Join Us for WorshipSunday, October 17, 2021
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Family Service at 10 a.m. // Sanctuary Service at 11 a.m.
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When Love Speaks in Public
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Calls for justice are heard from every quarter. The issues are many and pressing. Love asks us to look for connections and causes. We need both an open heart and a questioning spirit to meet the new day.
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In-Person Worship Returns to First Unitarian on November 7
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We are all aware of the return of in-person gatherings in our community. Public schools are open for in-person learning. Our neighbors and some of us have sat shoulder to shoulder in cultural events and concerts. The rate of Covid infections here, and in the rest of the country, has been dropping for more than a month.
First Unitarian has taken a conservative approach to safety. Other churches have been offering limited versions of in-person worship for some time.
Our Public Health Team (Ronnie Emden, Jenny McNichol, Chris Tanner and Bill Yasnoff) has advised that, for vaccinated individuals, the risk of contracting or spreading the Covid virus is now low-enough for First Unitarian to gradually return to in-person worship.
Still, safety requires that our re-gathering have limits. Here is what Sunday morning, November 7, will look like:
The Limits and Logistics
A more detailed list can be read down below in the link.
- ADVANCED REGISTRATION and PROOF OF VACCINATION REQUIRED
- ~200 PERSON LIMIT
- MASKS WILL BE REQUIRED
- DISTANCING will be determined by individual comfort.
- SINGING (MASKED)
- NO CHILDREN UNDER 12
- NO IN-PERSON SOCIAL HOUR (Virtual will continue.)
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Family Worship
I Love You When You’re Angry
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Rev. Tom will share a story about unconditional love featuring animal families and how they share a whole range of emotions. Dana Buhl will share a meditation this week and Dustin Hunley will lead our music.
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Staying Connected BlogLove For Place
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To love a place. Can one love...a place? Love is a word some of us may use freely and casually, yet is also often the most powerful word we have when it is difficult to articulate the intensity of what we feel. It is strange, perhaps, that I may use the same word in regards to a food I enjoy, as I use for my family every day. “I love you” to my child feels drastically different than, “I love avocado.” To love a place—in the truest sense of the word love—lies somewhere on this complex spectrum (that is probably not linear)...continued.
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| What's Happening This SundayTimestamps are Pacific Time (PT) unless stated otherwise.
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Q&A with Rev. Bill and the Board’s Financial Update
THIS SUNDAY! - October 17, at 12:30 p.m.
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What’s on your mind? Bring all manner of questions to ask our Senior Minister at this periodic Q&A. Then hear about the church’s financial position. Members of the Board’s Finance Committee will be on hand to answer your questions.
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Interested in Being a Lay Minister?THIS SUNDAY! - October 17, at 12:30 p.m. and Wednesday, November 3 at 7 p.m.
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Lay ministers play an important role in how we build Beloved Community in our congregation. Lay ministers offer compassionate listening and support for congregants in times of special need that could include a spiritual crisis, bereavement, major life changes, health issues, or other personal concerns. Support can happen through one-on-one support and through the facilitation of small groups.
Applications will be accepted this fall and training begins in 2022.
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NEW! - Learning Community Cottage Meeting with Ministerial Search CommitteeSunday, October 17, at 12:30 p.m.
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Join Learning Community parents/caregivers/children and representatives from the MSC for a time for families to share their ideas, hopes, and interests as they relate to a new senior minister. We look forward to seeing you!
Questions to think about to prepare for the meeting:
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TONIGHT! - People of Color! What is Important to You in the Search for Our Next Senior Minister?Thursday, October 14, at 7 p.m.
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Join us to meet with members of the Ministerial Search Committee (MSC) to discuss what is important to you in the search for our next senior minister. Beloved Community of Color (BCC), our church's affinity group for people of color, invites you to this special Zoom gathering.
This will be a People of Color POC-only space. No need to have participated in our group before. We welcome you!
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FINAL DAYS! - Cottage Meetings
Saturday, October 24 // Multiple Times
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Please join the Ministerial Search Committee for the final "Cottage Meetings" to discuss what congregants want in a new Senior Minister and how we envision First Unitarian Church in the future.
Details: Join us on Zoom at one of the following times: 12:30-1:20 p.m., 1:30-2:20 p.m., 2:30-3:20 p.m. and 3:30-4:20 p.m.
The final day for Cottage Meetings, if you have not been to one, is Tuesday, October 26 at 12-1 p.m. and 7:30-8:30 p.m.
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NEW! - Fixing a Broken Recycling System
Sunday, October 24, at 9 a.m.
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Please join us for a special presentation by DEQ Solid Waste Analyst Peter Spendelow to learn about the new Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act, which will get producers and processors working together and ensure that all employees receive a living wage. He will also discuss new recycling collection programs in the Portland area, new ideas regarding the bottle bill, and identifying when not to use recyclable or compostable materials.
All are invited to join Community for Earth members every 4th Sunday of the month to explore environmentally relevant topics.
Social time starts at 9 a.m., and the presentation and Q&A will run from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
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| | Upcoming Events, Workshops & Classes
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Alliance Annual Greens Sale Starts This Sunday!
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From the comfort of your own home, from October 17 through November 14, you can order aromatic holiday greens online. Choose from among 3 styles for safe pickup at the church garage on Friday, December 3, and Saturday, December 4, from 10-2 p.m.
Want to gift a wreath? There is one style available for shipping anywhere within the U.S., including Portland.
Proceeds benefit women, children and marginalized groups.
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Welcome to First Unitarian with Rev. Thomas Disrud
Sunday, October 24, at 12:30 p.m.
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Are you new to First Unitarian Portland? We are so glad you are here. This virtual class will offer an orientation to the church, to Unitarian Universalism and what it means to be a member. This will be a chance to meet other newcomers and to have your questions about the church answered.
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All Hallow's Eve/Samhain Celebration and Reflection
IN-PERSON! - Sunday, October 31, at 3 p.m.
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Join intern minister, Carter Smith, for an in-person pagan New Year celebration, more commonly known as All Hallow’s Eve or Samhain. This outdoor gathering will be a space for altar building, reflection upon the wisdom of deep autumn, and connection with beloved dead who we may feel near us.
In addition to warm clothes and warm hearts, bring images or objects that remind you of those you want to remember, or that connect you to this season. It will be a time of togetherness and spiritual exploration underneath Mt. Tabor Park's beautiful tree canopy. Advance registration required.
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NEW - What Is Spiritual Direction Anyway?Saturday, November 6, 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
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Have you heard about spiritual direction and wondered what it’s all about? Here’s a chance to learn more and explore how it might support your spiritual journey.
Meet members of the church’s Spiritual Directors Guild as they explain what it is and describe their work as spiritual companions.
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Living with Loss: How Will I Get Through the Holidays?NEW! - Saturdays Starting November 13, at 10:30 a.m.
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Holiday times can be some of the most challenging times for those who are grieving a loss. Grief is difficult at any time of year. It is doubly so as those around us prepare to celebrate. Holidays may not be the same, yet we offer hope that holidays can still be meaningful.
This class, facilitated by Rev. Wendy Fish and Kristin Guest, will offer support through sharing information on the grief process, listening to one another's stories, suggesting ideas for holiday plans and connecting with others. This class is directed toward those who have experienced the death of someone they love, or a divorce or estrangement.
Limited to 8 participants. Advance registration required.
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Program ResourcesAdult Programs, Social Justice, Learning Community, Music & Arts
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Nourishing the Spirit: Practice for the Long Haul
Next Gathering - Saturday, October 16 at 10:30 a.m.
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In a world of violence, injustice, and loss, the spirit struggles to stay hopeful when many of us feel burned out, discouraged, and exhausted. It is helpful to gather in community to share our journeys and affirm each other’s experience. This monthly gathering offers collective spiritual practices to strengthen the bonds among us. An ongoing commitment is not required.
Facilitated by Rev. Katherine Jesch.
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Vesper Prayer ServiceFriday's at 5 p.m.
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End your week with a brief quiet time of prayer, reflection, meditation and music offered by our Lay Ministers. Let this be a pause at the end of the week, to receive and to be held in love, without the need to converse. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link. An ongoing commitment is not required.
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Loving Kindness Meditation
Mondays at 8 - 8:30 p.m.
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Join us for a moment each week to extend Loving-Kindness to yourself, to those around you and to the world. Surround yourself in the blessings from those who have loved you and those who love you now. With this Meditation, over time, one can cultivate feelings of happiness and dispel loneliness, while letting go of fear and anxiety. No previous meditation experience necessary. An ongoing commitment is not required.
Facilitated by Pat Malone, Katie Radditz and Steven Storla.
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Art for Social JusticeThe Speaking of Justice Editorial Team offers weekly art to deepen our connection to the work for social justice and building the Beloved Community.
Curated by Ethel Gullette, Speaking of Justice Editorial Team
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"Surrender" - A fresh perspective on the poetry of Gbenga Adesina, Recited by Chad Mosley
A new recitation of a poem by award-winning poet Gbenga Adesina. Gbenga Adesina is a poet who lives and writes in New York. This poem is collected in “New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook."
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NEW! - Quilts for Empowerment 5th Annual Benefit Saturday, October 16, at 2 p.m.
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Please join our annual Quilts for Empowerment Benefit. This year, Nicholas Kristof, will welcome QFE supporters to open our 2021 virtual fundraising benefit! There will also be a virtual tour of the first phase of our Community Resource Center/Girls' Home. Learn more about our fistula survivors' small businesses, and more!
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In the Community
Longtime member William Flavelle died over the summer at the age of 78. He has been a member of the church since 1972. Pre-COVID, Will was in church most every Sunday, in the South side lower gallery. Whether it was in the narthex after church or when he stopped by the church office, Will was known to offer his ruminations on life and on the mystery.
Members Ed and Ellen McClaran are thrilled to announce the birth of their 5th grandchild, Paul Brown Owen, on September 29 in Nashville, TN. Paul weighed 8lbs, 2 ounces. Parents are Dr. Marcus and Hope Owen.
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COMMUNITY NEED! - Help a Family with Meals
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A family new to our church could use some help with meals. Heather and Naas recently moved here from out of state and Nass is in treatment for an aggressive cancer. Some good friends of theirs who are active in the church reached out to see if folks from the church could help.
A note from the organizer: Thank you everyone who has participated so far! Heather, Naas and the kids are loving the meals and Heather mentioned especially how much she has loved connecting with you all and getting to know such kind and thoughtful people in Portland.
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Our church year started with Homecoming Sunday on September 12. Though we all had hoped we would be back together, we find ourselves starting our second year as a virtual church. In the last few weeks, a group of Lay Ministers and volunteers has been calling congregants...continued.
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Naming First Unitarian Foundation in Your Will or Estate PlanHelp assure the long-term sustainability of this beloved congregation by including First Unitarian Portland in your will or estate plan.
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Having trouble viewing our services through the website?
Find our Live Streams on Boxcast, Youtube or on Facebook.
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Have a Submission for E-News?If you have a church-related submission you would like published in our weekly Front Steps (E-News), please submit it here with subject line “For E-News.”
Submission deadline is noon on Tuesdays.
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Sunday Live Stream
& Social Schedule
Join us LIVE from your computer or smart device.
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October Shared Plate For the month of October, we share our plate with Honor the Earth, a Native organization who provides financial and organizing support to Native environmental initiatives. Honor the Earth works closely with other women-led Indigenous groups fighting to Stop Line 3 tar sands oil pipeline...cont.
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Want to know what this church has to offer? Show up for events/classes/socials and stay engaged!
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Trying to find connection with those in the congregation with similar interests?
Contact one of the many groups run by members of the church and connect.
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Moved recently? Changed your phone number or e-mail? Fill out this form.
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