A Message from Árpád Gazdag
From Our Partner Church Community in Budapest, Hungary:

DEAR FRIENDS, THANK YOU!
I was born in Transylvania, in a community where Unitarian tradition goes back to the time of Reformation. Graduated from the Unitarian Theology in Kolozsvár and shortly afterwards settled in Hungary with Rose. I worked at several institutions and companies in various fields like: educator, secretary and manager assistant. Currently, I’m Info Channel editor at United Pan-Europe Communications (UPC - cable tv/internet/telephone supplier) and in January have been elected as leader of the “Theological Workshop” of the Hungarian Unitarian Church.
From the beginning of my studies (1981) I included psychoanalysis and Eastern philosophy. I have been doing my work for the UPC from home for 11 years now, which meant a lot of free time and opportunity to continue my spiritual investigations. I discovered American Humanism, which eventually led me to Unitarian Rev. Joe Ben-David, founder of the Church of Religious Humanism in New York; and completed a new thesis with the topic on religion, psychology and philosophy: modern theories on the future of religion/religion of the future.
In 2009 I deemed I had the experience and insight to investigate the roots of the Unitarian spiritual tradition, too. I read the two basic works of Francis David published in 1567, and realized that it confirms my analytic psycho-philosophical concept on religion. I decided to adapt the archaic Hungarian to the modern language, and later on to translate it to English, also.
Me and Rose have been members of the church since we settled in Budapest (1992), and during the years received many visitors and pilgrims from the US, especially from Portland, partner of Budapest downtown congregation. I’ve been appointed contact person in 2004, when the partnership was established, visited in Portland first time in 2005, and second time in the spring of 2009, when I mentioned about my plan, and was invited by Pat and Don to stay in their home.
So, Dear Friends,
First of all I would like to say a warm THANK YOU! to Pat and Don Watne, who offered their home for ten weeks. I was living with them as a member of their family. The three of us spent this long time in a close relationship, while leading our own daily life. We had daily dinners together, hiked together, and worked on my project together. For this help I would like to thank Don with all my heart, who during the weeks encouraged me, advised me; made investigations, corrections; edited and eventually posted the finalized book proposal. Thanks Pat for the so many delicious dinners and my training in gastronomy! Pat and Don’s altruistic help was often an embarrasing and transforming experience. I only hope to be able to do as I was told by Pat once when she turned down my attempt to pay for my own shopping: “You will help others.” I think I had a lesson of a lifetime.
Further, I would like to thank Katie Radditz, Director of Adult Programs, who welcomed me as guest, and offered that I take part in all the Church programs for free. My training was very intense: therapy courses, meditations, leadership meetings, etc. They integrated me into the UU community and helped me to step over my boundaries. Thus, thanks to therapists Lil Hosman who appreciated my goal (unifying religion and psychology) and Nancy Olson, whose advice to a group member (You need to start from where you are right now) is still resounding as an answer for my own question.
I would like to thank Julie McKim and Randy Russell for receiving me into both of their Thanksgiving family dinners. Thanks and greetings for their family members in Eugene! Thanks for the other two dinners; and Dear Julie: for the meaningful discussions we had together…
Thanks, my dearest friend Camille, for the weekend we spent at your house on the beach, and for the visit in Tacoma Glass Museum with Maryann! Me and Rose are looking forward to your next visit this year!
Thanks for my friend Patrick, music director at UU Church in Vancouver, and Sarah, for having me for a whole weekend at their cabin. Memories of the time we spent there (featuring Q), as well as the contra-dance night at the church, and concert with the Dickens Carolers will stay with me for a long time.
Thanks for Dave DiNucci for his warm welcome to the programs of the HGP. I was feeling home and justified in my belief at their meetings. Very special thanks for Pamela Smith and members of the Oregon Friends of Jung, who received me as guest to the Morgan Stebbins workshop on dreams, fulfilling a wish that I didn’t even dare to dream of. These two days meant the highlight of my stay.
Thank you Joe, for your friendship and the lectures on the American Spiritual Tradition on PSU! Thanks Hikers for your company in the awesome American wilderness! Special thanks Ingrid and Henry, for dinners, sharing therapy experiences, and for your compassion!
Thank you all, my old and new friends!
Finally, my warmest thanks for Louis Éltető, retired professor from PSU! While I was having my best time with you during these 10 weeks he was having a hard time with my translation, in disentangling the mind-boggling arguments of the founder of Hungarian Unitarianism, born nearly 500 years ago. Köszönöm Lajos! I do hope our work will be published.
Yours gratefully,
Árpád
P.s. You can read a detailed diary of my stay here: http://arpadgazdag.blogspot.com

Visit this page to learn more about First Church programs, activities, classes and groups being created to help support congregants during these economically challenging times. Specific programs listed below.

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A message from Rev. Tom Disrud, Acting Senior Minister:

We are living in times where some of the assumptions we’ve lived with for a long time are being questioned—can I count on having a good job with benefits? What will it mean to live more simply? What will all of this mean for my children? Sometimes it feels like there are a lot more questions out there than answers and it might take some time before answers emerge. What we know is that our lives may be different than they have been in the past.

This spring our ministers and staff leaders met with some congregants affected in different ways by the economic downturn. It was with the underlying awareness that the times we are living in are asking us to minister to people in new ways. We were deeply impacted by the stories we heard—do we pay our mortgage this month or the health insurance premium for our children? What do I say when someone asks me out to dinner—like they have in the past—but now there’s no way I can afford to go out?

We are all being affected by the larger economy. Some have been without work for a long time. Others have had their retirement income dramatically reduced. Others are still doing fine but there is still a sense of fear of how we might be affected. But we’ve all be affected in one way or another. And with all of this is also a strange kind of opening—an awareness, I think, that our lives are going to be different—and possibly better. It might be in a renewed sense of interconnectedness. It might be in the awareness that if our lives are simpler they might also just be better.

So what will all of this mean for us as a church? One thing that has come out of it so far is that our theme for the coming church year is going to be “We’re all in this together.” We are calling opportunities our own “Spiritual Stimulus Package.” We hope this will be a forum for ways to engage around the issues before us. This will be updated as opportunities present themselves.
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Electronic UU Job Board: Subscribe Now!

One of the most important ways that our church community can offer support during times of financial crisis is to provide opportunities for fellow UU’s to seek (and find) employment through First Church community net-working. Many local UUs—members of our own congregation—are currently unemployed or under-employed and seeking work. A First Church UU job board has been created to fill this urgent need.

It’s a fact: on average several hundred resumes are being received for each and every job posted. The only way to get an interview these days is via a personal recommendation—and this is where YOU can help!

If you need a job:

We invite you to join the UU Job Board yahoo group. By joining this list you can share your resume, experience, and job needs with others and receive email from those with open jobs.

Here are the details:

TO SUBSCRIBE:

Any interested individual may subscribe to the list. Send an email to:   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

After sending, you will receive an email reply, confirming your subscription. It will contain additional instructions for completing the subscription process, which you must follow.

Posting messages is as simple as sending email to:   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you need help with this list, send an email to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you already have a job:

Please keep your ears tuned to the hiring needs of your friends and colleagues. For example, if your buddy Joe mentions that he needs a new paralegal in his law office, ask him if you can post the job on our UU Job Board. Or—even better—tell him about the specific qualifications you’ve read about on our Job Board. What’s good for one is good for all; we’re all in this together!

Here are the details:

• Send information about job opportunities to Rev. Kate Lore at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject line “JOB.”
  You may also post job listing to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Subscribers to this list will received your email.
• Commit to spending just 10 minutes per week perusing the UU job postings so that the skills and experiences of those seeking jobs will be fresh in your mind as you go about your daily business. To review the posting, subscribe to the email list.

We will continue to brainstorm new and interesting ways for First Church UUs to network and to connect over the coming months. If you come up with another creative idea and have the time to help make it happen, please contact the church staff member of your choice. Like you, the church staff is all in this together

“We’re All In This Together” Support Group

Thursdays from 12 noon–1 p.m., Channing Room. Rev. Kate Lore is hosting a new support group—which is free of charge—which meets weekly and is open to anyone who is going through a difficult time. Bring your lunch and try dropping in; there is no need to register. For more information, please contact Kate at 503-228-6389, ext. 44 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Produce Sharing — Sundays, Now through the Summer

First Share, a new collaboration at First Unitarian, has launched a produce sharing program following the service in Fuller Hall near the Art Wall. Each Sunday, plan to bring your extra garden or CSA produce to share (or trade) with other congregants. For more info or to volunteer, contact amanda: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.