Sunday Worship at 10:15 a.m.
No RE classes this week. Nursery and toddler care only. Children & youth are always welcome in the Sanctuary.
Social Hour:Â Fuller Hall after the service.
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When we stand together, the wisdom and power of community is brought forth. People with clear moral conscience can resist in nonviolent ways and bring about social change. We can stand together for immigrant justice in so many ways: in accompaniment, in solidarity, acuerpados, all from our own context and our own experiences. We are invited to Stand Together!
A humanitarian at heart, serving to alleviate human suffering, Raiza is a person of faith committed to ensuring that migrant communities are met with dignity, safety, and care. Shaped by interfaith collaboration, she believes that even with our differences, we can choose to stand together and work towards collective solutions. She has worked nationally and locally in immigration and disaster response, helping shape policies so marginalized communities are seen, centered, and protected — not overlooked in planning rooms. She brings a field-tested understanding of how systems impact real people, and what it takes to move institutions toward justice. Known for her engaging, story-centered speaking style, she illustrates hard truths and brings esperanza (hope) and clarity to complex issues. At IMIrJ, she supports the organization’s operations and helps strengthen the collective work toward justice.
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Ministerial Blog
Neighbor Showing Up for Neighbor
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Thanksgiving is a holiday that contains a multitude of stories, which range from a narrative about gratitude to a narrative of mourning to a narrative of migration. This year, one of the backdrops of this day is the migration of people due to climate change, economic hardship, and oppression, as well as the unjust treatment of both longtime and recent black and brown immigrants in our country. This is a season for each of us to connect with our personal stories of migration, to practice hospitality to our neighbors, and to count the cost of ongoing acts of colonialism.
Note: Below in this blog post is an opportunity for you to show up for your neighbors and participate next Wednesday at 2 p.m. in an interfaith public witness by the ICE Facility here in Portland...MORE
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STARTS MONDAY — Advent by Email
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The sun has made its way around once again and we are getting ready for Advent By Email. As with last year, a reading and prompt for contemplation will be delivered to your email each day beginning December 1 and finishing on December 25.
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STARTS MONDAY — Matins for Advent
Mondays, December 1 through 22, 9 - 9:30 a.m.
Location: Zoom
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Do you love the Christmas pageant and the traditions of the Advent and Christmas stories? What if the symbols of the season have a deeper spiritual meaning for our lives than we may have considered?
Join Matins for Advent to learn more about a unique UU perspective on the metaphors of the season.
A quiet Zoom service of reflection, prayer, music, and poetry. Offered on Monday mornings, December 1, 8, 15, and 22.
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NEW! — The Alliance Presents "A Musical Conversation with Garrett Bond"
Wednesday, December 3, 10:30 a.m.
Location: Eliot Chapel
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Join for music and a presentation from Garrett Bond, our Interim Director of Music Ministries and award-winning vocalist, pianist, conductor, and composer.
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Neighbor-to-Neighbor Interfaith Witness at ICE
Wednesday, December 3, 2 - 2:45 p.m.
Location:Â Next to the ICE building, at the intersection of SW Moody & SW Bancroft
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First Unitarian is proud to co-sponsor the first of a series of interfaith witness rituals at the ICE building on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. Neighbor-to-Neighbor Interfaith Witness at ICE is an opportunity for faith communities to be in solidarity, declaring our moral outrage at the cruel practices of abducting community members, terrorizing communities, and separating families, in the name of an inhumane political agenda. We will be shoulder-to-shoulder to bear witness to our outrage, deepen our relationships, and build solidarity among our interfaith communities. Rev Alison, Rabbi Benjamin Barnett from Havurah Shalom, and other downtown clergy will lead us in a ritual of solidarity on December 3 from 2 - 2:45 p.m. at the ICE facility.
Each of the bi-monthly witness rituals will be sponsored by a neighborhood or geographic region, starting with downtown faith communities. This series is supported by Together Lab, which has been organizing interfaith clergy to be a daily moral presence at the ICE facility on Macadam and at the Federal Courthouse downtown, as well as organizing neighbor-to-neighbor solidarity with teachers and families around Portland. We hope that in addition to attending on December 3, you will mark your calendars through March for this steady stream of neighbors showing up for neighbors.
Please dress accordingly for the weather. We ask that you not bring signs. We will provide whatever is needed for the ritual.
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NEW! — First Steps Class on December 7
Sunday, December 7, 11:45 a.m.
Location: Channing Room (A101)
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Please join us for the next First Steps tour and orientation to First Unitarian Portland ffering on December 7 at 11:45 a.m. We will meet in the Channing Room to get to know each other, learn a little about First Unitarian Portland, and take a tour of the campus. Session will conclude by 1 p.m.
Grab a hot beverage in the atrium in Buchan where social hour is being held and join us! If you need help finding your way, ask anyone wearing a rainbow lanyard/nametag or stop by First Connections table and folks will help guide you.
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Alliance Treasures & Cookie Sale
Sundays, December 7 and 14, after the service
Location: Buchan Hall
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Come one, come all to the Alliance Treasures & Cookie Sale in Buchan Hall after the services on December 7 and 14.
You’ll find lots of jewelry, beautiful scarves, Christmas treasures, and unique handmade items, as well as homemade cookies galore!
(You could even buy some cookies to freeze and save for the Christmas Cookie Potluck on December 21!)
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Registration for OWL Available Now: Classes for Adults and Youth
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We have a long tradition of offering Our Whole Lives (OWL) lifespan sexuality education.
OWL values:
- Self worth
- Sexual health
- Responsibility
- Justice/inclusivity
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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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November 23 & 30 Newsletter
Rev. Leah Ongiri, Acting Director of Lifespan Faith Formation and Family Ministries
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Dear Ones,
Come decorate with us! We're having a Gingerbread House Building Party on Saturday, December 6, from 10 - 11:30 a.m.
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Faithful Resistance: The Power of Noncooperation
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Join Dana Buhl, Director of Social Justice, and Mary Ann B. to explore how we as Unitarian Universalists can work together to resist authoritarianism, grounded in our faith and acting in community. We’ll learn about the local and national movement to build people power through the nonviolent strategy of noncooperation.
This will be a 90-minute interactive workshop. Space is limited and registration is required. Please register here.
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As we reflect on two years of the 13 Salmon Shower Project, we are overwhelmed with gratitude for the compassion of this congregation. Together, we've provided a safe space for showers, clean clothes, and connection for more than 2,000 of our unhoused neighbors.
Winter is here, bringing a harsh reality for those without housing. These three essentials can help protect our guests from the cold:
- Beanies / knitted hats (black or gray preferred)
- Warm gloves
- Men's sweatpants (small & med)
Drop off your items in the marked cabinet in Fuller Hall during church hours or during Shower Project hours (Wednesdays and Thursdays between noon and 4 p.m. at 13th and Salmon). Thank you for your support! Starting on Sunday, November 30, these gifts can be delivered to the Giving Trees located in the Sanctuary lobby and Buchan atrium.
If you’d like to offer a financial contribution directly to the Shower Project, please donate here.
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NEW! — Join Our Holiday Gift Drive for Avalon Village
Sundays, December 14 and 21, during social hour
Location:Â COHHO table
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As we did last year, COHHO is again coordinating a holiday gift drive for WeShine's Avalon Village residents. Located in Inner Southeast Portland, Avalon Village serves women and female-identified adults and prioritizes those who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, older adults, people with chronic health conditions or disabilities, and individuals who have been camping nearby.
Avalon villagers now have a warm, safe and welcoming place to live. However, they still have no or limited financial means to purchase essential items for their personal welfare. Avalon staff asked the villagers what they would like for the holidays that would make a difference in their lives at this time. COHHO has their list and another one for the village itself (e.g., pantry food items). Now it’s time to fulfill their wish list!
If you would like to contribute to our gift drive, please email Cynthia S. and she will share the list with you. COHHO elves will collect the gifts after the services on December 14 and 21. Please join us in making our second holiday gift drive for Avalon Village a great success. Happy Thanksgiving!
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They Need Us More Than Ever
Location:Â COHHO bins in Fuller Hall
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Food is a human right and access to it should never be in question. Yet it has been, especially with the significant changes to SNAP eligibility and the federal government’s unprecedented funding cuts. And let’s not forget November’s SNAP interruption! Besides causing fear, anxiety and stress for the Portland area’s most vulnerable, these changes have strained the capabilities of food pantries like Lift UP, which is reporting a steady and heavy increase in food assistance requests.
How can you help? First things first - go gleaning in your kitchen cupboards! You might have some shelf-stable jars, cartons or boxes that you forgot you had or don’t intend to consume. Donate them to Lift UP. Just put them in the COHHO cabinets under the clock in Fuller Hall; we’ll deliver them to Lift UP.
Secondly, when you shop for groceries, buy extra pasta, nut butter, almond milk, or soup cartons to put in those COHHO cabinets.
Lastly, consider making a financial donation to Lift UP (or the Oregon Food Bank). They can purchase in bulk and make your money go farther than you can.
However you can contribute during these especially challenging times, we thank you. Every small act strengthens the foundation beneath us all.Â
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Listen In to Learn About Our Organizing Partners for Immigrant Justice
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Two of First Unitarian's community partner organizations were highlighted on OPB's Think Out Loud in recent weeks. We hope that you can listen in to learn more about the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC) aired on October 27 and the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ), our November shared plate recipient, aired on November 17.
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CHECK WEEKLY — Art for Social Justice
Curated by Ethel G., Speaking of Justice Editorial Team
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Last week's link has been corrected!
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.
During this Native American Heritage Month, it is good to honor Lyla June, who is a co-founder of The Taos Peace and Reconciliation Council, which works to heal intergenerational trauma and ethnic division in the northern New Mexico. She is a walker within the Nihigaal Bee Iiná Movement, a 1,000-mile prayer walk through Diné Tah (the Navajo homeland) that is exposing the exploitation of Diné land and people by uranium, coal, oil, and gas industries. To listen to her song "All Nations Rise," click the video:
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In the Community
Member Julie Grice is back at home after a long stay in the hospital. Julie appreciates calls and visits. We send our good thoughts to Julie as she continues her recovery.
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- Contact a Minister: Our ministers are available for pastoral support to congregants in need and to officiate at rites of passages including memorial services and weddings. Call the church office at 503-228-6389, or send an email.
- Contact a Lay Minister: Lay Ministers support the pastoral work of the ministerial staff. They are church members who offer one-to-one caring and support for folks in times of need. Call the church office at 503-228-6389, or send an email. You can learn more here.
- Friend to Friend Outreach Program: This program provides connection to seniors and individuals who may be homebound and unable to attend church regularly. It offers members up to four in-person visits per year from a Lay Minister. Send an email to Lay Minister Steve K.
- Lotsa Helping Hands Support Network: This care calendar enables volunteers to provide meals or visits for congregants going through challenging times. For support or questions, email coordinator Leslie C. To volunteer, send a request here.
- Join an Affinity or Support Group:Â Build community through our identity-based affinity groups and experience-specific support groups. Learn about them here.
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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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November & December Art Wall Exhibition
Biennial Congregant Art Show
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Come down to Fuller Hall to see the talented artists we have in the congregation during November and December!
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Got something for Front Steps? Send in your church-related submission for our weekly publication. Submit it here (preferred) or email us here with "Front Steps" as the subject line.
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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| November's
Shared Plate
This November, we share our plate with the Sanctuary Fund of the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ), a long-time partner of First Unitarian. IMIrJ is guided by the shared teachings of diverse faith traditions of the members that call us to uphold the dignity and humanity of all people, especially those most impacted by injustice. We believe that every person deserves a safe place to live, food on the table, and the opportunity to move forward and thrive. The Sanctuary Fund provides emergency financial support to newly arrived immigrant families and individuals facing the consequences of deportation.Â
Through the Sanctuary Fund, our interfaith movement provides support that extends beyond emergency relief, fostering stability, a sense of belonging, and the conditions for long-term well-being. We believe true sanctuary is not only protection—it's the collective work of creating a just and generous world where everyone can flourish.
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| Want to know what this church has to offer? Visit our Calendar by clicking above to see our list of events/classes/socials!
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