WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS – text only
Sunday Services
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This Week:
November 16, 2025 – Desire in the Spiritual Life
Throughout history, humans have expressed a sensual desire for the divine in such texts as Song of Solomon and the Bhagavad Gita. And, many spiritual autobiographies record longings of the heart. How can we be alert to the role of desire in our spiritual lives?
Rev. Alex McGee will preach
Services This Month
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There has never been a better time for us to dig into our spiritual toolbox to center our souls, engage in a practice of self love and self compassion, and connect to our souls so that we can engage with each other from a space of love and joy. Dr. Bird will talk about storytelling as an act of persistence and how we can walk the good road to support our community.
Dr. Melissa Bird will preach
From the Minister
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Grief and the Holidays
Dear congregation:
We are approaching holidays. This means different things to different people. But what it likely means for all of us is memories of years gone past.
The memories may take a very sensory form: the scents of special foods, the sights of special lights, the sounds of special songs.
But sometimes the holidays can be tender if things have changed in painful ways.
It likely means memories with people who may not be here anymore. That could be family members. Friends. A beloved clergy person.
Part of our spiritual life is to honor our grief. In the midst of holiday festivities, I hope you can find time for quiet moments, for tears, for talking about the people you are missing right now.
Surely this Fellowship itself will have a different tenor because the minister of 11 years is not here. People are finding new ways to do things and stepping into new roles. It will look different, feel different, sound different. This is all a natural part of a grief and change process. I honor that.
May all of us find wholeness as we live into the fullness of all our emotions in all the chapters of our lives.
In peace
AlexRev. Alex McGee is serving this Fellowship as Interim Minister and is available to be contacted at rev.alex.mcgee@uucorvallis.org.
This Week at UUFC
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Memorial Service for Ron Wrolstad, 11/15
Memorial Service for Ron Wrolstad
Saturday, November 15th at 2 PM
at
the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis
Ron Wrolstad was a long time member of UUFC. He and his wife Kathy raised their two daughters here. Ron was known for his steady attendance, he played the piano, was a longtime member of a book club here, and contributed in many other ways. Ron died here in Corvallis on Saturday, October 11th, 2025 from complications related to Alzheimers disease. Members of the Fellowship have described him as leading an exceedingly meaningful life as a husband, father, grandfather, scientist, teacher, colleague, student mentor, bicyclist, story-teller, and good friend.
Recording
The recording of the service can be viewed below, or on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Zly12v7-73g. It will stay available on our UUFC website and UUFC YouTube page for future viewing.
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Kirtan with Bhakti Heart, 11/14
What happens when two inspiring, award-winning singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists join together to share their love of devotional music? The answer is the uplifting, joy-inducing duo Bhakti Heart, a collaboration between Laura Kemp and Len Seligman. Leading original and traditional sacred songs from diverse traditions, their gatherings are a heart-opening and moving experience. Their voices blend with rich harmonies, and their joy in creating music together is obvious and infectious. Both are highly accomplished musicians on several instruments, including guitar, harmonium, octave mandolin, and hand pan.
Please join us for a joyous, uplifting gathering, singing and chanting sacred songs and sounds from diverse traditions. All are welcome, regardless of musical experience or spiritual background. We look forward to singing with you!
Childcare is available!
Free childcare can usually be arranged for any Fellowship event by using this link 1-2 weeks prior to the event.
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Winter Sound Bath Event with Sonic Journey, 11/21
What: sound bath experience
When: 11/21 @ 7:15PM
Where: UUFC Social Hall
Even in these too full, largely uncertain days, you give so much to make the Fellowship a warm and welcoming place to be. With that in mind, Religious Exploration is delighted to offer an opportunity to pause and spend an evening in deep relaxation and self-care. The talented Mark Clem of Sonic Journey will be offering a Sound Bath just for us! I especially encourage our leaders who always make time for others to take advantage of this opportunity to show up and tend to their own physical and spiritual bodies.
This experience consists of bringing what you need to lie comfortably on the Social Hall floor and settling in. Mark will then offer a short guided meditation to help us ready ourselves for an hour or so of wordless immersion in sound vibrations of all kinds. After this shared embodied experience, Mark will gently call us back into the moment, serve tea, and lead a reflection on what we experienced in our state of deep relaxation, as well as offer follow-up care tips for holding on to the heightened state of awareness and relaxation as we move back into our lives.
Because space is limited, you MUST PREREGISTER, and once the event is full, the registration form will be disabled. Additional instructions for what to bring and what to expect will be emailed to all registered participants on 11/16. Please contact Skyla (dre@uucorvallis.org) with questions.
Announcements
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Opportunity for Work Cleaning Church Building
Call for Bids for Cleaning Contract at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis
2945 NW Circle Blvd, Corvallis
Posted November 10, 2025 – open until filled
Contact – office@uucorvallis.orgWe are inviting proposals for price and schedule to clean our church building. The building includes a vinyl-floored sanctuary with free-standing chairs (~2500 sq ft), kitchen (vinyl), social hall (wood), lobby (masonry), six single bathrooms, and 15 other office, library or meeting rooms with carpet, wood or vinyl flooring. We need the building cleaned at the end of the week before our Sunday service and then again early in the week after Sunday service.
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UUFC observing Transgender Remembrance Day
UUFC joins our Unitarian Universalist Association in honoring Transgender Remembrance Day on November 20, and a reading will be included in our service this Sunday. May we continue to do the work for safety and well-being of all people.
Read the press release from the UUA and 9 other faith groups here.
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Evacuation Drill Followup
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Evacuation Drill on November 2.
A number of issues were identified that need to be addressed to improve our overall plan.Do you have expertise or interest in Emergency Preparedness at UUFC?
Please contact Wolfgang D. or Rev. Alex to join a team of 3-4 people to evaluate and revise the Evacuation Plan and address other important UUFC Safety Issues. -
Show Your True Colors
“The highest virtue among church greeters is their willingness to express human kindness… suggest, lead, guide, or do anything that is an extension of the human smile.” – Leslie Parrott, author
UU’s live out our faith through our service to others. True spiritual growth, in ourselves and in our Fellowship, arises, in part, through our connectedness with others. You are the smiling, welcoming face of the UUFC.
If you would like to join this Team, please contact anyone at the Greeter desk or contact the Heather E. at this link. We can all use a helping hand. See you Sunday!
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Rescheduling Street-Tree Planting
Due to the conflict with the Holiday Fair, we are rescheduling the Fifth Annual Tree Planting with the City to a Saturday in January. Look for more info to come.
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UU Advent Daily Email Series: Register by 11/27
Rev. Ralph Roberts created a UU version of an Advent calendar, with little factoids about the influence that Unitarians and Universalists in history had on the winter holidays. We will once again be converting these tidbits into a daily Advent email series to land in your inbox every morning from December 1st through the 24th. You can register to be on that limited-run mailing list HERE by November 27th. Please note that, due to technological limitations, we will not be able to add any recipients to the list after the 27th.
Worship Web offers the following disclaimer about the Advent series: “Due to its temporal nature, many of the historic milestones in this Advent calendar aren’t necessarily recognized on the precise day that they’re celebrated (for example, Kwanzaa is recognized here on December 2nd instead of December 26th, and the December 12 image recognizes Clara Barton’s birthday (December 25, 1821). More than perfect historic accuracy, then, this Advent calendar is offered in the spirit of holding up and delighting in the ways that our Unitarian and Universalist ancestors had a foundational role in many of the winter holidays and the innumerable ways they’re celebrated by people everywhere.”
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Connect Up: Rich hosting Thanksgiving Dinner/Potluck, 11/27
Thanksgiving will be here in two weeks; why not celebrate it with one hundred and more others at UUFC? Members, friends, family, and out-of –town guests are welcome. Instead of staying home and doing all the work and cooking, come here and do just a little work [if you are willing and able], a little cooking, and at little expense. Each family brings a dish (salad, bread, dessert, veggie side dish, vegetarian/vegan main dish, cranberries, potatoes/yams, stuffing, etc) or cooks one of the 4 turkeys (cost reimbursed); and helps with some task, (set-up or clean-up, or kitchen, or social hour). The suggested cost is $5.00/person to cover the turkey, beverages, appetizers, decorations, etc., but no one is turned away for lack of funds. Any surplus money will go to South Corvallis Food Bank.
We need to know how many tables and chairs to set up for dinner, so sign up after Sunday service (starting at 10 AM) on 11/9, 11/16, or 11/23, or call Rich, or sign up on Breeze, by Wednesday night, November 26, and also tell him what food you will probably bring, and if you are able to volunteer for a job.
Schedule on Thanksgiving:
10:30 a.m. Set up at UUFC.
4:30 p.m. Social hour at UUFC.
5:30 p.m. Turkey dinner with vegetarian/vegan alternatives. $5.00 suggested. Please RSVP.
7:30 p.m. Conversation, table games, and clean up. Please stay and mellow out, visit, or bring a favorite board game. Is anyone interested in doing charades?HELP! As of the deadline for announcements, we still need a point person/leader/coordinator for two activities: Social Hour (preferably 2 or more people); and After-Dinner Activities. We also need 8-10 people to help Virgil and Rich set up Thursday morning (mostly moving tables and chairs), and put everything back in order after dinner.
Childcare is available!
Free childcare can usually be arranged for any Fellowship event by using this link 1-2 weeks prior to the event.
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Help The UU Provide Turkey For The Tables Of Families In Need
South Corvallis Food Bank is running a Special Thanksgiving Food Drive called “Turkey For The Table”. With an unprecedented number of families loosing access to Food assistance this November, let’s step up and make their Thanksgiving special.
Donate $30 or a Frozen Turkey to the South Corvallis Food Bank and say you are donating as part of the UU “Flock”. This enters the UU in a raffle to win a prize, which we will proudly display…somewhere.
Join us in this bleak season to give in kindness to our neighbors and occasion some thanks worth giving.
— UUFC Secure Food and Housing For All and Democracy Action Teams
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🐦Trick-or-Treat CAT Prize Winners🐦
Those who visited the Climate Action Team table at the UUFC Trick-or-Treat last Sunday and answered a bird question received a chance to win a bird suet feeder + 2 suet cakes.
The winning ticket number is CAT 97.
Two runner-up numbers, CAT 730 and CAT 30, were also drawn and will each receive 3 packets of hot chocolate mix.
Please contact cat@uucorvallis.org or Brian Lee by Nov. 16th to claim your prize. -
Volunteer for Holiday Fair, 12/6
The Holiday Fair team is looking for volunteers to help prepare for and run the event. We need help with various tasks leading up to the event, including baking goodies to donate to the event, posting flyers in Corvallis and nearby communities, organizing donated items for the recycled gifts room where children can shop for inexpensive items for themselves or gifts for family and friends, and making fresh greenery swags for people to hang on their doors. We also need a baked goods coordinator to accept and package/price baked goods on Friday and organize running the table on Saturday. And on the day of the event, we need volunteers to act as greeters, cashiers, musicians, and helpers to restore the sanctuary when the Holiday Fair is over.
The UUFC Holiday Fair is open to the public and is a great place to purchase unique handmade crafts as gifts for friends and family and yourself. The craft vendors retain most of the purchase price of their crafts, and a portion goes to the UUFC as one of our annual fund-raising events. If you are able to help, you’ll enjoy being part of a team that is working to support local craftspeople as well as the UUFC.
Sign up to help at one of the links below.
Volunteering Before the Holiday Fair
Volunteering During the Event
A document describing the different volunteering positions can be found here. Please reach out to holiday.fair@uucorvallis.org with questions.Childcare is available!
Free childcare can usually be arranged for any Fellowship event by using this link 1-2 weeks prior to the event.
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Reserve Your Holiday Tree
The number of Holiday Trees is limited this year. To reserve yours, please use the Order Form. Your reservation will be confirmed once payment is received and recorded. Payment can made be via Breeze to “Unpledged Donation” with note “Holiday Trees,” by check to UUFC with memo “Holiday Trees,” or by cash in an envelope marked with your name and “Holiday Trees.” The Breeze option is recommended because checks and cash will not be recorded until the Monday following receipt, and your tree will not be reserved until payment is recorded. The form will be updated daily to show trees still available. Unreserved trees will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information on Holiday Trees, click here. Questions: treasurer@uucorvallis.org.
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Outreach Offerings for November
Our November Justice Outreach offering will support the Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center (CDDC). CDDC is a community-based non-profit resource hub providing information, referral, and direct services for people experiencing homelessness and poverty in Benton County and beyond.
To learn more about their work, visit the CDDC website.
How to donate to the monthly Outreach Offering
Each month, the Fellowship gathers donations for a certain charitable cause. These are our Outreach Offerings. You can contribute to this month’s offering in a few ways:
- Give to the Sunday collection basket
- Donate online
- Donate to the refreshments during the social hour
The Social Concerns team donate an assortment of sweet and savory refreshments, including gluten-free and vegan choices, for our enjoyment at the social hour following Sunday worship. These items are purchased and prepared by the team to encourage donations to the Outreach Offering. Collection baskets are always found at the end of the refreshments table. The next time you’re eyeing something tasty on the table, consider putting a donation in the basket first to show how much you appreciate having that treat ready and waiting for you!
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Donations Requested for Winter Care Kits by 11/30
The children and youth in RE will be making winter care kits for unhoused neighbors during the November 30th Children’s Chapel.
We need donations of gloves, hats, socks, and HotHands for our kits before November 30th. Please consider donating new or gently used physical items or cash to help us purchase these items for our kits. Donations can be placed in the marked box under the table outside of the RE office in Room 2.
Our goal is for every one of our 40 registered children and youth in RE to have a kit in their car ready to be handed to someone in need. Your generous donations will help us learn about and engage in community care.
Thank you in advance for supporting our RE programs!
Plan Ahead
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UUFC Giving Tuesday, 12/2
UUFC’s Giving Tuesday is an opportunity for us celebrate and put into practice our UU values of Generosity and Justice. For 2025, our contributions will benefit the South Corvallis Food Bank, where the need is greater than ever. Video: <https://kval.com/newsletter-daily/need-for-food-reaches-all-time-high-in-corvallis-food-bank-says>
You can contribute
- via Breeze by selecting Giving Tuesday from the Give To drop-down menu
- via check payable to UUFC with memo “Giving Tuesday”
- via cash in an envelope marked with your name and “Giving Tuesday”
Thank you.
Questions: treasurer@uucorvallis.org
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UU Advent Daily Email Series: Register by 11/27
Rev. Ralph Roberts created a UU version of an Advent calendar, with little factoids about the influence that Unitarians and Universalists in history had on the winter holidays. We will once again be converting these tidbits into a daily Advent email series to land in your inbox every morning from December 1st through the 24th. You can register to be on that limited-run mailing list HERE by November 27th. Please note that, due to technological limitations, we will not be able to add any recipients to the list after the 27th.
Worship Web offers the following disclaimer about the Advent series: “Due to its temporal nature, many of the historic milestones in this Advent calendar aren’t necessarily recognized on the precise day that they’re celebrated (for example, Kwanzaa is recognized here on December 2nd instead of December 26th, and the December 12 image recognizes Clara Barton’s birthday (December 25, 1821). More than perfect historic accuracy, then, this Advent calendar is offered in the spirit of holding up and delighting in the ways that our Unitarian and Universalist ancestors had a foundational role in many of the winter holidays and the innumerable ways they’re celebrated by people everywhere.”