Sunday, November 8

Sunday Worship at 10:15 a.m.

Everyone starts in the Sanctuary at 10:15 a.m. then children/youth head to RE
Nursery and toddler care available all service.

Social Hour: Fuller Hall after the service.

Updated — Annual Fund Drive

We're 78% of the way to our $1.35 million goal!

Thanks to the generosity of so many at First Unitarian, we're getting closer to our goal for the 2027 Annual Fund Drive, with $292,186 still to raise! These pledges make possible the worship, music, pastoral care, religious education, and social justice work that are at the heart of our church.

A big thank you to everyone who has already pledged for 2027! If you haven't yet made your pledge, there's still time to help us reach our goal.


Every pledge, no matter the amount, makes a difference. Please join us in Brightening the Light by making your pledge today!

Questions? Email Stewardship

Sunday's Sermon

Keeping the Flame Alive

Rev. Alison Miller, Senior Minister

Today is the holiday of Diwali, the Festival of Lights, celebrated by people of several faith traditions in India and around the world, including some members of our own community. Let us glimpse together how some of the traditions and themes of Diwali might shed light on our lives. How do we tend the flame of faith, hope, and love in times of trial and in times of triumph? This service connects with our annual spiritual theme, “Catch the Spark!” and our November topic: Tending.

Ministerial Blog

The Tending of Music at Our Church

Dr. Daniel Bassin, Dir. of Music Ministries

Our month of “Tending” kicked-off with an All-Souls service where our Parker Bell Choir ringers’ music as well as aspects of their individual and collective stories of dedication, contribution, and commitment were interwoven with a children’s story about a family handbell, and even the bell that rang in a historic family telephone! The music ministry of this church is similarly a treasure built upon MORE...

Souper Sunday is This Sunday!

Date: This Sunday, November 8, after service

Location; Fuller Hall

This Sunday is Souper Sunday. Join us during social hour for a cup of turkey and wild rice soup or the signature tomato soup and cranberry pumpkin muffins.

If you would like to contribute to the meal, bread or muffins are always welcome. And we always have room for volunteer soup makers.

NEW! — Parenting Circle Meets This Sunday

Date: This Sunday, November 8, 12 - 1:30 p.m.

Location: Fireside Room A303 (Eliot Center)

NEW! — November & December Art Wall Exhibition - Meet the Artist, Pamela Chapman

Date: This Sunday, November 8, after service

Location: Fuller Hall Art Wall

Our November/December Art Wall exhibit features photographs of Cuba by Pamela Chipman. Pamela will be joining us during coffee hour this Sunday, November 8. We hope you'll take a few moments to meet the artist, and hear a little about her work. Please stop by and give Pamela a warm welcome!

Last Chance to Order — Alliance Greens Sale!

Date: Ends this Sunday, November 8, at 5 p.m.

Location: Order Online

This Sunday is the last chance to get your order in!

Decorate your home with wreaths, garlands or tabletop trees or bring holiday cheer to families and friends. Choose from a variety of beautiful wreaths, garlands, and a 14-inch tabletop tree that can be replanted outside after the holidays.


Use this link to place your order online. Please feel free to share the link with anyone who might also be interested. Friendly assistance with ordering will be available after service on Sunday during social hour.

Your purchases will be available for pick up at the church on December 4 and 5. Wreaths may also be ordered for mailing. 

Funds raised from this sale will benefit recipients of The Alliance’s allocation grants to be awarded to non-profit organizations that support women, children, and marginalized communities.

Email the Alliance Greens team for any questions or assistance with your order.

Grief and the Holidays Class

Date: November 15 & 22, December 6 & 13.

Location: Eliot Center

In this 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 make a plan to navigate the winter holidays. We will meet at 1st Unitarian on four Sundays, from 11:45 to 1:15, on November 15 and 22 and December 6 and 13. The Rev. Duane Fickeisen and Dr. Bill Yasnoff will facilitate the group. There is no cost, but pre-registration is required. More info and preregister here

NEW! — How Can We Support Our Immigrant Neighbors?

Date: Sunday, November 15, 12 p.m.

Location: Eliot Chapel

Have you been wondering how to support our immigrant neighbors? Come learn about the Legal Observer Program with the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC) and the Accompaniment Program of the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ). Representatives of both PIRC and IMIrJ will share how their programs work and some of the critical ways you can get involved. First Unitarian volunteers with both programs will share about their experiences.

Updated — Alliance Holiday Sales - Collecting Donations

We need your support!

Bring your donations of jewelry, scarves, and Christmas items to the Holiday Sale box during Social Hour.

Stop by the Alliance table to sign-up to be a sales volunteer or cookie baker (bakers will need to deliver cookies to Buchan Reception Hall on December 6 or 13. Pick up the cookie instructions sheet at the table.

Each year the Alliance donates thousands to community groups serving women, children and marginalized communities and the proceeds from the Holiday Sale all go toward new grants in 2027!

The Holiday Sale will be on Sunday, December 6 & 13.

Vespers

Date: Weekly on Fridays, 5 - 5:45 p.m.

Location: Zoom

End your week every Friday with a quiet service on Zoom.


Rev. Duane Fickeisen will be offering the reflection on Friday, November 6.

Need to Reserve a Room, Submit an Article for Publication or Update the Website?

Online forms are available to request a meeting room for your group, submit an article or event for publication and for updating the church website. To submit your request, use one of the links below.

Be sure to review the request with your program director before submitting the form! 

Guidelines for submitting a publication request:

• Deadline for submissions: Tuesdays at 5 p.m.
• No more than three (3) weeks before the event

Submit Request for Article-Event Publication

Submit Request to Reserve Room

Submit Request to Update Website

(As of 11/2, we have a new webmaster! Please continue to submit the form link above to request website updates. Thanks for your patience as they work through the backlog of requests)

Join the Coffee Grounds 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. Alternatively, coffee grounds can be dumped in our home green yard debris bin. Join members of Community for Earth in keeping our coffee grounds out of the garbage and perhaps improving your garden at the same time!

Each Sunday, a volunteer can pick up a yellow five-gallon bucket partially full of grounds after church. Simply add the grounds to your compost or yard debris bin and return the empty bucket to church the following week. Fill out this form to join the Coffee Grounds Team.  


Questions? Contact us here.

Updated — Bookstore

You are cordially invited to browse our Beacon Bookstore in the Southwest corner of Fuller Hall during Coffee Hour!

Bring your cup along. Cups are welcome, too!

Our second Sunday in this month of 'Tending' brings us Rev. Alison Miller's sermon "Keeping the Flame Alive." It all begins with the uplifting opening hymn of our 'teal hymnal' #1000 "Morning Has Come." Your Chalice Choir will offer up another gorgeous anthem, this time composer/lyricist Jay Althouse's "Grow Your Garden." Violinist, Holly Stern will team up with Joe O'Donnell, on the piano, for Florence Price's evocative "The Deserted Garden" for this week's Offertory. Regular fixtures on our Social Justice Sundays, the voice-and-guitar duo of Gilda Lorensen and Mark Robinson will treat us to two musical selections following this week's pivotal elections: "Pack Up Your Sorrows" by Mimi and Richard Fariña and, as a special sing-along Postlude, the Civil Rights anthem, "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'round." 

Drop in Youth Singing Opportunity for 6 - 12th Graders

Join Director of Music Ministries, Dr. Daniel Bassin, this Sunday and sing a few rounds of our hymnals, "meet" a Hanukkah song

Continue reading....


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

NEW! — UU The Vote Thanks You!

CONGRATULATIONS congregants! We participate in political elections because of our belief in everyone’s inherent worth and dignity, and in the right of conscience and use of the democratic process. To that end we sent approximately 3,000 non-partisan Get Out The Vote letters and our partner West Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship has written an additional 2,000 letters to North Carolinians who are often voter-suppressed and don't vote! They got a heartfelt, personal message from one of us, and a QR code linking them to their state election information. Thanks to all who wrote, organized and mailed!! And please remember that the final vote after Election Day can take days if not weeks after the election. Mail-in ballots trickle in, recounts are sometimes required, etc. A slow count is a normal count.

Update on October 2026 ICE/DHS Surge in Oregon

The Immigrant Justice Action Group has a long record of supporting and educating the congregation about immigrant rights. As the assault on our immigrant neighbors continues, we want our community to be informed and aware of the changing methods of apprehension and detention that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and DHS (Department of Homeland Security) are employing. We must stay informed and take action to defend our neighbors’ human and civil rights. 

The first week of October marked a drastic surge in ICE/DHS detentions in Oregon. In just five days (Oct 6-10), the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC) verified 48 detentions that were reported to the hotline and suspects more unreported detentions. In comparison, 76 detentions were reported in all of September. Recent documentation also shows ICE agents using escalated violence and intimidation tactics. 

On October 8, DHS/ICE stated that “this rise in detentions is political retaliation against regions of the country that try to restrict local law enforcement & government employees from helping ICE abduct the people of the region (KOIN news).” CNN reported that the Trump administration told ICE agents around the country to arrest more people starting Tuesday [Oct 6] to fulfill a quota of 3,000 arrests per workday. 

Oregon’s congressional delegation recently authored this letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche demanding immediate answers to civil rights and human rights violations at the Portland ICE Facility. Members of the congressional delegation held a press conference on October 9 after visiting the ICE Facility, which you can see here. Also, on October 8, the Oregon for All Coalition (OFA) held a press conference you can view here. 

The surge in detentions ended after five days and reported detentions dropped back to previously weekly reported numbers (10-25). In their weekly update, PIRC applauded “the massive pro-immigrant community response taking place amidst the fear and disruption ICE is causing.” Knowing that ICE/DHS is always changing tactics, we need to be prepared for the next potential surge in detentions. 

What can you do? 

IJAG recommends the following actions and sources of information. 

If you see ICE or witness someone being detained, call the PIRC hotline: 1-888-622-1510. If possible, document what you see and get the name(s) of those being detained. See tips on what to do if you see ICE here. 

Support and follow frontline organizations:

• Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC): statewide hotline, legal observers, rapid response, advocacy:. Instagram
• Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ): mutual aid, accompaniment.
• Asylum Seekers Solidarity Collective (ASSC): mutual aid, advocacy; Instagram
• Equity Corp of Oregon (ECO): free immigration legal help for Oregon residents; Website: equitycorps.org
• VOZ Workers’ Education Project: support & advocacy for day laborers. Instagram

Watch the Front Steps for more information and upcoming ways to take action.

Art for Social Justice

Charles Littleleaf, Trail of Tears/Amazing Grace

(86) Amazing Grace - Charles Littleleaf on the Native American Flute

During this Native American Heritage Month, it is good to honor the beauty, strength and resilience that continue to radiate from Native American sources.

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.