Sunday, June 28

Sunday Worship at 10:15 a.m.

Learning Community programs for children & youth are on summer break until July 12th! Young ones are welcome to attend worship. Nursery and toddler care available all service.

Social Hour: Fuller Hall after the service.

Laugh Out Loud

Rev. Alison Miller, Senior Minister

It is said that laughter is medicine sent from the gods. This is one way that grace is woven throughout our lives. As summer begins, let us explore the power of humor and laughter and how they can unlock a spirit of joy and healing, rest and resistance. 

NEW! — 4x4 Dinners

You might have seen in the most recent UU World magazine an idea that came from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder. We did too, and thanks to Barbara M and Ashley B, we’re already giving it a try.

Folks gathered in early June to test out the idea, and they had a wonderful time getting to know new friends and sharing about our First U community. The concept is simple: bring together four newer folks in the congregation with four people who have a longer history at First U for a potluck dinner.

 If you’d like to throw your name in the hat to host or attend a 4x4 potluck dinner, please email me at jthomas@firstunitarianportland.org. We’ll match folks up and then hand off the timing and planning to you.

“Curiosity, kinship, commiseration. An intimate setting to truly begin knowing others in the church, or to reconnect with people you haven’t caught up with in a while. Lots of fun (and good food)!”

— Quinn D., First UU

NEW! — Summer Community Choir

Rehearsal: June 28, 8:45 a.m.

Location: Sanctuary

This Sunday, June 28, will be our first Summer Community Choir Sing for our morning worship service. Everyone is welcome to attend and participate. This week, Rev. Alison will be giving a sermon entitled "Laugh Out Loud" about the joys that laughter can bring and how that plays a pivotal role in living our lives in a full and authentic way. Our anthems will be reflecting that, as well as our monthly spiritual theme: Grace.

Come rehearse in the Sanctuary at 8:45 a.m. and then sing for our 10:15 service. I hope to see many folks there! Garrett Bond

Seeking Sopranos! Always love singing? Do you have a soprano voice? Your Choirs Need You! 

If you love to sing and miss having a choir life, come to our community choir this summer to get a feel, or just come in the Fall to join up! We welcome all singers, and are especially needing higher voices: sopranos! For questions email Garrett Bond until mid-July, or any choir member.

NEW! — Upcoming Congregant Art Show- Spirit of Life


We are excited to announce a congregation art show for January and February 2027, and we are calling for artists of all ages to participate.

The theme for this show is "Spirit of Life" inspired by our doxology. We invite you to create and submit work that reflects this theme as we celebrate the " Spirit of Life" together in the coming year. If you have any questions, contact Joanne S. 

NEW! — Report of the General Assembly

At the General Assembly (GA) annual meeting of the UUA, our church was represented by 4 delegates. Here are some of the major decisions that were made -

• Affirmed the Action of Immediate Witness opposing rollbacks to environmental protections, public lands rules, and the endangerment finding. This affirmation directs the UUA ’s public witness on this issue in the coming year. For more details, go here.
• Passed the Responsive Resolution “Where are the youth?”, calling on the Association to provide resources to recruit, train, and cultivate youth leadership and attendance.
• Passed the Responsive Resolution “Gratitude for UUA Support of Youth and Emerging Adults”, thanking the UUA for its commitment to youth and emerging adults and calling for their full inclusion at all levels of leadership.
• Passed the Responsive Resolution “Reaffirming Our Commitment to Immigrant Justice and Relationally Grounded Organizing”, reaffirming the Association’s commitment to relationally grounded organizing and solidarity work.
• Passed the Responsive Resolution on SWANA region concerns, asking the Commission on Appraisal to include engagement with how the UUA can better include and respond to UUs affected by crises in the Southwest Asia and North Africa region.
  

The UUA magazine UU World report is here or just go to UU World.
 

You can find a deeper dive into GA with impressions from our delegates here.

Join the coffee grounds compost team!

Our church makes a lot of coffee. In a landfill, coffee grounds and other organic materials create methane. In a compost bin, coffee grounds make an excellent addition by providing nitrogen and improving soil structure. Join members of Community for Earth in keeping our coffee grounds out of the garbage and improving our gardens at the same time!

Each week, a volunteer can pick up a yellow five-gallon bucket partially full of grounds after church on Sunday. Simply add the grounds to your compost and return the clean bucket to church the following week. Fill out this form to select some times on the schedule.

Questions? Contact cfeuupdx@gmail.com 

Great News from the Music Transition Team

The music transition team is thrilled to welcome our new Director of Music, Daniel Bassin, PhD.

After our extensive search process, the music transition team (which includes folks from the music program and the ministry) determined that Dan is our stand-out candidate and we were able offer him a contract that would enable him to relocate from the east coast in August.

Dan comes to us with a wealth of experience, expertise and credentials as a choral and orchestral conductor, music educator, composer and performing musician. He has a deep connection to Unitarian music ministry, with extensive experience as Director of Music at Unitarian congregations on the east coast.

We eagerly await his arrival and offer him our enthusiastic support as we move our music ministry forward with renewed energy, inspiration and spirit.

Thank you for your support and encouragement during this process.

The Music Transition Team

Theo Harper (chair), Rev. Alison Miller, Ameena Amdahl-Mason, Holly Stern, Michael Murray, Richard Scher, Rev. Tom Disrud

Save the Date for the Annual UU Summer Picnic

Date: Sunday, August 23 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.

Location: Peninsula Park

Click here for more information.

Advancing Racial Justice Action Group Celebrates Juneteenth

On “Freedom’s Eve,” or the eve of January 1, 1863, the first Watch Night services took place. On that night, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and

private homes all across the country, awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. At the stroke of midnight, prayers were answered as all enslaved

people in Confederate States were declared legally free. 

But not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. More...

Sign the petition to create an Oregon Wealth Tax

Do the very rich pay their fair share in taxes? Should the tax paid by the very rich be increased?  

A new initiative is now available for OR registered voter signature titled: The Very Rich Pay Their Fair Share Tax Act.  

It would create a new 2% tax on the very rich who have assets of $30 million or more. Only 4,600 Oregon taxpayers would be subject to this tax, which will raise an estimated $3 billion annually going into the state general fund to pay for parks, schools, roads and all the elements of a thriving, healthy economy.  Current taxes weigh more heavily on the vast majority of working-class and middle-class people who rely on paychecks to pay the bills. This tax will begin to shift the burden off the backs of regular folks and return to Oregonian a small portion of the fruits of their hard work by reinvesting the taxed wealth of the very rich for the benefit of every Oregonian.  

Sign the Very Rich Pay Their Fair Share Tax Act petition at the Economic Justice Action Table during social hour. Contact David D.

Food Insecurity Increasing in Portland



Cuts to SNAP so far have kicked off 47,000 Oregonians, leaving them at heightened risk of hunger. Rising gas prices and ongoing inflation are tightening household budgets, making it harder for families to absorb even small increases in food costs.

Across the nonprofit sector, many organizations have faced unexpected federal cuts, frozen funding streams, rising costs, and growing uncertainty. Food security organizations have felt this deeply too. Changes to SNAP and disruptions to USDA funding have impacted families, farmers, and fresh food access all at once.

Lift UP, the organization that COHHO supports, has a front row seat to this every single day. More than ever, they need our help to continue helping the ever-increasing number of people who come to them in need of food. 

How can you help? When you come to church, bring a bag of protein-rich foods to drop off at the COHHO bins in Fuller Hall under the clock next to the kitchen. Cans and/or cartons of tuna, chicken, nut butter, chili, beans and low-sodium soups are the best food items to donate. 

In addition, you can choose to donate directly to Lift UP here. They can maximize financial donations by buying in bulk through their networks.

However you decide to pitch in, we thank you so much! 💖

Say it loud, wear it proud: get your Side With Love swag!

As we go out into the streets for protests, or make appearances at rallies or City Council meetings, let’s dress as a team! Side With Love, the UUA’s Organizing Strategy Team has bright yellow t-shirts for sale. We are getting a matching banner made as well. This will enhance our UU presence and maybe help us stick together if we are ever in a crowd. You can buy your Side With Love swag here.

Say It With Flowers!

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.

Email Marsha W. to make arrangements.

The May/June Art Wall features Jeff Howard's "Prayers of the New Earth." Most of us most of the time feel profoundly separate from the Earth – on it, rather than of it. And in this crucial moment, as ecosystems crumble, we must decide, at last, whether to return the embrace. Prayers of the New Earth is Jeff's initial effort to articulate this need – and this opportunity – through poetry and photography.