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Sign Up Now! – Men’s Retreat, 10/3-5

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Time to register for the annual Men’s Retreat, this year at Camp Harlow near Eugene (only an hour’s drive from Corvallis). The retreat will be held from 5 PM Friday October 3 to 2 PM Sunday October 5. For those who identify as men, this is an opportunity to get to know each other and build connections with other men at UUFC. Our theme this year is “Sharing the Story of Your Life Journey.” Check out the flyer with details at this link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f6YJIxzCbjXZdWaI45a5bDxtDZsJoCsv/view?usp=sharing

Register ONLINE at https://uufc.breezechms.com/form/mensretreatregistration2025.

More information: contact Alan Kirk.

Connect Up Hike, 8/30

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We will hike the Takena Landing lollipop trail in Albany. Meet at the UUFC parking lot at 8:30 a.m. if you would like to carpool. We’ll gather at the trailhead under the bridge at 8:45 and begin hiking at 9:00. This 3.6 mile riverside hike in North Albany has little elevation gain. There are opportunities for wading and for agate hunting and blackberry picking.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS FROM CORVALLIS: Take Highway 20 to North Albany. When you come to the stoplight/intersection with NW North Albany Rd, turn RIGHT into Takena Landing and proceed to the parking lot under the bridge.

RSVP here

Mosaic Antiracism Workshop for Adults! Register by 9/1

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Registration is requested HERE.

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!

Labor Day Tuna Roast, 9/1

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tuna roast

End the summer with a party! Specifically, a Tuna Roast on Labor Day from 4 – 7 PM at the Lions Shelter in Avery Park.

Since 1997; always on Labor Day, always at Avery Park, Lions Kitchen; a party for all UUFC members and friends, old and new. This event marks the beginning of the new church year and a welcome to our new interim minister Alex. It is a good place to bring kids as it is next to the swings, the old train, and the dinosaur bones. Teens can “hang out” or help with the barbecue. To cover costs we ask for a donation of $7.00 per adult and whatever you think is appropriate for your kids. Sliding scale because we want everyone to come, so no one will be turned away for lack of funds. This is about being in community, not a fund raiser. If there is any leftover money, Rev. Alex can direct it to an appropriate place.

We provide barbecued tuna, sweet corn on the cob, lemonade and sheet cakes. For vegetarians there will be veggie burgers and barbecued eggplant and zucchini. For picky kids there will be hot dogs. We ask you to bring your own plates and silverware and $$$.

A folding chair might be helpful. Especially, bring a potluck dish such as dessert, salad, bread, chips, dips, veggies, fruit, pickles, and lots more desserts.

This is a community event and it takes a community to run it, especially if you are able bodied and not herding little kids. We always need help setting up at 3:00 PM and cleaning up around 7:00 PM. We’re hoping that many people will take turns barbecuing. For these things just show up and jump in.

We do need someone to obtain the corn from WINCO, early arrivals can shuck the corn, and a couple of quiet people can cook it. We need a drink master, to make the lemonade and keep the jugs refilled. We need 2-3 people to help me prep the tuna on Monday morning. Finally we need someone to pick up seven rented tables at Special Occasions on Friday, and return them on Tuesday. If you have a truck with a bed long enough for 8-foot tables, that would be excellent. Otherwise we can borrow Lee Holt’s truck, but a driver is needed. Special occasions does all the loading and unloading so you don’t need to be muscular.

Contact Rich if you can help on these several jobs.

Please register for the UUFC Women’s Retreat, 10/17 & 10/18

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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. It will be held at the UUFC on Friday night Oct. 17 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm and from 9:00 am – 7:00 pm on Saturday, Oct. 18. This year’s theme is “Right Here, Right Now: Peace through Practice”. We will share practices that may help you find peace in your center, peace in your connections, and peace in your community. The $55 fee for the retreat includes two meals on Saturday catered by Forks and Corks.

Please register using this form. https://uufc.breezechms.com/form/wr2025

Payment can be made online or by check to the UUFC with “Women’s Retreat” in the memo line.
Volunteers, suggestions, and questions are welcome at womensretreat@uucorvallis.org. Team facilitators are Heather Thomas, Kimi Mayo, and Priscilla Galasso.

Crossing Thresholds Group

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Register for this 9-month 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— loss of a beloved, birth of a new beloved, retirement, new job, gender transition, new relationship commitment, divorce, recovery, or any other significant turning point—you are not alone.

We invite you to join Crossing Thresholds, a 9-month spiritual journey beginning in September. Together, we’ll explore the depth and complexity of personal transformation through three cycles of reflection.

What to Expect

Each cycle will include a rhythm of ritual, reflection, communal support, and creative exploration guided by a team of facilitators:


At the beginning of each cycle (September, December, March), Susan Sanford will lead a simple, grounding ritual that honors the turning of the Wheel and the thresholds we are crossing. Through embodied practices, evocative imagery, and gentle reflection, you’ll be invited to locate your personal story within the greater rhythm of Earth’s seasons.

The next month of each cycle, Dorrie Board will provide a casual and light-hearted approach (mostly, but sometimes laughter evolves into tears, and that’s ok, too) as you travel through your “seasonal” transition. The bulk of this session will be open discussion and sharing/listening, and lots of laughing, and there might be room for related media and movement. Participants will help to create the flow of each experience as Dorrie is the guide on the side. (October, January, April)

At each cycle’s close (November, February, May), Skyla King-Christison will guide hands-on creative art sessions, including altar making (with Ginny Gibson, as a bonus in September), sigil creation, personal history scrolls, and ancestor collage. These projects were chosen to help us engage with the discomfort of transformation through creative exploration. No art skills needed.

Ongoing Practices
All participants will be invited to:

  • Create a personal altar to live in the UUFC atrium
  • Schedule solo meditation time in the atrium space
  • Join monthly nature-based meditations and socials

Our time together will culminate in the River of Life Service in June, where participants will be lovingly witnessed by the congregation as they cross into what comes next.

If you have any questions, please contact Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org

We’re excited to go on this journey together!

Services in December

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Dec. 1 “Be Not Afraid” Rev. Jill McAllister
Dec. 8 “Yes, Joy” Committee on Ministry
Dec. 15 “Wintering” UUFC Choir and Readers
Dec. 16 Blue Holiday Vespers Susan Sanford and Rev. Leslie Chartier
Dec. 20 Winter Solstice Service Rev. Jill McAllister
Dec. 22 “Stories of Christmas” Rev. Jill McAllister
Dec. 24 Christmas Eve -two services Rev. Jill McAllister
Dec. 29 Holiday Brunch and Sharing Rev. Jill McAllister and all