First Unitarian Portland

Loving Kindness Meditation
2025-10-06 20:00 - 20:30, 2025-09-29 20:00 - 20:30, 2025-09-22 20:00 - 20:30, 2025-09-15 20:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
The teachings of Loving Kindness, or Metta, are about finding a path with heart. Jack Kornfield says, “It’s about undertaking a path that transforms and touches us in the center of our being. To do so is to find a way of practice that allows us to live in the world wholly and fully from our heart.”
With this Spiritual Practice, one can cultivate feelings of happiness, dispel loneliness, let go of fear and anxiety. If you are feeling stuck, this practice can help you enjoy a more compassionate life for yourself and others.
Join us on Zoom on Monday evenings to extend Loving-Kindness to yourself, to those around you and to the world.
No previous meditation practice is necessary, and new participants are always welcome. Join on an ongoing basis, or drop in as you’re able.
May we be at peace and keep our hearts open.
Contact Katie R. for more information.
Click here to join.

*Registration Closed* How to Write Your Ethical Will
2025-10-05 12:00 - 14:00 | Classroom B304
How can you pass on the values and experiences that have given your life its deepest meaning? An Ethical Will can complement a traditional will, and can be written as a letter or in several other formats. Through facilitator presentations, class discussions, sharing in pairs, writing in and outside of class, and sharing writing (if desired), participants will leave the last class with at least a draft of an Ethical Will.
Dates: October 5 and 19, and November 2 and 16
Class will be supportive and confidential. List is limited to 12.
Registration is now closed!
Email facilitator Patty C. with any questions.

Accompaniment Workshop
2025-10-05 11:45 - 13:00 | Eliot Chapel, 1011 SW 12th Ave, Portland, OR, 97205
Please join Heather Vickery from the UU Service Committee after the service in Eliot Chapel for a workshop on “Accompaniment.” In these times, members of our community — including immigrants, trans and nonbinary kin, and houseless neighbors — are often pushed to the margins and treated as “other.” This workshop will explore how we can show up and accompany those most affected.

First Steps Orientation and Campus Tour
2025-10-05 11:45 - 13:00 | Narthex/Lobby, 1211 SW Main St, Portland, OR, 97205, United States
First Steps Orientation and Campus Tour is a welcoming regular event held on the first Sunday of most months, designed for new and returning members of First Unitarian Portland (First U PDX). This session offers an overview of the church’s history, core values, and vibrant community, encouraging participants to explore their connection and discover ways to engage.
For assistance in finding your way, please check in with the Welcome Desk in the main sanctuary narthex/lobby.
Attendees will meet church leaders, learn about various activities and programs, ask questions about Unitarian Universalism, and tour the campus. This informal setting fosters connections among newcomers and long-time members, enhancing the sense of belonging.
For those interested in deepening their commitment, the orientation covers membership requirements, including signing the Membership Record Book and making an annual financial pledge. Participants can also submit their membership application during the session, taking a significant step in their spiritual journey with First U PDX.
Hosted by Jen Thomas, Director of Congregational Life.

Children and Youth Learning Community
2025-10-05 10:15 - 11:30, 2025-09-28 10:15 - 11:30, 2025-09-21 10:15 - 11:30, 2025-09-14 10:15 - 11:30 | OR
The Learning Community, also referred to as R.E. (Religious Education), meets at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday mornings. On the first Sunday of the month, children and youth start out in the main Sanctuary for our monthly “Together Time” before moving on to their classrooms in our Eliot Center/Buchan Building, right next door to our Sanctuary building. Stop by the R.E. Information Desk in the Eliot Center if you need to register your children or youth, or have questions for us. All are welcome!
Click here to view more information about our Learning Community.

🕯️ Sunday Worship
2025-10-05 10:15 - 11:30, 2025-09-28 10:15 - 11:30, 2025-09-21 10:15 - 11:30 | Main Sanctuary, 1211 SW Main St, Portland, OR, 97205, United States
In-person
Sanctuary
1211 SW Main St.
Portland, OR 97205

Join us on livestream here

🥞 Pancake Breakfast
2025-10-05 08:45 - 10:00 | Buchan Hall, 1226 SW Salmon St, Portland, OR, 97205, United States
Join us for free, delicious pancakes in Buchan Reception Hall from 8:45 to 10 a.m. on the first Sunday of the month. We will have plain, blueberry, chocolate, and blueberry-chocolate pancakes fresh off the griddle. All are welcome!
Hosted by the UU Men’s Community.

Vespers
2025-10-03 17:00 - 17:40, 2025-09-26 17:00 - 17:40, 2025-09-19 17:00 - 17:40 | Virtual
Our Lay Ministers will offer inspirational readings, guided meditation, and quiet music in a contemplative program at week’s end.
Congregants and visitors are invited to bring their prayer requests to be held during the service. They are received in real-time through the Zoom chat box, seen, and read aloud anonymously by the hosts. This is a time to join in prayer not only for our community but also for the world.
We look forward to sharing this time of quiet reflection with you when we are all holding so much in our hearts.
Details: Fridays, 5 – 5:40 p.m.
Join here (SAVE THIS LINK! It works every Friday.)
https://tinyurl.com/Vespers-1stU

Contemplative Practices Group
2025-10-02 13:00 - 14:30 | Channing, A101
First Thursdays in Channing (A101)
Third Thursdays in Eliot Chapel

Join with us on the first and third Thursdays of the month from 1 to 2:30 p.m. to sit together in silence. Connect to your inner self as well as something bigger than yourself. Bring more peace and joy into your life, increase mindfulness and develop more perspective.
“Contemplative spirituality is about slowing down and relaxing our action, our striving, and all of our ‘doings.’ In order to ‘wake up’ to the Reality in which we are already immersed, we must slow down and gently transition ‘from doing to being.’ “ – Keith Kristich
This is a drop-in group. Any silent sitting practice is welcomed and no prior meditation experience is needed. If you would like to learn a contemplative practice for use during the group, let the facilitators know and they will meet with you half an hour before the group sit begins.
Each group meeting consists of a 20-minute meditation, a check-in on a spiritually oriented topic, and deep discussion of a poem or short reading. Facilitator is Patty C. We look forward to being with you!
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Patty has been a UU since childhood and has attended First Unitarian for 20 years. She has taught spiritual practice classes and been involved with Wellspring, the Labyrinth and other church programs. She learned meditation in college and has had a daily meditation practice since joining First Unitarian. She has been an active Spiritual Director since 2012.

Yom Kippur Service
2025-10-01 19:00 - 20:00 | Eliot Chapel, 1011 SW 12th Ave, Portland, OR, 97205
Join us in this season of the Jewish High Holidays in annual practice of reflection and renewal. May we turn towards the work of repair and learning how to choose life.

The Alliance Presents "Creating Community with Those Living with Dementia"
2025-10-01 10:30 - 14:00 | Eliot Chapel, 1011 SW 12th Ave, Portland, OR, 97205
Andie Shepard will present the basics of Alzheimer’s and dementia, raising awareness of the needs of caregivers and those affected. She is the Program Manager with the Alzheimer’s Association for the Oregon and SW Washington Chapter.
Bring your lunch for after the program. Email AllianceRSVP@firstunitarianportland.org to join for the dessert ($5).

Know Your Rights Training
2025-09-30 18:00 - 19:00 | Virtual
A beginner’s introduction and a veteran’s refresher to the principles and practices of nonviolence, knowing your rights as a protester, and an overview of basic de-escalation techniques. Facilitated by engaging, long-time activist, and trainer Malcom Scott.

Registration required! Click here to RSVP.

*Registration Closed* Writing Life Stories
2025-09-29 10:00 - 12:00 | Buchan Hall, 1226 SW Salmon St, Portland, OR, 97205, United States
We all have stories to tell — perhaps big and important events and accomplishments, or small and quiet everyday happenings that give life meaning.
Join fellow congregants to begin or continue writing the narratives of our lives. We will write together, share if desired, and create connections with one another through our stories. All levels of writing experience and those with works in progress are welcome.
Dates: September 29, October 13 and 27, and November 10
Please commit to all sessions. Class is limited to 12.
Registration is now closed!
For questions, email facilitator Jennifer O.

Supportive Housing Services (SHS) Conversation
2025-09-28 11:30 - 13:30 | Eliot Chapel, 1011 SW 12th Ave, Portland, OR, 97205
Join us for an honest, values-based conversation about what’s working—and what still needs to change—in our region’s response to homelessness.
Across Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties, people are working hard to make progress on homelessness—but that progress isn’t always visible. These small-group conversations are designed to help bridge the gap between what the public sees and the real impact of the Supportive Housing Services (SHS) program.
Laura Golino de Lovato is the Executive Director of Northwest Pilot Project (NWPP), a nonprofit organization providing housing assistance, transportation, and advocacy to very low-income seniors in Multnomah County.
Led by Laura, this conversation will offer a chance to:

Learn how the SHS program is helping connect people to housing and supportive services
Hear real stories of progress and challenge from trusted local voices
Ask questions and share your perspective in an honest, respectful space
Leave with a clearer understanding of the path forward

Whether you’re concerned, curious, frustrated, hopeful, or all of the above, you’re welcome to join the conversation. Event sponsored by COHHO (Committee on Hunger and Homelessness) and HereTogether Oregon.

Margo Clark Memorial
2025-09-27 16:00 - 17:00 | OR
Long-time member Margo Clark died on August 14 at the age of 71 after living with cancer for several years. Margo served in many roles here at the church. She was a member of our Music & Arts Committee, Leadership Council, was a Sunday morning usher, and for 11 years served delicious homemade soup for our Monday evening activities here at the church. Church Administrator Kathryn Estey says, “I was pleased to serve with her on our Board of Trustees back in the early 2000s. Margo was just plain fun to be with.” She leaves her husband Bill, also a member here, and her children Janie and Matt and their kids. Our tender thoughts are with the whole family.

Barbara Fields Celebration of Life
2025-09-24 18:00 - 20:00 | Buchan Hall, 1226 SW Salmon St, Portland, OR, 97205, United States
Member Barbara Fields died unexpectedly on July 23 at the age of 77. Barbara joined our church in 2020, was on the Nominating Committee and was also active in the anti-racist book groups. One friend described Barbara as a beautiful soul. We will miss her warm, caring personality.
Join us on September 24 at 6 p.m. in Buchan Reception Hall to celebrate her life.

*Registration Required* Autumn Yoga
2025-09-21 09:00 - 10:00 | Classroom A108
We will have yoga classes led by our own Ginny K. on September 7 and 21 before service at 9 a.m. in room A108. LIMIT of 15 participants. First come, first served. We release the sign-up form through our Front Steps e-news.
Please bring your own yoga mat and water bottle. Wear clothing appropriate for yoga and then join the congregation for Sunday service at 10:15 a.m.

Contemplative Practices Group
2025-09-18 13:00 - 14:30 | OR

Therese DesCamp Author Reading
2025-09-14 14:30 - 16:00 | Buchan Hall, 1226 SW Salmon St, Portland, OR, 97205, United States
Former Portland resident and longtime author Therese DesCamp will read from her newly published book, Hands Like Roots: Notes on an Entangled Contemplative Path (Santos Books, 2025) on Sunday, September 14, at 2:30 p.m. DesCamp’s essays explore life as a contemplative firmly planted in and entwined with community. She weaves seemingly disparate topics—hydrology, cognitive linguistics, political chaos, the nature of causality, climate instability and embodiment—with the inner world of meditation and prayer, to offer an intelligent, accessible, sometimes hilarious, and always heart-opening whole. Early reviewers have called Hands Like Roots “foundational and funny, poetic and practical,” “an extraordinary work of hope in a moment that often feels completely bereft of hope,” and “essential spiritual nourishment for weary hearts.”
Sponsored by First Unitarian Beacon Bookstore, the reading will take place in the Buchan Reception Hall at First Unitarian Church in Portland from 2:30-4:00 p.m. on September 14th. Free parking is available in the church lot on 12th between Salmon and Main; entrance to the Buchan Reception Hall is on Salmon Street, between 12th and 13th.
Therese DesCamp claimed Portland as her hometown as a young adult. She spent a dozen years working as an advocate for differently-abled persons before moving to Berkeley for graduate school. Following completion of an MDiv and PhD—and a peripatetic life following jobs in California—DesCamp settled in the Kootenay Mountains of rural British Columbia, where she founded a retreat centre with her husband, George Meier. Therese was long-listed for the 2023 CBC nonfiction award, and her writing has appeared in professional journals, books, popular magazines, newspapers and online.

Drop-In Parenting Circle
2025-09-14 11:45 - 14:00 | OR
Join our community of parents and caregivers. Share stories and wisdom, and take time to explore spiritual reflection. Long-time families and new folks are welcome. Meets most months from September to June. Childcare provided. Drop-ins welcome.
