they said, “I learned so much just preparing for this, and then it really paid off. I had the best conversations with some of the kids.”
As they shared a few of those exchanges with me, I realized I could hardly track the details because I was too busy feeling so stinking proud to serve alongside adults who take the faith formation of our children this seriously.
Y’all, we are beyond lucky to have the volunteer team we do. Your children are in excellent hands with these remarkable leaders who prepare on their own time so they can engage more meaningfully, and who genuinely delight in watching children light up with excitement about what they are learning. Gah! What could be better than that?
Thank you, as always, for entrusting your children to the care of the Religious Exploration team. It is such a joy and an honor to watch them grow, to see their personalities branch out in all directions, becoming more fully themselves year by year. What a gift it is to be humans in community together.
I’m wishing you blossoming love, deeper connection, and a few good pockets of springtime ease this month. And as always, if you need to chat, I am only an email or phone call away.
The May Monthly Outreach Offering is to Casa Latinos Unidos. This organization is committed to strengthening the Latinx communities in Linn and Benton Counties through programs that support people in meeting basic needs, build resilience and capacity through education and leadership development, and celebrate cultures. They are all first and second generation immigrants with a deep sense of identification with the people who have immigrated to the area from Latin American countries, bringing their traditions and dreams to build a new life in a new country.
Read more at https://casalatinosunidos.org/.
GA2026 is happening soon! June 14 – 16 and 19 – 21
Act quickly to serve as a delegate and save on registration fees!
General Assembly 2026 (GA2026), the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is coming up soon in June! This year, due to the increased costs of travel, the event will be online. Registration is open currently. Registration fees increase on May 1.
“Meet the Moment: Together Everywhere” will unfold in two parts with a midweek pause. From Sunday, June 14 to Tuesday, June 16, delegates will engage in fully virtual General Sessions focused on the business of our national association. Our delegates will represent the UUFC on these policy matters. The preliminary business agenda is now available. To view, go to:
https://www.uua.org › files › 2026-03 › ga2026_tentative_agenda_03012026.pdf
For delegates who wish to take part only in the business sessions and not in GA programming, a business-only registration option will be available in May for $175. This option provides access to the Delegate Participation Platform only and does not include live programming, on-demand viewing, the EduCenter, or networking features in the Whova app.
After a two-day pause, GA2026 resumes Friday, June 19 through Sunday, June 21 with worship, featured speakers, and “Meet the Moment: Together Everywhere” themed programs. Eight Satellite Sites scattered across the country will host a local welcome, song, and chalice lighting, as well as livestream GA content, offer space for afternoon discussion groups, and host the Sunday Morning worship livestream. Fortunately, one of the Satellite Sites is hosted by our neighbor, the UU Congregation of Salem, OR (see below).
REGISTRATION: Everyone participating in GA, whether joining a community gathering, watch party, or attending a UUA-hosted site, must be registered for General Assembly. Registration rates for adults are $350 through the end of April and $450 if registering May – June. Satellite site admissions, which may be added to the GA registrations, are a non-refundable $25, and are subject to local capacity. UUFC delegates can obtain help with registration fees as needed by contacting Board president, Carl English-Young. (President@uucorvallis.org)
Those interested in serving as UUFC delegates should contact Rev. Alex McGee. With 317 members, our congregation is certified to appoint seven delegates to the annual business meeting. Delegates are selected based on the following:
General Assembly Satellite Site at the UU Congregation of Salem, OR
~An Invitation from our neighbors at the UU Congregation of Salem ~
We welcome UUs to join us in Oregon’s capital city of Salem, in the heart of the Willamette Valley, for General Assembly gatherings. This opportunity for connection, conversation, and relationship-building will take place amid the beauty of June in our area. We’ll gather in our sanctuary, with its distinctive flaming chalice-stained glass window and newly upgraded video wall. There will be opportunities to share coffee, tea, and conversation in our spacious fellowship hall and to join in small group conversations to meet the moment together.
If you’ve been thinking about becoming a member, now is the time.
Our Annual Meeting is coming up soon on May 17th, and signing the membership book allows you to vote on important decisions that shape the life of this congregation. There’s still time to complete the required Inquirers Series sessions:
We would love to welcome you into membership before the meeting. If that’s been on your heart, this is your moment.
Please contact Skyla King-Christison (dre@uucorvallis.org) for questions about the Inquirer Series and Joyce Standing (membership@uucorvallis.org) for questions about signing the Membership Book.
Save the Dates: Cascadia County Park, June 25 – 28, 2026
Moonshine Park (near Siletz), September 10 – 13, 2026
Come and join in fun and fellowship while camping with fellow UUFC members and friends! Plans include time for hiking, exploring, crafts, building community, happy hour, and much more. Bring your own tent, personal gear, and food. Parking is very limited (6 cars and 2 RVs – no hook-ups) at Cascadia and 8 vehicles (including RVs) at Moonshine Park, so carpools are encouraged. Come out for all or part of the event.
Links to the camps:
Cascadia County Park: https://www.linncountyor.gov/parksrec/park/cascadia-county-park
Moonshine Park: https://www.co.lincoln.or.us/1060/Moonshine-Park
Registration fees: $30 per person for each weekend (4days/3nights); family rates are available and will be detailed on the registration form
Registration is now open for the Cascadia Campout (June 25 – 29, 2026). Please click on the following link: https://uufc.breezechms.com/form/Camping2026
If you have specific questions, please contact Julie Halter and Nancy Gill by filling out this form.
All Fellowship friends and members are invited to request a library card and start using our digital checkout system. Of course, you can still use the notebook, located on the shelf to the left of the window, but by using your very own digital library card, you help reduce the administrative overhead involved in keeping the library up and running.
It’s easy! Let me show you how!
Apply for a card at THIS LINK. Your card will arrive via email within 3 business days.
Search the catalog HERE or use the QR code on the bulletin board just inside the library door. Or, you can just browse the old-fashioned way. The resources have now been sorted into general categories. If you find something in the electronic catalog that you want to check out, you can find it on the shelf in the section indicated by the red tag. The example below is a book that can be found in the Unitarian Universalism and Congregational Life section! Please note that tags may only show up in the desktop version of the libib catalog on some devices.
Once you’ve found the book you want to take home, you could sign it out in the check out binder OR you could use your handy dandy new library card at the kiosk! If the iPad has gone to sleep (it probably has), simply press the button at the bottom to wake it up. Then you’ll find the libib kiosk app and tap it to open.
You’ll immediately be at the checkout screen. There are directions on the screen. Let’s walk through them together!
The first thing you’ll do is tap the blue SCAN button. This will open the camera on the back of the iPad to scan the QR code on the back of your book.
Simply lower your book (or movie or card deck) behind the iPad so that the QR code shows up on the screen.
As soon as it scans the code, it will say Success! and then your item will appear listed on the screen. You can scan until your heart is content. I mean, let’s be reasonable, but yeah. Take all the things you plan to read in the next little while.
When you’re all done, you’re ready click the CHECKOUT button in the bottom corner. Sometimes it’s green. Sometimes it’s blue. Life is a mystery!
Finally! The moment you’ve waited for! The chance to use your super cool Fellowship Library Card! You could enter your patron ID in manually, but that’s so boring when you could tap the QR code and then just scan your card like you did the book.
As soon as it has registered your patron QR code, you’ll be greeted with another friendly Success! message and you’re ready to go tell your friends how easy and fun that was.
When you’re done with your items, please return them to the “returns” basket located on the shelf to the left of the window. One of your friendly neighborhood library volunteers will check it back in and reshelve it for you!
If you happen to run into snags, come find or email me. Skyla! I’m happy to help you until we find a new librarian. Or, you know, you could use the binder and move on with your day. That said, I’d really appreciate knowing your experience, what’s working and what’s not, as we learn this new system.
In the earliest stages of our rollout, there may still be books that have fallen through the cracks and haven’t been stickered, or they have an old sticker, and the kiosk doesn’t recognize it. All of these details are things we want to know about! Please, if you have the time, don’t just stick the books back on the shelf if you find an anomaly that isn’t in the system correctly. Let me know so I can fix it!
Thanks for being a Fellowship library patron! You rock!
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.