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Registration is required HERE by October 27th, 2026.
This four-session series for congregational leaders takes an honest look at the gap between the community we aspire to be (or believe we already are) and the one some people actually experience. This is an invitation to see more clearly, and to lead differently as a result.
Those who took the Harvest the Power Leadership workshop last year are highly encouraged to attend, as a deepening of that work AND anyone interested in exploring community dynamics around power and belonging are very welcome.
Meetings will be on November 3rd, 10th, 24th, and December 1st – all Tuesdays – at 6 PM in Room 7.
PLEASE NOTE: The group will not meet on November 17th.
The Ministerial Search Committee will be hosting several small “Cottage Meetings” of 8-12 people each. We want you to have the opportunity to tell us in person how you view the congregation currently and what qualities you would like in our next minister. This important input from YOU will inform the Congregational Profile we publish to UUA ministers and help us find our best match. Each meeting will last an hour and be facilitated by two Search Committee members. Meetings will be offered at these times:
Sundays 9/27 – 10/18 in the Sanctuary at 11:45am Tuesday, 9/29 at 5:30pm on Zoom (there will be no Zoom meeting on 9/28) Wednesday, 9/30 at 10:00 am in Room 7
It is necessary to sign up for the Zoom meeting in advance with your email so that we can send you the Zoom link. To do that, please RSVP with this link: https://uufc.breezechms.com/form/search_cottage_26.
Soul-Nourishing Kirtan: A Night of Inner Peace, Healing, Music, and Community Song w/ Touring Sadhaka Jordan Loder ~ Breathe, Heal, Laugh, Cry, Sing, Release, Connect.
Jordan is a touring bhakti artist who has devoted his life to spreading the joy of inner peace through the power of music. After nearly a decade on the road supporting beloved artists Snatam Kaur, Deva Premal & Miten, Ajeet, Simrit, & Adam Bauer in roles as tour manager or sound engineer, he now carries on that living tradition in a unique style that is all his own. Buy tickets here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/jordanloder/2428927
Community Kirtan is a gathering featuring talented local musicians who will lead us in kirtan chanting. It’s a peaceful way to end your week. All are welcome!
SAVE THE DATE! Please join us for the Break Barriers, Build Beliefs (B4) Workshop on Oct. 24 from 9:00am – 2:30pm. This two‑session experience (with lunch!) helps us notice and address bias as we prepare for ministerial search. It will be facilitated by Rev. Eric Kaminetsky. All are welcome; Search Committee and Board attendance is expected. Beforehand, we will send out a B4 Beliefs Survey and collect RSVPs. Thanks for planning to help us in this good work!
A survey from the Settled Minister Search Committee is ready for you; find it at https://forms.gle/cRfurPUXLKyXq4vE7. Please take 15 minutes to tell the search committee about yourself and your experience of our congregation! This confidential information will be used to enrich the narrative about our ministry context and needs that the search team will share with ministerial applicants. Look for Survey links on the website, in the Order of Service on Sunday mornings, and in the Foyer on Sunday mornings (paper copies and laptops). October 11, 2026 is the deadline to submit your input.
Our Sunday Outreach offerings in September support DRUUMM – Diverse & Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries – which is a Unitarian Universalist People of Color Ministry and anti-racist collective. As an all-volunteer ministry, DRUUMM continues to lead efforts to fulfill the aims of becoming an anti-racist, anti oppressive, multicultural UUA, creating space for youth, young adult and our families of color to heal and work collectively, and steward an effective organization that develops new leadership and manages consistent communication with members. DRUUMM is open to all people.
Join us at Camp Harlow near Eugene (only an hour’s drive from Corvallis). This is a great opportunity for those who identify as men to get to know each other better and build deeper connections. The fee for the retreat is on a sliding scale, based on what you can afford. Check out the flyer with details at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KIMivMGszgBUKOD_mSq7pUeyUU0Qa3Dj/view?usp=sharing
“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.
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:
April 19 – Transitions Q&A (formerly Care & Support; that session is now May 10)
April 26 – Membership 101
May 3 – Our Shared Values 📍 All sessions meet in Room 7 at 11:45 AM
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.
