Join us for Sunday Worship
Sunday, August 7, 2022 // 10 a.m. PT
Childcare is available during our worship service for children three and under (located in the nursery).
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The World as Beloved Community
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Our sixth principle affirms that Beloved Community is not just for a few of us, it is for all the world.
As we strive toward this world community, how can we hold these values of peace, liberty, and justice in balance?
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Happening this Sunday
Timestamps are Pacific Time (PT) unless stated otherwise. Check out our Events Calendar for First U PDX gatherings.
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NEW! - Get Involved with UU The Vote Opportunities at First Unitarian
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First Unitarian is fired up for voter engagement mobilizing voters in key districts on issues that align with our UU values. Last Sunday, our Social Justice Program launched First Unitarian's UU the Vote campaign to engage voters in partnership with Forward Together, the Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of North Carolina.
You can watch Rev. Lisa Garcia-Sampson who Zoomed in from North Carolina to share what's at stake in the upcoming midterm elections and why partnering with our fellow UU's there is so valuable. Forty-seven people wrote letters at our launch event, and we are excited to share upcoming ways you can get involved.
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Sundays Following Worship Service in Fuller Hall
From this Sunday, August 7 - October 23
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Volunteers will staff a UU the Vote table in Fuller Hall during social hour. At that table, you can sign out packets of 20 letters to complete on your own at home and then return to church once completed. We are holding all completed and stamped letters until the end of October when we will send all the letters at once with "the Big Send." This is a timely strategy proven effective for motivating potential voters to get out and vote on issues that align with our values of human dignity, democracy, our interconnected web of life, and anti-oppression.
Please come by the table to learn more about UU the Vote and pick up and/or drop off voter-engagement letters.
Below in our events section are additional ways to engage in letter-writing. Keep your eyes peeled to the e-news for other ways that we will be partnering with our UU siblings in North Carolina.
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NEW! - Come Sing and/or Ring with Us!
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Our Music Ministry is preparing for the fall and would love to have you come sing and/or ring with us! Rehearsals for the fall term begin soon. Information can be found on our webpage.
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Summer Pick-Up Choir
Sunday Mornings at 8:30 a.m.
The choir is open to anyone who would like to participate on a week-to-week basis. If interested, simply show up to the sanctuary on the Sunday mornings of your choice at 8:30 a.m. Music will be provided when you arrive, and we'll all learn together for the 10 a.m. service.
No experience or on-going commitment necessary.
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NOW OPEN! - Your Church Bookstore Has Re-opened!
This Sunday after the service.
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We have lots of books on sale at 50% off, and we have many new titles for you to peruse. The most recent Meditation Manuals are now in stock, as well as many other titles from Beacon Press and Skinner House. AND Rev. Bill Sinkford has given us hundreds of books from his personal library to offer you at 50% off also. We are brimming with great titles – come visit us after Sunday service.
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Featured News & Events
Timestamps are Pacific Time (PT) unless stated otherwise. Check out our Events Calendar for First U PDX gatherings.
Gmail Users: You may have to scroll down to the bottom of this message and click on "View Entire Message" to see the complete Front Steps.
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS! - Wellspring Sources: 10-month Small Group Experience
Virtual gatherings start October 19, 7 - 9 p.m., first and third Wednesdays, Fall 2022 - Spring 2023
Eli Poore, Intern Minister & Facilitator
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Would you like the opprotunity to engage in spiritual deepening within our UU tradition? Would you like to learn more about yourself, others, and our faith through a 10-month virtual small group experience? Each year, many members of our church participate in this amazing journey.
If you have been involved with Unitarian Universalism for at least 12 months and have never participated in Wellspring in the past, please click the button below to watch a short video with more information and click here for the syllabus.
Registration for Wellspring Sources will open next Thursday. Look for the registration link in next week's e-news. (Wellspring alumni: information on advanced curriculum will be available soon)
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Upcoming Events, Workshops & Classes
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REMINDER! - Vigil for Troubling Times
Monday, August 8 // 8 - 8:30 a.m.
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Join us in inspirational music and readings to hold a prayerful time of quiet comfort in community. You may listen in private contemplation, without conversation or expectation, as we respond to grief with the faith, hope and love we cherish in our tradition.
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NEW! - Bi-weekly Letter-Writing Events at First Unitarian
UU The Vote Volunteer Opportunity
Monday Afternoon Letter-Writing Event
Monday, August 8, 2 - 4 p.m. // RSVP HERE
Tuesday Evening Letter-Writing Event
Tuesday, August 16, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. // RSVP HERE
Location: Buchan Reception Hall (Enter Reception Hall Directly from SW 13th Avenue: Door nearest to the corner of SW Salmon and SW 13th Ave)
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Leaders from our Social Justice Program will hold bi-weekly letter writing events on Monday afternoons and Tuesday early evenings. Come share a snack, get oriented to the voter engagement letter-writing process, and enjoy the fellowship of other congregants as you UU the Vote together.
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If possible, please bring with you:
- #10 letter envelopes; twenty (minimum)
- First-class Forever letter stamps; twenty (minimum)
- Pens and highlighters for writing your letters
We will have envelopes and stamps available if that makes your participation possible.
Proof of vaccination and masks required.
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Remembering Hiroshima & Nagasaki: Building Toward Nuclear Justice
Monday, August 8 // 6 - 7:15 p.m.
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Co-Sponsors Peace Action Group (PAG) & Oregon PSR invite First Unitarian congregants to attend the annual Portland-area memorial to the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
We are thrilled to announce a truly stellar lineup of performances this year including LaRhonda Steele and the Grace Gospel Quartet; Portland Taiko drummers; Tsubaki Buyo Doukoukai traditional Japanese dancers; a Marshallese youth dance troupe; and a sing-along with Hiru Gohan Group.
This in-person event is free and open to all; attendees must be fully vaccinated.
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All's Well That Ends Well: End-of-Life Planning Workshop
Thursday, August 11, 9:30 a.m.
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Oregon Memorial Association's “All’s Well That Ends Well” workshops offer you a chance to make end-of-life and plans in a thoughtful and supportive environment.
Learn more about how to plan, what to consider, and how best to make your wishes known to your loved ones and end-of-life care providers.
Masks and advance registration are required. Click the button below for registration information.
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| NEW! - Welcome to First Unitarian with Rev. Thomas Disrud
Virtual Class: Sunday, August 21, 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 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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NEW! - Transforming Hearts: A Free Course for Congregants
Complete at your own pace. Join anytime!
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This course is for everyone from novices on trans identity to those with decades of life experience. Rather than simply offering a “trans 101,” this class pushes participants to the next level of congregational welcome, relationship-building, and skills-building.
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REMINDER! - Vesper Prayer Service
This Friday at 5 p.m.
***PRAYER VESPERS WILL BE ON BREAK August 19 & 26
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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.
An ongoing commitment is not required.
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NEW! - WFWA 2022 Back to School Drive Please support the Western Farm Workers Association annual Back to School drive.
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Each year WFWA provides school supplies for approximately 100 families and 300 children. Purchasing school supplies each fall is a significant financial burden on families. Using the supply lists from the Hillsboro School District, WFWA estimates that it costs $75-$100 to purchase supplies for elementary school aged children, $125 for middle school students, and $150 for high school students.
IJAG invites the congregation to donate school supplies which will be delivered to WFWA during the month of August.
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Where to drop-off donations:
- IJAG table in Fuller Hall before or after services on the following Sundays: August 7, 14, and 21
- NE Portland: Email Mary Ann
- SW Portland: Email Laurie
Other ways to help:
- Interested in donating cash? This purchases supplies for an individual student, please email Mary Ann.
- Volunteers needed! Saturday, August 27 folks are invited to assist with sorting and distributing school supplies. For more information please email Mary Ann.
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REFLECTION - Art for Social JusticeThe Speaking of Justice Editorial Team offers art to deepen our connection to the work for social justice and building the Beloved Community.
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What to Do When the World Is Ending, essay excerpt by Yotam Marom
"Despair is also, quite simply, bad politics. By surrendering the fight outwards, despair refocuses us inward. It encourages what I’ve called the politics of powerlessness, marked by navel-gazing, endless process, posturing, and the internal power struggles and call-outs that weaken our organizations and movements. When we don’t believe we can win, we reach instead for the comfort of being surrounded by people who think and talk and look like us, the thrill of being part of the in-group, the small pleasures of being right and pure. In despair there is no need for good strategy, no need for healthy group culture. These are things we only need if we intend to take a real shot at winning. Despair is a self-fulfilling prophecy; it blocks us from taking agency, which makes it all the more likely that our worst fears will come to pass."
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In the Community
We hold member Melinda McGann. Melinda’s father, John McGann, died on July 10 as he and Melinda were traveling in Europe. John contracted Covid-19 three weeks into their five week trip up the Danube River in Austria and died seven days later. John spread a wide influence over family and friends including Melinda, her son Clay, five grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. He was an avid reader, historian, model ship and railroad builder, and traveler. He left the physical world on his terms doing what he loved. He will be missed.
We want to mark the retirement of Zaida Cooper, our church controller, who has served on our church staff for over 20 years. Zaida has played a very important and mostly behind-the scenes-role here, helping congregants with details about their pledges, tending to all kinds of accounting details—and perhaps most of all a staff member who has been there to do whatever it is that needs doing. Zaida, we’ll miss you and wish you well as you embark on a new chapter. On behalf of the staff and the congregation, thank you for your service.
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The Art Wall Committee is showing our work during the summer!
Come down to Fuller Hall to see the paintings of Connie Cleaton, Matt Schiewe, and Tupper Malone; the etchings of Leslie Pohl-Kosbau; and the assemblages of Julie Forbes.
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Do you have a reason to celebrate? Say it with flowers!
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Do you have a birth in the family, a graduation, an anniversary, a memorial, or other reason to celebrate? You can acknowledge it to the entire congregation by sponsoring a floral bouquet. As we reconnect with friends, say it with flowers on the Chancel.
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Having trouble viewing our services through the website?
Find our Livestreams 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 Livestream
& Summer Schedule
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August 7 Shared Plate
DRUUMM (Diverse Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries) is a UU People of Color ministry and anti-racist collective bringing lay and religious professionals together to overcome racism through resistance and to transform Unitarian Universalism through our multicultural experiences. DRUUMM serves hundreds of UUs of color (and counting) through chaplaincy, community-building, worship...continue.
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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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