Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

All day from 5:00AM to Jan 1 at 6:00 PM: open to all ages and all faiths.

No formal services or children's religious education this week.

Christmas Eve Candlelight service. Readings, music, laughter and silence as we celebrate the myths and mystery of Love Incarnate.

The words of a children's carol recalls a journey to innocence and humble acceptance. What are the poems or songs that bring your heart back to "Bethlehem" or your equivalent of simplicity and enfolding love? Bring your thoughts and poems to share in a quiet informal pre-Christmas circle of all ages

We used to talk about hitching your wagon to a star, or using one to steer by. What are we hitching our wagons to and steering by, these days? Choir will bring us two seasonal anthems.

We acknowledge the powerful images of darkness, and the gestation of new life in the coldest time of year. Is there more to this analogy of promise? Choir will sing.

All Congregational Meeting after the service

Building on a lively carol, "People, Look East" explores metaphors of the winter season and the many guises of the power and presence of Love. This Sunday we will think about strangers, including the homeless. The ethic in our contemporary western world is vastly different from that of 20 centuries ago. What, if anything, can we reclaim as we approach the turning of the year? After the service - Congregational conversations.

Vern Crawford will lead us in an earth-centered celebration expressing gratitude for nature’s four seasons and life’s four stages, as reflected in the eight pagan Ceremonial Days of the year.

Rev. Heather Lynn Hanson. Look for a “Turning Point” to be shared today

Rev. Heather Lynn Hanson. Is Religious Community an oxymoron?  A nod to the needs of individuals in groups and of groups full of independent spirits, and the skills it takes to find and maintain balance.

Rev. Heather Lynn Hanson.
Digging into our first Principle.

Guest Judi Gavin will bring the Chalice used at General Assembly and share a bit about this amazing gathering. November birthdays will be recognized. First Sunday FOOD Bank.

Dr. Louise Paré with Rev. Heather Lynn Hanson.

Our fellowship has adopted the UUA’s principles as guidelines for our values. In the closing paragraph of that document it says “we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision....promising to one another our mutual trust and support.”  How do we come to understand our 7 Principles? How does “Lifespan religious education” connect with the Principles?  

This will be the first in a series of eight services about how we affirm and promote these values.

Selma McAlaster and the UN group

A bit of frivolity, a splash of frankness, a dab of fantasy and dollop of intensity. Who are we when we are at our very best? At our EVEN BETTER THAN THAT? Can you look in the mirror, blink past the "character lines" and notice the quality of character that shines in your eyes?

This is "Canvass Kickoff Sunday."  In three bold and intense weeks we’ll learn what will be possible for RVUUF in 2007, because we've met with one another and pledged our support for what we (each of us and all of us) want to be and do.

(Making a difference in the world).
If you are moving something that requires considerable effort, you don't want it to slide back. Ol' Sisyphus needed a pawl. The fields of mechanics and organizational dynamics share a few parallel precepts.

Our words belie our intentions sometimes. But sometimes our intentions are undone by our own words. Our values jostle for priority. When do you speak truthfully? When do you protect someone's feelings with a "white lie?" When do you avoid a conflict by not saying what you think? How do you decide?

First Sunday: Food bank.

Rev. Hanson. This will be the first of several sermons this year on living in this cynical, consumerist, crass culture. Suggested reading: A Pretty Good Person by Lewis B. Smedes [ISBN 0-06-067423-7] (Out of print but available at used book stores.)

Following the service: Forum by and about the CFM. What are they doing, and what would you like to ask them?

Rev. Heather Lynn Hanson. If you have vivid memories of your youth, you undoubtedly have a few "ghosts." How have events or people from the past shaped the expectations and dreams for your future?

Following the service: All-church potluck and "History Party." A light lunch will carry us from noon to 2 pm as we look at and elaborate on your history time line. Your history is made up of more than moving to a new building, or losing a minister. Think about the very best times you had here, and also, those times you were very worried, or very frustrated or angry about what was going on. Who or what encouraged you? We'll find the fine, funny, and frightening parts of RVUUF history, and reflect on how y'all have survived and thrived because of or in spite of events. If you have a snapshot from a church event, bring it along. New Members will also enjoy learning the stories. Child care will be available. Please notify the office the week before if you need child care.

Sermonette by Rev. Hanson: "To Know the Place for the First Time," drawing from the words of T. S. Eliot. We will gather the waters of our diverse summer activities in our ceremony for all ages. Bring a few drops (a film canister is enough) to represent the location of your summer highlight.

The Opportunity Fair will follow the service.

Eileen Adee will lead us in a service in honor of Labor Day