SUNDAY SERVICE DETAILS
When: Sundays at 10 A.M.
Where: Find us on the corner of Circle Blvd and NW Firwood Drive, just West of the Corvallis Zen Circle. You may also join the service on Zoom.
Directions: Find us on the corner of Circle Blvd and NW Firwood Drive, just West of the Corvallis Zen Circle.
Map:
JOIN ONLINE
There are two ways to attend Worship Remotely:
- Join on Zoom: we use this same Zoom link every week. (Clicking on the link will open a Zoom meeting). If you have not used Zoom before, here is a guide: Joining a Zoom Meeting.
- Facebook Livestream: We livestream the Sunday services to the UUFC FaceBook page.
The Order of Service is available if you like to follow along. We sometimes make changes all the way up until Sunday morning, so the Order of Service may not be available until a few minutes before the service.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT WORSHIP
Most of our Sunday morning services typically include inspirational readings, a story for children, choir and congregational singing, and a sermon by our minister or guest. We also have a variety of special services.
Summer Sunday services are less formal with a variety of guest speakers in addition to our minister.
Dress for UUFC services is mostly casual, but ranges from tees to ties. Dress in whatever way is comfortable for you. Children and youth usually attend Religious Exploration classes, but are welcome in services too. Children mainly wear play clothes.
Following our services, we have a Coffee and Conversation hour in the Social Hall adjacent to the Sanctuary. Come meet and greet!
And once a month we have a delicious Action Lunch to support charities in our community and throughout the world. Please join us. We want to get to know you and want you to get to know us.
ABOUT WORSHIP
What is worship?
The word “worship” means many things to many people, and is defined in many different ways. It refers to acts and attitudes, celebrations and rituals, events shared by groups, and individual experiences. It refers to ascribing value or worth to ideals, ideas, and beliefs; to giving homage and praise to a god or gods; to taking time and intention to centering oneself and focusing on values and ideals. Definitions of “worship” are generally understood and shared within specific cultural contexts. There is no one right definition or one shared definition.
What does worship at UUFC look like?
Historically, Unitarian Universalism is a tradition which evolved from the radical wing of the Protestant Reformation, a decades-long struggle within western Christianity to define sources of religious authority and forms of religious community. Because of this heritage, the most common Sunday Service in a UU congregation looks more like a protestant Christian worship service than any other kind of worship. Yet, in the nearly 200 years of American Unitarian/Universalism, much as changed, as the religious culture has become much more diverse. Therefore, our services include diverse formats and elements and broad aims.
What generally happens during a worship service?
Welcome – brief introductions from service leaders and participants, and an assurance that all are free to attend and participate
Introit – usually a song or music, to signal the setting aside of regular or daily concerns and the intentional turning to a time of reflection and aspiration, together
Opening Words – a statement to remind us why we gather in this place in this way
Lighting of the Chalice – the symbol of our liberal religious heritage, an affirmation of our core values of religious freedom, reason and embrace of diversity
Opening Song – re-affirming our gathering and our intentions, using our bodies and breath
Affirming Our Connections
Having taken time to settle in and focus our attention and intentions, we move to Affirming Our Connections, which usually includes:
Wisdom from the World’s Traditions – a reading from one of the sources of wisdom for our religious growth and learning, from any and all of the classical religious traditions, or from poetry, prose, science, etc.
Time for All Ages – a story for all ages, aimed primarily at elementary aged children, to help them learn about our tradition, to help them know and feel that they are a valued part of our inter-generational community, and to help them understand what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist. The children and youth leave for their Religious Exploration sessions following this time of sharing.
Sharing of Sorrows and Joys – a time to share with each other the most important things that are happening in our lives –-experiences of loss and gain, of birth and death, of fear, of joy and gratitude, of sickness, recovery and health. This kind of sharing is very important for us as a community, to know what is true and real for each other and therefore for ourselves – to affirm the realities which connect us. It is also a very big challenge: to tell our own truths and to focus on the most important things. This is not a time for political opinions, announcements of events, stories about other people, or long-winded details. This practice of sharing truths is usually followed by a meditation on breathing and on connectedness, then shared singing.
Searching for Wisdom and Inspiration
Having been reminded of what we share, we move into Searching for Wisdom and Inspiration, which usually includes:
Spoken Meditation and Sharing of Silence – to nurture contemplation, honesty, and inner peace
Music for Reflection
Readings – expressions of important points to be explored in the sermon
Sermon, Homily or Presentation – focus on a topic of importance for our religious, spiritual, and congregational lives, by a minister or guest speakers.
The Offering – the sharing of our resources towards living out the mission and goals of the church
Giving Thanks for All That Sustains Us – our collective reminder that life is a gift, and together we can make a difference
Returning to the World
Finally, we arrive at the time for Returning to the World, which usually includes:
Announcements – an educational moment, to describe some of the priorities, work, and events of the congregation
Closing Song– once again to engage our bodies and breath in our intentions
Closing Words– a reminder to keep our ideals in our minds and hearts amidst the distractions of daily life
Postlude – music for going out together
FORMS OF WORSHIP
Sunday Services
Historically, Unitarian Universalism is a tradition which evolved from the radical wing of the Protestant Reformation, a decades-long struggle within western Christianity to define sources of religious authority and forms of religious community. Because of this heritage, the most common Sunday Service in a UU congregation looks more like a protestant Christian worship service than any other kind of worship. Yet, in the nearly 200 years of American Unitarian/Universalism, much as changed, as the religious culture has become much more diverse. Therefore, our services include diverse formats and elements and broad aims. More about Sunday Services.
Wheel of the Year
Every six weeks or so, we gather at each of the eight points on the Wheel of the Year as an intergenerational community to celebrate holidays from nature-based neo-pagan tradition with story, song, and ritual. Some of these holidays are widely known, like Yule, the Winter Solstice. Some, like Lughnasadh, are not as well recognized. The eight sacred days on the Wheel start with Yule in December, then proceed to Imbolc in February, Ostara in March, Beltane in May, Litha in June, Lughnasadh in August, Mabon in September, Samhain in October, and then right back around the Wheel to Yule. This cycle of celebration echoes the cycles of the changing year, and it honors the interdependent web of which we are all a part.
More about Wheel of the Year Services
Dance Planet
Dance Planet is a community dance celebration for everyone. Move your own way to a joyous blend of music from all around the planet and across the decades. Admission to this family-friendly event is a suggested $5–$15 donation, but nobody is turned away for lack of funds. One hundred percent of proceeds go to local Earth-friendly causes.
Kirtan
Kirtan is a very simple & powerful way to meditate. It’s effortless & joyful; the music does the work for you as you flow with the melody & rhythm. As you sing you experience a deep connection with the musicians, the other audience members and yourself. And when the music stops, your mind is quiet.
Because kirtan has roots in India, many of the chants are sung in Sanskrit. These ancient chants contain powerful renewing & transformative energy that helps us reconnect with the Divinity that resides within all of us. If you’ve ever chanted responses in Latin or Hebrew in your religious tradition, then you know how powerful singing in an ancient, holy language can be. You can be completely immersed in the sound, with no words to distract the mind — the magic of the chants can then carry you within. While singing along at a kirtan concert, you can experience your own voice becoming as beautiful as those performing—all voices merge together to become One Voice.
We have kirtan every Friday night at the Fellowship. The 1st and 3rd Fridays are a Community Kirtan in person in Room 7, other Friday nights we hold the kirtan on Zoom. We also host live events.
From the Minister
-
Daily Practice – A Weekly Reminder
One of my teachers says, in many different ways, that spiritual growth, or becoming wise, is a process of discovering, at your core, a story that can hold all the other stories. A foundation that makes room for everything that comes your way, for everything that is. In that place, that story, vulnerability and courage are the same thing. Courage is not simply the energy or power to defend our expectations or habits or “knowledge.” Courage is the ability to keep the doors of our minds and hearts open, to change direction, to leave things behind and keep moving, even – or especially – if we are mourning as we go.
“What would it be like to wake into our bodies, our relationships and our work as if seeing them for the first time?”, the teacher asks. Yesterday there was sorrow and joy; today there is sorrow and joy – but today we are not the same as we were yesterday. Nothing is the same.
This is a good daily practice – to find ways and time to open ourselves and our stories to the way things truly are. To be willing to be lived by pain and sorrow and fear in all the ways we are willing to be lived by happiness and love and joy. To move as life moves, in us and around us.
-
Daily Practice – A Weekly Reminder
In September 2020, a few months into the pandemic shut-down, a week or so after forest fires had turned the air orange around us for days, I went out into a clear morning, and was greeted by the day. I wrote this: “In the cool breeze this morning, something caught my eye that I didn’t…
-
Daily Practice – A Weekly Reminder
Did you have a chance to see the Harvest Moon this week, as it rises on the eastern horizon huge, and orange, in the dark sky? These are the days of the Fall equinox – the trees beginning to turn, the air cooling, days of rain and sun, clouds and color. Changing times, again, as…
-
Daily Practice – A Weekly Reminder
One of the most beautiful things about morning, about waking up, is that the conversation begins anew. What I mean is we can begin a new conversation with life every day. It’s quite easy to wake up and simply continue yesterday’s conversation, tired and worn out though it was when we went to sleep. Why…
-
From the Minister
For the past eleven years we have worked with an annual theme as a way of focusing our attention and energy amidst the many activities of the Fellowship. Themes have included Love, Courage, Deepening, Faithfulness, Building A New Way, and more. In the coming year, our focus will be “Ancestors, Descendants, and Us.” It is…
-
From the Minister
Just before getting back to a regular schedule (with a little less summer spontaneity) I’m taking a trip to Transylvania next week, and Jamie Petts and Skyla King-Christison are coming too. We’ll be attending an International UU Women’s Convocation gathering in Koloszvar with U-U women from many different countries, and making a very short visit…
-
Between Us, 8/23/2024
Summer is not yet over, but oh – the rain has been beautiful! It feels like everything with roots is no longer thirsty, and I feel the same way. I know it will get hot again soon, for at least a few more weeks, but it feels different now. That’s how things should be when…
-
Between Us
So much of our time and energy, whether we are aware of it or not, goes into finding our footing, so to speak, or trying to find balance – mostly emotional or spiritual balance, though sometimes (especially as we age) our physical balance as well. The world we live in is so good at challenging…
-
Daily Practice – A Reminder
Several years ago, in the first summer of the pandemic, we were trying to cope with the realization of a long road ahead of us, the unknowns at at every turn, the fear and sadness. Together we were building a daily practice of centering and giving thanks. This passage, written one August morning, reminds me…
-
I am so grateful for all the time and effort that has gone into making these Weekly Announcements what they are today – integrated into the website, easily readable on phones and other hand-held devices, convenient for folks who first simply need to know what, when and where. These have been beautiful updates, and have…
-
Between Us, 7/28/24
Are you interested in stories about the Fellowship? About who first gathered, who built our buildings, how RE and justice work and music have been part of this congregation’s life? Do you ever try to imagine folks who came here before you – what brought them, what commitments they made, how they were supported in…
MUSIC
Music is an important part of the life of the Fellowship, and of every Sunday service. If you love to sing or play instruments and want to get involved, please read on!
Congregational Singing
Every Sunday morning we sing together. We sing together because it feels good and it builds community. It may be the most important thing we do on Sunday.
UUFC Choir
The choir rehearses Wednesday nights from 7 to 8:30 and sings twice a month for Sunday services. This dedicated group works hard to provide choral music that uplifts and inspires all who hear them on Sunday mornings. The choir is a wonderful supportive and welcoming community for singers of all skill levels. The choir is where all the important stuff happens at any church. So if you want to get close to the action, join the choir! Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate. If you are interested, talk to the choir director, Steven Evans-Renteria.
House Band
We now have a house band at UUFC that plays once a month for Sunday services. We have guitars, percussion, singers, piano, and guitarron. Once in a while the choir and the house band join forces, and it really rocks! Check us out on Sunday morning.
Guest Musicians
We’ve had a number of wonderful guest musicians show up to services to add to our music, including Johanna Beekman, Roy Zimmerman, Peter Mayer, and others, including local groups like Compass Rose and the Delgani String Quartet.
Other Musical Opportunities
Before the pandemic we had regular music events at the Fellowship including the Holiday Sing-Along, Music Sharing nights (basically open mic night). We hope to begin incorporating more events like this in the coming months, so watch the newsletter and weekly announcements for updates.
SUNDAY SERVICE VIDEOS
We have saved videos from most of the services from the past several years. Occasionally a service video doesn’t get recorded, or saved. If you can’t find a on the YouTube playlists, it might be in the Facebook live stream videos.
YouTube Playlist – Services from 2024
Facebook Livestream has videos of all the services that were livestreamed on Facebook (which is almost all of them). If you can’t find a particular service on the YouTube Playlist, it probably just hasn’t been added yet, but there is a good chance you can find it in the Facebook livestream videos.
YouTube Playlist – Services from 2023
Service Videos (January 2020 – March 2023): The link opens a pdf of an older method of storing links to service videos, before we started uploading them to YouTube.
Our Mission
Explore. Love. Act.
We gather as an inclusive religious community to search for meaning, build deep connections, and inspire action toward a better world for all.
Quick Links
This Week
Announcements
Announcements
-
Justice Outreach Offerings for October – Partner Church
-
Family Breakfast is BACK!
-
If You Know What an RMD on an IRA Is, Read On
-
Breeze Account
-
Friendly Reminder: Printing Guidelines
-
Neighborhood Planters Kiosk Installed
-
Men’s Gathering, 2nd and 4th Sundays
-
UUFC Merch Store
-
Consider Becoming a Grandfolk!
-
Adult RE