Historical Highlights of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of McMinnville

Significant Milestones:

2007

  • April 29: 1st meeting at Beth and Roger Dell’s house. Twenty people attended.
  • May 20: 2nd meeting at Susan and Joel Marrant’s house. Twenty-five people attended.
  • June 24, 2007: 3rd meeting at Marcia Bleven’s house. Twenty-five people attended. We decide to have a visioning retreat in the form of a membership-wide planning meeting and potluck.
  • Special membership wide planning meeting and potluck in late July to define our goals for the first year. Attendance was about 25 and the following goals were set for our first year:
    • Creation of Chalice Circles
    • Planning and implementing Religious Education for the children of members: eleven children between the ages of one and seventeen.
    • Community Involvement
    • Arranged for temporary membership meeting space at the McMinnville Senior Center.
  • Established a Steering Committee to lead the way.
  • Arranged for subsequent meetings to be held at the McMinnville Senior Center, providing space for our RE program.
  • Received commitments (financial and service) from 26 members to support the establishment of our Fellowship as a member of the UUA.
  • Our name was unanimously established as “The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of McMinnville”

2008

  • Bylaws adopted by a unanimous vote at the regular monthly meeting on March 16, 2008.
  • Articles of Incorporation were filed in Oregon.
  • May: First annual election meeting was held and the first Board of Directors was elected as was the first Nominating Committee.
  • June: First service that is strictly a “worship” service
  • September: Began celebrating worship services twice a month, on the 1st and 3rd Sundays, and initiated Children’s Religious Education classes

2009

  • January: First worship service held on Sunday mornings.
  • Began donating cash collections from the offering to local non-profit organizations.
  • UUFM attains tax free status from the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization.

2010

  • Created the “Care Concerns Committee”
  • March: The Fellowship voted to apply for membership to the UUA.
  • Worked enthusiastically toward becoming a “Welcoming Congregation”
  • Hired our first Director of Children’s Religious Education, Christi Olsen
  • November: Our congregation was accepted as a member congregation in the Unitarian Universalist Association of American Congregations!

2011

  • Organized Children’s RE around three groups (Toddlers, Elementary, and Middle/High “TAO”)
  • UUFM accepted as a “Welcoming Congregation” by the UUA on April 4, 2011
  • Formed the “Social Justice” Committee

2012

  • “Covenant of Right Relations” the central goal of which is to adopt the principles of “everyone being heard” and “disagreeing agreeably” is adopted.

2014

  • First OWL classes for 4th through 6th grade
  • September: Started meeting every week with the inclusion of our “Simplified Services” after an experimental period in Spring of 2014.
  • Vision statement completed and approved

2015

  • Hired our first minister at quarter-time, Reverend Mary Gear
  • First OWL classes for Kindergarten through 2nd grade

2016

  • Completed a search and hired our second quarter-time minister, Tracy Springberry.
  • First OWL classes conducted for kids in 7th to 9th grades.

2018

  • August – Returned to being a lay-led congregation after our quarter-time minister’s departure.

2019

  • Formed an Earth Justice subcommittee within the Social Justice Committee
  • The largest number of members yet attended UUA’s General Assembly in Spokane, Washington (6 adults and 5 youth)

2020

  • July – UUFM hired its first half-time minister, Reverend Margo Rinehart.

2021

  • During Covid most services held using Zoom with occasional outdoor services as health concerns allowed

2022

  • We are using our new location at the McMinnville Grange and new service time of 10:00

2023

  • We work on charting our new pathway ahead while serving our community as a Lay lead ministry

 

Membership:

  • November, 2020: 64
  • November, 2019: 60
  • November, 2018: 62
  • November, 2017: 62
  • November, 2016: 59
  • November, 2015: 58
  • November, 2014: 54
  • November, 2013: 50
  • November, 2012: 48
  • November, 2011: 45
  • November, 2010: 42
  • November, 2009: 38
  • November, 2008: 34
  • November, 2007: 26