Ministerial Blog

Fun-Raising!

Rev. Alison Miller, Senior Minister

When people are new, they often ask me and others: What is a good way to get to know people in our community? There are a few answers to this, including classes, community/covenant circles, volunteering on a team, and hosting or attending Auction Events. Would you please help us to build community in the year ahead by considering hosting an event? The Auction Team will be accepting new events through Monday, April 13.

You might be wondering: what kind of event could I host? Here are twenty-two suggestions. You could choose one, or come up with your own...MORE

NEW! — There's Still Time to Donate to the Auction!

Plan a picnic, start a sing-a-long, bring out a banquet for the 2026 Auction!

We especially want to offer events that bring people together. Items donated are limited to those created by our congregants because our storage space is so limited. Register your event at the “Creating Connections” table until April 13, or sign up to be a sponsor. Visit the Auction website here if you prefer to do it online.

Then get ready to bid high on April 19 when the online Auction begins. 

NEW! TOMORROW — Good Friday Vespers Service

Tomorrow, Friday, April 3, 5 - 5:40 p.m.

Location: Zoom

This week's Vespers service will be in observance of Good Friday with Rev. Alison offering the reflection.

Our Lay Ministers will offer inspirational readings, guided meditation, and quiet music in a contemplative program at week’s end.

Congregants and visitors are invited to bring their prayer requests to be held during the service. They are received in real-time through the Zoom chat box, seen, and read aloud anonymously by the hosts. This is a time to join in prayer not only for our community but also for the world.

We look forward to sharing this time of quiet reflection with you when we are all holding so much in our hearts.

Click here to join the Zoom.

NEW! — Good Grief: Navigating Personal Loss

Sundays, April 12, 19, and 26, and May 17, 11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.

Location: First Unitarian

In this four-session class for people who are grieving the loss of a close family member, we will explore the nature of grief, offer the opportunity to share your own grief story, and conduct a ritual of remembrance. We will offer suggestions for coping with significant anniversaries and holidays. Resources will be provided.

There is no cost, but pre-registration is required. Register here. There is a limit of ten participants.

The group is facilitated by the Rev. Duane Fickeisen and Dr. Bill Yasnoff. Both are members of First Unitarian and have personal experience with being widowed and in facilitating grief groups.

Questions can be emailed to either Duane or Bill. Registrants will receive confirmation and the room location at First Unitarian before the first gathering.

New Member Bios

We are leading up to a very happy day... April 12! We'll welcome all the new folks and families that have decided to make the deeper commitment and connection by becoming or returning to membership of the church community! Several have submitted biographies that you can review.

Please visit the "Connection" tab of our church website and then the "Becoming a Member" page and you will find the new member biographies on the right of the page, or you can click here to go right to the page. Hope you enjoy getting to know a few of the new folks that you will see on Sunday, April 12, in the service.

Together We Weave This Community: Become a Member

Every person adds a thread to the fabric of our community. Learn what it means to become a member—and how you can be part of the weave.

At First Unitarian Portland, membership means saying yes—yes to belonging, to connection, and to helping shape the community we are creating together.

Why Membership Matters:

Becoming a voting member gives you a voice in the life and direction of our congregation. You help elect our Board of Trustees and vote on key decisions that guide our shared ministry and goals.

Three Steps to Voting Membership:

• Share your time and talent. Greet on Sundays, teach, join a committee, or lend a hand in caring for our space—each person’s contribution helps us weave a strong and welcoming community.
• Make and fulfill a financial pledge each year. Give as generously and sustainably as you can to support the church’s ministries and programs.
• Sign the Membership Record Book. This simple act makes your connection official and your commitment visible.

Checking Your Status:

Not sure if you’re currently a member? Call Jen Thomas at 503-228-6389 x65 or email her here to check. If you received a ballot to vote at the recent congregational meeting, you’re already on the membership list.

There’s still time to become an official member and be recognized at our Member Recognition Service on Sunday, April 12, during worship. Request a membership packet from Jen and return by this Sunday, April 5.

We’re so glad you’re here—because every thread strengthens the fabric we weave together.

Passover Neighbor-to-Neighbor Witness at ICE

Wednesday, April 8, 2 - 3 p.m.

Location: SW Portland at corner of S. Moody and S. Bancroft at the ICE Facility 

We have been gathering with other faith communities since December for interfaith witness rituals at the ICE building — joining in solidarity as we declare our moral outrage at the cruel practices of this administration. On this day our ritual will draw on traditions and teachings from our Festival of Liberation. Led by Rabbis Brian Mayer and Benjamin Barnett, and Student Rabbi Noah Dor Lind, we invite Jews and non-Jews to gather as we sing, connect, and tell the story of a more liberated world.

NEW! SAVE THE DATE — We All Need a Village: Weaving Community as We Age

Sunday, April 19, 11:45 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Location: Buchan Hall

First Unitarian's Senior Engagement (FUSE)

Rev. Tom Disrud will facilitate panelists from NW Villages. Learn about aging in place, community resources, and social engagement. Look in next week's Front Steps edition for more details.

UPDATE — Marilyn Sewell Social Justice Lecture 

Saturday, April 25, 1 - 4:30 pm

Location: Main Street Sanctuary

Sylvester Johnson, Professor of Black Studies at Northwestern University and one of the leading scholars in the country on Artificial Intelligence, race, religion, and society, will present a lecture entitled “AI as a Tool for Oppression and for Resistance & Liberation”. This lecture will explore tensions between state-sponsored surveillance and the growth of civic technology. Will AI ultimately serve to reinforce systems of oppression or will it enable new forms of resistance and liberation? It’s up to us! 

Following the lecture and Q&A, there will be a brief reception from 2:30-3:00 and then an optional workshop from 3:00 – 4:30, where we gather to identify specific actions that we can take in our community focused on social justice.

Tickets are free but registration is required. Click here to register for either the lecture or the lecture plus the workshop. Free parking will be available in the church parking lot on SW 12th. 

NEW! — Beacon Bookstore

Our store carries books about spiritual paths from a variety of perspectives and from differing faith traditions. Just as Unitarian Universalism draws from many sources, our store tries to offer both scripture and explanation to enrich each adult’s personal path. Current new books include essays and poetry from authors digging in their own spiritual soil to uncover their own truth, as well as a variety of new Thich Nhat Hanh books from his Buddhist perspective.

Is your Book Club lining up books you’ll read this spring and summer? The Beacon Bookstore can order all sorts of books and in that way direct 40% of the sale price to the Church’s bottom line. Help the Church’s budget AND start reading that new novel! Looking for a book on perennial gardening or antique VW repair? The same thing goes: If you purchase through our bookstore, the church gets 40%. Could you use a Dad Joke book to freshen-up your repertoire? Order from us and 40% goes to the church!

COMING SOON! Our own Minister Emerita Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell will be doing a reading here from her new book, Life Reimagined: Retirement as a Spiritual Journey. Watch future Front Steps e-news editions for the date. The book is available in our Fuller Hall Bookstore and will be at the Reading. We have several of Rev. Marilyn’s earlier books as well. 

CHECK WEEKLY — April 5 Newsletter

Rev. Leah Ongiri, Acting Director of Lifespan Faith Formation and Family Ministries

Any middle and high school aged youth who would like to help hide eggs for the hunt should report for duty in Buchan Reception at 9:45 am!...MORE

THIS SUNDAY — Guest Speaker on Affordable Housing

Sunday, April 5, noon
Location: Fireside Room


Committee on Hunger & Homelessness

You're invited to join us at our monthly meeting to hear Erika Mahoney Yen from REACH Community Development (CDC) share how REACH provides affordable housing and supportive services to thousands of people in the Portland area. 

Prayers for Peace

Sundays during social hour


Peace Action Group

For three Sundays since the beginning of the Iran war, we invited congregants to stop by the Peace Action table in coffee hour to write a prayer, commitment, reflection or plea on slips of paper hung from bare winter branches clustered in a basket. Thanks to each of you who participated in this silent time of seeking peace. For the next several Sundays, we will have those prayers nested in a basket and invite you to take one or more home with you to place on your altar, send to a friend in a card or perhaps hang outside on a tree.

A sampling of some of the prayers offered: Let your North star guide you ...Please soften the hearts of the hardhearted ... May we see the divine in all .. Stay soft, empathetic and vulnerable ... Hope keeps us going ... A better world where wealth is shared and we're all allowed to be our best selves...Kindness counts ...Love is louder ...May we all find peace and the root of peace ... May we have the courage to witness suffering without turning away...Every day, everyone everywhere imagines a just, peaceful, loving world and gives the dream power...Forgiveness, Inclusion... May you be safe and protected, free from suffering and filled with joy ...May we see the beauty that is all around when we take the time to stop and observe.

Shower Project Requests

Each week we offer unhoused neighbors a secure space to shower, enjoy a meal, get clean clothing, and experience refuge from conditions on the street.

We are always looking for more helping hands. Volunteers sign up for 2-hour shifts that work for their schedule - and enjoy meeting other congregants this way. If you're interested, please click here.

Your donations make a big difference in the lives of those we serve. We are in special need of the following items:

• Men's clothes, especially jeans/pants/sweats (30 - 36)
• Hoodies, sweatshirts, coats, and rain gear
• Boxer briefs - NEW (M, L)
• Women's underwear - NEW (S, M)
• Direct monetary donations

Drop off your items in the marked cabinet in Fuller Hall during Sunday church hours or during Shower Project hours (Wednesdays and Thursdays between noon and 4 p.m.).

For questions, email Casey C. Thank you!

CHECK WEEKLY — Art for Social Justice

Curated by Ethel G., Speaking of Justice Editorial Team

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.

"The New Breed," a poem by Alison Luterman, was ignited by the passion of Emma Gonzalez and the NEVER AGAIN movement.

March & April Art Wall Exhibition

Photographs by Dave Gallison