Ministerial Blog

Bridging from Staff Back to Member

Rev. Alison Miller, Senior Minister

At our recent membership celebration Sunday, I shared that every year we become a new community. As new people join us – as new visitors, friends, and members join with us in fulfilling the promises and actions that create our congregation – we become different. While we are not wholly different, we are also not the same as we were the year before. This is also true with the transitions on our staff team, which includes people who participate in and contribute to the life of our community...MORE

NEW! — The Auction Continues

Bidding open through Sunday, May 3

The news is GOOD. Things are looking lots DRIER for the church because……the Auction is off to a great start! There was lots of excitement last Sunday when so many came down to Fuller Hall to register and take a look at the array of 145 incredible events, services, vacation homes and items that our many generous donors submitted.

Active bidding continues daily online until Sunday, May 3, when we will celebrate our success after service in the Buchan with entertainment and snacks for the whole family. Thanks to so many of you who are working to make this happen.

Join us again this coming Sunday in Fuller for Alliance pies, Rev Tom’s books, Shingles for sale and the Kids’ Raffle. There truly is something for everyone. Let’s continue to BID HIGH! so we can KEEP DRY!  

Honoring Rev. Tom

Deadline: May 18

Plans are underway for honoring Rev. Tom and his 31-year legacy in our church.

Part of that includes a book of memories, photos, stories and well wishes. Please take a bit of time and join us to create a lasting gift of love for Rev. Tom, by sharing your words, memories, and photos.

To create your page, click on this link and follow the instructions.

Please complete your page by May 18. We will present it to Rev. Tom at his retirement celebration on June 14.

If you need help with your page, email Kathy L.

Beltane / Gaelic May Day

Wednesday, April 29, 6 - 7 p.m.

Location: Buchan Hall

Rev. Charlotte Cramer

Join Rev. Charlotte Cramer for a Beltane celebration, another in a series of earth-based rituals following the Wheel of the Year. These rituals are simple and accessible to all, rooted in the earth and human experience, and for any faith background or belief system. Click here for more information about the full series.

On Wednesday, April 29, we will be celebrating the fullness of spring, your goals for the summer, and the joy of togetherness!

Note: This event will take place in Buchan Hall. Please enter through the Salmon Street entrance (1226 SW Salmon St).

Marilyn Sewell Social Justice Lecture 

This 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! — Mini Earth Fair for Families

Sunday, April 26, after the service

Location: Buchan Atrium

Join our 2nd-5th graders and members of Community of Earth for a mini Earth Fair this Sunday, April 26, after church in the Buchan atrium. Learn about the challenge of single use plastics and the ideas of our 2nd-5th grade class about how to address it. 

Do You Have Development and Grant-Seeking Experience?

Join a fun team supporting the financial success of the 13 Salmon Shower Project! The Shower Project Advisory Council meets via Zoom monthly. We are seeking a few new teammates, especially those with experience in nonprofit administration, development, or grant seeking. Please email Jamie M. or Ellen V.

NEW! — Beacon Bookstore

How many names did you know from the Bookstore blurb in last week’s Front Steps? You’ll find the answers posted inside your Beacon Bookstore just off Fuller Hall. Check the big lists posted on the pillar in the store. You’ll see all the posted names and lots more: names of famous Unitarians, Universalists, and Unitarian Universalist, and a few like-minded affiliated people.  

Saturday, April 25th is National Independent Bookstore Day!  

The Beacon Bookstore belongs to that illustrious group. Independent Bookstores typically do not / aren’t able to carry a huge range of titles, but reflect the particular focused priorities and interests of the cliental and the owner. In the case of First Unitarian’s Beacon Bookstore, our focus includes: books published by the UUA press, Skinner House Press, books to support or expound on Unitarian history, polity, people, and traditions; books providing elements of the source material we use from many religious practices (Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Bahai, Catholic, a variety of Protestant faiths, Native American sources, Wiccan, and more; books providing expanded or background information on topics we are discussing or that are being presented in classes such as justice issues, death and dying, parenting, the environment, political justice, economic justice, gender and sexuality issues, and racial justice; and books for children and youth in keeping with our practice. We also carry a good number of books that have been banned somewhere in the United States.

Toward a Beloved Community

A number of you have asked about Cindy Cumfer’s book, Toward the Beloved Community. Cindy is a First UU congregant and scholar who wrote a wonderful history of First Unitarian from our founding in 1865 through 2025. We have none left, but one can still find used copies through Amazon. We are looking at options for re-printing this important historical document about our church. More info to come.

Are White Men Smarter Than Everyone Else?

Steve Phillips’ book will be used as the basis for a discussion group / class in the fall. Our Bookstore has several copies now. Maybe this is some reading for the summer?  

The Separation of Church and Hate by John Fugelsang

This NYT Best-Selling author will be speaking in Portland on June 6 to benefit Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (both online and in-person.) Sign up at the Bookstore Cashier Desk if you’d like us to order a copy for you. In hardback only at this time. Well-written, well-documented and cited, humorous, and very readable book providing illustrations of differences between White Christian Nationalism and Jesus-centered Christianity. Fugelsang has appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, on MS NOW, and on a number of talk-shows. Tickets will go quickly - available through the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon website here.

CHECK WEEKLY — April 26 Newsletter

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

Two awesome engagement opportunities after the service this Sunday:

Swing by Community for Earth’s mini Earth Fair in Buchan Atrium for treats, education about single-use plastic, and a seedling giveaway.

Additionally, the auction is here! Come down to Fuller Hall to check out the many fabulous auction offerings. Buy a pie, get a $5 roof shingle, enter a prize raffle, shop children books, and bid on wonderful events. 

Check out this link to see all kinds of family friendly events and offerings. Movie night under the stars, enchilada dinner, Suavie Island garden hike, face painting for your party, sports tickets, babysitting, arts and craft night, Minute to Win It game, lavender wand-making, and more. 

Mark your calendar for our big auction celebration on May 3...MORE

Rumble on the River Data Centers Forum

Tuesday, April 28, 6:30 p.m.

Location: Main Sanctuary

Community for Earth (CFE) and Economic Justice Action Group (EJAG)

As a follow up to our Sewell Lecture about AI as a Tool for Oppression and for Resistance & Liberation, First Unitarian is hosting a session on data centers in Oregon. Aside from

providing limited long-term employment opportunities and receiving tax breaks, data centers demand extreme amounts of water, energy and land.

The excellent panel includes Klickitat Chief Wilbur Slockish, John DeVoe from WaterWatch, Kaleb Lay from Oregon Rural Action, Nellie McAdams from Oregon Agricultural Trust, Kelsey Shaw Nakama from Tualatin Riverkeepers, and Jody Wiser from Tax Fairness Oregon. Moderator: Barbara Bernstein, Filmmaker and host of KBOO Radio’s Locus Focus.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for tabling. Session begins at 6:30 p.m.

Day Without An Immigrant Strike, Rally, and March

Friday, May 1, 2:30 p.m.

Location: Meet at Eliot Chapel

On May Day, Oregonians and businesses are asked to participate in a no school, no work, and no shopping day of action to highlight the Administration’s continued assault on immigrant families and workers overall. This May 1st, we will come together again to honor immigrant workers at a time when our immigrant community is being targeted. 

There will be a rally and march starting at 1:30 p.m. in the South Park Blocks in Portland. If you want to join with your fellow First Unitarian Portlanders, meet in front of the Eliot Chapel at 2:30 p.m. and we will head to the rally together.  

Follow these links to find out more about how to stay safe at rallies and marches, info on the Day Without an Immigrant event, and make a pledge to support your immigrant neighbors.

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.

On 12 July 2022, Ada Limon, who is of Mexican-American descent, was named the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, the first Latina to hold that title.

March & April Art Wall Exhibition

Photographs by Dave Gallison