Online Service Only!No In-Person Activities or Events this Sunday
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ONLINE Sunday Worship at 10:15 a.m.
There will be no child care this Sunday. The full Learning Community (RE) program resumes in the fall.
Social Hour: There will be no Social Hour this Sunday.
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UUA General Assembly Broadcast
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All UUs are invited to watch the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) General Assembly’s online worship service from their homes this Sunday. Click here for the livestream link.
Our building will be closed!
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Ministerial BlogAdventures and New Horizons
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Thank you to everyone who wished me well on my 3-month sabbatical and welcomed me home with open arms this last week. My time away was renewing and I’m returning with refreshed focus and determination for our work together in these very challenging times. It was a joy to come back for the fabulous turnout for the No Kings protest last Saturday and Sunday’s beautiful Shower Project volunteer recognition and celebration of our Shower Coordinator Kelly’s completion of graduate school! Thanks to every congregant and staff person who not only covered my ongoing work tasks, but also took our community efforts into new territories. What a gift it is to work and adapt with you all...MORE
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Summer Community Choir
Sundays, June 29 through August 31, 8:45 a.m.
Location: Main Sanctuary
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Our summer choir is “come one, come all!”
If you’d like to sing, show up in the Main Sanctuary at 8:45 a.m. before the service on the Sunday/s of your choice to learn that day’s music.
No commitment required! Sing once, or every week, or anything in between — whatever fits for you.
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First Share Table Helpers Needed!
Sundays through August 31, 11:45 a.m.
Location: Social hour
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Help staff the First Share table one Sunday this summer, or every Sunday, or anything in between — whatever fits for you. No commitment required! Email Christine to volunteer or get more information. You can also call the church (503-228-6389) to get in touch with Christine.
A few encouraging words from Christine:
When planting your garden this summer
Too much zucchini's a bummer
Don’t be a produce porch dumper
Be a veggies-sharing pumper!
And please be advised
Our table needs to strive
To serve all who arrive
Each Sunday at 11:45!
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NEW! — Sign Up Now for Summer Yoga!
Sundays, July 6 & 20, August 3 & 17, 9 - 10 a.m.
Location: Room A108
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This summer, we will have four pre-service yoga sessions led by our own Ginny K. The first session will take place on July 6 at 9 a.m. Class is limited to 15 folks and all levels are welcome to attend.
For more information and to reserve your spot for the first session, visit this form.
Each session requires separate registration. On July 7, the sign up form will be available for the July 20 session.
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Check Out Our 2025 Summer Program Guide
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Beginning this Sunday, First Unitarian Portland will be on our summer schedule! Sunday worship services continue at 10:15 a.m. followed by social hour, a few new offerings will appear, and some groups and activities will pause until the new church program year begins in September.
To find out more, visit our Summer Program Guide on our website. This will be updated throughout the summer with any additions or changes.
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The Committee on Right Relations is Being Established!
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First Unitarian Portland is establishing a Committee on Right Relations to serve our community. This independent committee will provide us with education and skills, processes and procedures, and direct assistance to address conflict within our church. Next steps are to select the individuals who will serve on this committee.
To be in Right Relations is to experience a sense of wellbeing that happens when we bring our best selves to all our interactions to resolve inevitable conflicts in a constructive way. A covenant is a set of promises we make to one another in community. Thus, to covenant with one another about right relations is to engage in the spiritual and everyday practice of building and maintaining healthy connections.
The Committee on Right Relations is chartered to:
- Tend the Church Covenant and the Covenant of Right Relations and support the congregation as it strives to live into the Covenants.
- Foster a vision of conflict as an opportunity for understanding, healing and growth.
- Model, teach, foster and support faithful communication and healthy and respectful relations.
- Assist congregants and the Church to practice creative conflict engagement and restoration of right relations.
Seeking Applications
- If you are interested in applying to be a member of the Committee on Right Relations, or if you know a congregant who would be great at this work, a link to the application can be found here, including criteria, selection process, and desired skills and abilities
- Applications are due by July 15, followed by a selection process. The intention is to have a group of names for Board approval at the September 3 Board meeting and announce the Committee on Right Relations to the Congregation later that month.
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Letter from the Board: June 2025
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As your church Treasurer and Board member, I have three items to share with all of you.
The biggest news is that the Stewardship Committee has been re-formed. So far our congregant members are Dave Hoffman, Mabsie Walters, Dev Dion, and me. We will work closely with the Executive Team and Stewardship Manager Erin Tafuri. We have begun a 3-to-5 year plan on developing an even more generous church. More on this soon!...MORE
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Join your fellow UUs across the globe this summer in reading Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and their Families (Skinner House, 2023).
You can purchase this book now from the Beacon Bookstore in Fuller Hall during social hour. On September 7, Dr. Amy O. and Aileen M. from our congregation will lead a discussion around the book and its topics.
The UUA states, "Through interviews and photo portraits, the subjects of this book invite readers into their real lives—their revelations, challenges, joys, and networks of support. This Common Read invites UU groups to explore the nature of living authentically and the ways connections among us help us thrive."
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Around the Church
Enjoyed coming to gatherings at First Unitarian Portland? Consider contributing to sustaining our community. Your support goes a long way in fostering meaningful connections. Thank you!
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NEW! — UU General Assembly Week in the Bookstore
Location: Fuller Hall
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Some of us will be attending the annual UU General Assembly in Baltimore in person this week. Many of us will attend Sunday’s service and maybe other GA events online. The UUA’s national bookstore is offering free shipping on orders of $25 and up this week. It’s a terrific opportunity to purchase books by featured speakers, and many other titles. It’s an even better deal if you’re thinking of ordering “heavy” reading – like hymnals!! Our bookstore at First Unitarian always carries some of these books – and will have a few of the current conference hot sellers, but won’t be ordering more than a few of each title.
Thank you to those of you who are keeping us in mind for special orders! We’re very happy to search for that great Napa/Sonoma cookbook you passed up and now know you need – or the 4th book in your favorite mystery author’s series! Does your book club have some dark Scandinavian novel coming up on its list? We’re very happy to order them for you! About 40% of the sale price goes to the Church.
Dear soon-to-be 4th, 5th, and 6th graders: the Bookstore would like to put together a summer reading list for you and your friends. What books should we include? Please give us some ideas at the Bookstore table on June 29th! Your adults are welcome to give us their ideas, too—but we’ll list those separately. 😊
Thank you for supporting your very own small independent bookstore!
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Family Fun at UU Summer Camp
Location: Seabeck Conference Center, Seabeck, Washington
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Did you know that over 30 First Unitarian Portland families and members regularly attend the Eliot Institute UU summer camps? Some have been attending for generations! It is held at the Seabeck Conference Center on Washington’s Hood Canal, only a 3 1/2 hour drive from Portland. It’s magical and fantastic for all ages.
Summer camps are July 12 to 19 or August 2 to 9. Creative Arts Eliot is August 9 to 13.
Learn more at these links:
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CHECK MONTHLY — June Newsletter
Rev. Leah Ongiri, Acting Director of Lifespan Faith Formation and Family Ministries
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This e-news is monthly in June, July, and August.
Dear Learning Community,
Did you or your family participate in, help with, or attend Learning Community events or the Religious Education program? If so, we'd like to hear from you. Thank you for honoring us with your feedback about what worked and what could work better...MORE
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Join Our Food Drive
Location: Fuller Hall
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Thank you for helping to make a difference in the health and well-being of the many who are food-insecure by responding to our request for food donations.
We delivered them to Lift UP, a local non-profit that distributes food to individuals and families in the pantry they operate (Preston’s Pantry) and in 50 affordable housing buildings in Northwest and Downtown Portland.
Sadly, the need continues. So, please remember that fact the next time you go food shopping. And purchase whole grain pasta; brown rice; low-sodium broths, veggies and sauces; canned tuna, salmon or meat; nut butters, and/or shelf-stable milks. Then drop off the items in the COHHO bins located in Fuller Hall by the kitchen. Every two weeks we will gather your donations and deliver them to Lift UP’s warehouse. Or, you can make a financial donation directly to Lift UP.
Thank you so much!
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FINAL WEEK UNTIL AUTUMN — Art for Social Justice
Curated by Ethel G., Speaking of Justice Editorial Team
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During the program year, the Speaking of Justice Editorial Team offers weekly art to deepen our connection to the work for social justice and to build the Beloved Community. This is the final piece until autumn.
In honor of Summer Solstice, here is a song of gratitude, respect and appreciation for our earth. Lea Morris is a Washington-born, Germany-based singersongwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Her music is a mix of genres: folk, soul, gospel, Americana, blues, and rock. She has performed at many Unitarian Universalist events and churches, including our own, and she will be the featured leader at this year's July Eliot Camp. To listen to "Life Will Find a Way," watch the video below:
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In the Community
A memorial is planned for member Pete Guest this Saturday, June 21, in the Eliot Chapel at 1 p.m. Pete died on May 27 at the age of 84.
John Rosette who works in our front office had a total knee replacement on Friday, June 13, and is recovering at home. He plans to be back at work at the end of August.
Member Julie Grice asks for our healing thoughts. Julie was admitted to OHSU last Thursday evening, and eventually underwent minor surgery. She is looking forward to recovering at home.
Member Emily Barrett attends most Sunday services with her mother Patricia Barrett, who moved to Portland late last year. Emily wants to lift up her mother for reaching 30 years of sobriety on June 1, 2025. Quite an accomplishment, and our sobriety "birthday" congrats to Patricia on this milestone.
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Do you have a birth in the family, a graduation, an anniversary, a memorial, or other milestones to share?
You can acknowledge it to the entire congregation by sponsoring a floral bouquet. As we connect with friends, say it with flowers on the Chancel.
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May/June Art Wall Exhibition
Artwork by Julian Hunter
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Julian Hunter has been painting for the past sixty years. He has developed a painting method that harnesses the latest color pencil & acrylic layering, a technique to empower the painter with a high degree of artistic control that has never been possible before.
As an artist, he has come to believe that beauty is not out there waiting to be discovered. Rather, beauty is created by the human act of noticing and appreciating natural wonders. He feels that his primary task as an artist is to notice and to appreciate the hidden secrets of natural beauty in nature's purest form, and only then to share his experiences with others through his interpretation.
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Recurring Workshops, Classes & Gatherings
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| During our summer schedule, some groups and activities will pause until the new church program year begins in September. Check out our Summer Program Guide on our website to learn more.
For information about which groups are meeting over the summer, please visit our Community Groups & Activities page and contact the specific group in which you are interested.
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Got something for Front Steps? Send in your church-related submission for our weekly publication. Use "Front Steps" as the subject line and email us here.
Deadline: Tuesdays at 5 p.m.
If your submission is urgent and couldn’t be sent before the deadline, please include “URGENT” in the subject line.
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| This Week's Shower Project Request
Your donations make a big difference in the lives of those we serve. All donations are greatly appreciated. At this time, we are in special need of the following items:
- Blankets
- Disposable razors
- Hoodies (all sizes)
- Boxer briefs (M-L)
- Men's white t-shirts (M-L)
- Cup o' Noodles
- Protein bars
Please bring your items to donate to the cabinet in Fuller Hall, next to the kitchen. Thank you for your support!
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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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