NEW! — Help Us Cross the Finish Line: Funding Our Church for 2026

Deep gratitude goes to everyone who has participated in our campaign and Pledged a gift for 2026. Because of your generosity, we are 90% of the way to our goal, having raised just over $1.3 million. That milestone reflects how deeply our community believes in what we’re building together.

We’re not starting something! We’re finishing something!



To close this campaign and steward a 2026-2027 budget without major cuts, we need to raise an additional $60,000.

This is an invitation to participate if you can. Some of you may be in a position to give again by making a one-time gift now. Others may be able to give for the first time. So if you haven’t given yet please do, if you haven’t pledged yet please do. This will allow us to fulfill the financial commitments our community has planned in 2026. 

Ministerial Blog

The Good Earth

Rev. Alison Miller, Senior Minister

There are several vital streams that nourish the spirit of our community, and music is certainly one of them. This is a pivotal time in our musical life together as we savor Garrett Bond’s last few months as our Interim Music Director and as we seek to find our next Music Director for 2026 – 2027. The Music Ministry Transition Team will be looking through the applications we have received so far beginning next week, so please do share the open position with people who might be interested and suggest they apply post-haste. The good news to share is that we have already received a number of applications from people hoping to serve as our next Music Director...MORE

NEW! — Building Hours Update & Evening Scheduling Changes

As many of you know, our budget picture has shifted this year. A significant reduction in tenant income, along with somewhat lower overall giving with a lower number of members, means we’ve had to make some careful staffing adjustments. As a result, evening coverage on our campus is changing. As these updates roll out, we are grateful for how supportive our lay leaders and members are in embracing changes that will help us keep living our mission and serving our community...MORE

Notes from the Music Ministry Transition Team

The holidays are over, the decorations are back in the attic and we are into a new year. It’s good to see activities in the church turn toward the future. It’s also good to see the days becoming a little longer. So, it’s time to bring you up to date on the search for a Director of Music Ministries. 

Over the holiday break, the Music Ministry Transition Team met several times to send out announcements of our search. We have sent them to the UUA, a national choral director’s association, and to local music job boards. In addition, we have notified individuals whom we know are in a position to spread the word. We have received several applications so far. Our deadline for applications is February 15. We expect more applications in the near future.

We will be interviewing applicants in February and March and hopefully hiring the top candidate in April.

If you know of someone who would make a terrific Director of Music Ministries, please send them this link and encourage them to apply. Thank you and remember we love to answer your questions.

Your Music Ministry Transition Team: Michael Murray, Theo Harper, Holly Stern, Ameena Amdahl-Mason, Richard Scher, Rev. Alison Miller, and Rev. Tom Disrud

NEW! — Considering Membership Class

Sunday, March 1, 11:45 a.m.

Location: Channing A101

Jen Thomas, Director of Congregational Life

Every community is like a tapestry—each person adding their own color and texture to the whole. If you’ve been attending First Unitarian Portland and are feeling ready to become a woven part of the fabric of this congregation, we invite you to our Considering Membership class.

In this one-session gathering, you’ll learn about the commitments and joys of membership, ask questions, and—if you’re ready—complete the necessary steps to officially join, including signing the membership book.

Please let us know you’re coming by filling out this RSVP form. Childcare will be available.

Whether you’re new to Unitarian Universalism or simply new to Portland, we’d be honored to help you find your place in the weave of our shared spiritual community.

NEW! — Vigils for Troubling Times

4th Tuesdays through June, beginning February 24, 5:30 - 6:15 p.m.

Location: Zoom

Are you struggling to cope with the daily news and events in these dark days? Spiritual Directors and First U members Karen S., Sophia D., and Sara H. invite you to join Vigils for Troubling Times, a quiet service of music, poetry, readings, reflection, and meditation offered on Zoom. Click here to join.

We will gather in community for lament, solace, inspiration and hope. The series will continue on the 4th Tuesday of each month through the church year: February 24, March 24, April 28, May 26, and June 23.

NEW! — Week 2: Celebrating Black History Month

To celebrate Black History Month, the Advancing Racial Justice Action Group (ARJAG) is sharing stories each week about the roles Black people played and continue to play in the history of our state, nation, and religious tradition. We’re also displaying a timeline poster in Fuller Hall, offering Antiracism Learning Circles, and hosting a special event after church on February 22.

Unitarian Universalism (UU) history has reflected the white culture and white supremacy history of our United States. While we can point to a few UU abolitionists in the 1800s, we also have a former Universalist minister in the 1920s who was a Ku Klux Klan member and held Klan meetings at the church (UUWorld, 2018).

In 2017, Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed at the Minns Lectures at First Church in Boston spoke about how our lack of knowledge about the engagement of Black people in our denomination biases our understanding of who we UUs are today. (See link below.)

The contributions of Black people to our UU development have often been hidden...MORE

NEW! — This Sunday in the Beacon Bookstore

There are a number of books in stock (in multiples) to support classes and book clubs. The All About Love (bell hooks) discussion group begins on February 12. We also have two of her other books.

First Unitarian author, Marilynne Eichenger, has a program coming up on her book, Water Factor: A Rightfully Mine Novel. You’ll find last year’s Everybody Reads book from the UUA, Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans & Nonbinary People & Their Families, on the bookstore’s cashier table. This is one of the source books being recommended for the Adult OWL class.

There are plenty of 1st UU t-shirts available at $25 each, sizes XS Adult/Large child through XXL Adult. We have some cheery ceramic coffee mugs from the UUA – a great way to begin your day – for $15 each. You are cordially invited to browse! About 40% of our proceeds go right to the church’s bottom line.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

CHECK WEEKLY — February 15 Newsletter

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

Our friends at Harvard UU Church are celebrating Black History Month by creating short videos about some of our beloved African American Unitarian and Universalist ancestors. Learn about Rev. Egbert Ethelred Brown and his quest to build a church where all were welcome. Meet Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, who used her voice to change the world. And don't forget about Lewis Hayden and his courageous fight against slavery...MORE

NEW! — Protect Gender-Affirming Care

Respond by tomorrow, February 13!

First U Trans Support Team

Our friends at Basic Rights Oregon (BRO) are soliciting letters from the community in opposition to new proposed rules from Washington affecting transgender care. Under the proposed rules, hospitals participating in Medicare/Medicaid would likely have to stop providing gender-affirming treatments to people under 19 years old or risk losing federal funding. Additionally, federal Medicaid and CHIP funds would not cover these treatments for minors. They could go as far as to cut all Medicaid funding to any institution providing such care. These regulations are not yet in effect. A comment period is now open through February 17.

Please take a moment to go to BRO’s website and click on the banner to protect gender-affirming care for youth. This will take you directly to a form you can use for this purpose. Note: BRO is packaging letters from throughout the state for submission so please reply at your earliest convenience and no later than February 13. BRO has promised to strip any identifying information from these replies for everybody’s protection. 

Neighbor-to-Neighbor Interfaith Witness at ICE

Wednesday, February 18, 2 - 2:45 p.m.

Location: Next to the ICE building, at the intersection of SW Moody & SW Bancroft

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. 

Each of the bi-monthly witness rituals will be held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month, sponsored by a neighborhood or geographic region. 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 February 4, 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.

Justice Delayed, Finally Gained: How Portland Families Displaced by Urban Renewal Won Restitution

Sunday, February 22, 12 p.m.

Location: Eliot Chapel

Advancing Racial Justice Action Group (ARJAG)

Ms. Byrd, the founder of Emanuel Displaced Persons Association 2 (EDPA2), with whom our congregation has been long connected, returns to recap and update the efforts that led to their remarkable settlement with the City of Portland last year. Under Byrd’s determined and creative leadership, EDPA2 persisted for many years as an ad hoc, community-based social justice organization made up of people whose family homes and businesses had been demolished in the 1970s to make way for a hospital expansion that never happened. Byrd dedicated almost ten years of her life to advocating and agitating for justice, for restitution. It was Byrd’s scholarship, study, research and persistence that led to the filing of a lawsuit that resulted in an unprecedented settlement. Don’t miss this uplifting story about a successful struggle to achieve redress that took more than 50 years.

Winter Antiracism Learning Circles

Dates & times vary

Location: Zoom

You are invited to join an Antiracism Learning Circle this winter. It’s on Zoom, so you can join from anywhere. Invite your friends, too. Circles have started, but there's still time to register.

Full descriptions, schedules & registration information are HERE.

A printable flyer is HERE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This Winter 2026 we are offering:

• Seeing White - Start your journey here! The real history of the US, the one none of us were taught in school. Documentary podcast series from Scene on Radio.
• The Land That Has Never Been Yet - an examination of whether we have ever had a real democracy. Documentary podcast series from Scene on Radio.
• Doughnut Economics - seven ways to think like a 21st century economist to thrive, not just grow
• Master Plan - The 50-year plot to legalize corruption in the US
• It’s Not You, It’s Capitalism - a guide to budding anti-capitalists
• This Chair Rocks - a manifesto against ageism
• Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America - and how to solve it
• The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story - a revealing vision of American past and present

LEARNING CIRCLES are small discussion cohorts based on a book or podcast that provide:

• Important learning about white supremacy, racism, and our national history
• The opportunity to build trust and go deep in small group discussions over time
• A safe place to have difficult discussions and deal with discomfort
• An opportunity to create and strengthen relationships with others
• Connection, focus and purpose in a virtual setting

How Do LEARNING CIRCLES Work?

• Each cohort (typically 4-12) gathers for a series (from 6-12 sessions) of facilitated Zoom discussions.
• Register for specific Learning Circle(s). Meeting dates & times vary.
• Everyone is given the opportunity to share reactions, then discuss as a group
• We ask that you plan to attend all sessions so we can build bonds of trust and insight

For questions, email Jody F. 

NEW! — The Water Factor: A Reading and Discussion

Sunday, March 1, 11:45 a.m.

Location: Classroom B304

Community for Earth (CFE)

Join members of Community for Earth for a reading from The Water Factor, a near-future eco-thriller set in the Oregon High Desert, and a discussion of what happens when something as sacred as water is treated as a commodity instead of a human right. Light refreshments provided. Grab a drink from coffee hour and join us for a lively conversation...MORE

NEW! — Equal Rights for All Campaign Update

Care & Action for Reproductive Dignity (CARD)

The Equal Rights for All coalition has made the difficult decision to withdraw the proposed 2026 ballot measure to protect abortion access and gender-affirming care in Oregon’s Constitution. The purpose of the measure was to add long-term constitutional protection for these rights. Oregon continues to have strong statutory protections for abortion and gender-affirming care under state law and constitutional prohibitions against sex discrimination.

Expanding constitutional protection remains an important goal that the Care and Action for Reproductive Dignity (CARD) team supports and looks forward to working on in the future. We are grateful to First Unitarian's involvement in this initiative through sponsorship, petition signing, and signature collection - thank you! CARD will continue its work on education, collaboration, and action in support of reproductive justice. Join us at our next meeting on February 21.

NEW! — Thank You, First Unitarian!

Immigrant Justice Action Group (IJAG)

With your tamale orders and outright donations, you provided $1,365 in support to the all-volunteer Western Farm Workers (WFWA) office for their operations serving farm, low-wage, and seasonal workers during this difficult season. We are most grateful! Same time next year—always around the Super Bowl!    

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 have now expanded our hours to 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays!

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.

Maya Angelou was an American memoirist, essayist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years.