Mt. Hood Cluster of UU Congregations
There are many UU churches in the Portland-Vancouver area. They are all different sizes and each has a unique personality. Why not try them all?
Mt. Hood Cluster
The Mt. Hood Cluster is a working committee of 10 Unitarian Universalist congregations in the Portland and Vancouver Metro Area. “The Cluster” regularly collaborate on projects as diverse as social justice work, worship, education, and environmental clean-up.
- Eastrose Fellowship UU, Gresham
- First Unitarian Church, Portland
- Mid-Columbia UU Fellowship, Hood River
- South Park UU Fellowship, West Linn
- UU Church of Vancouver (WA)
- UU Community Church of Washington County, Hillsboro
- UU Congregation at Willamette Falls, Oregon City
- UU Fellowship of McMinnville, McMinnville
- West Hills UU Fellowship, West Hills Portland
- Wy’east UU Congregation, NE Portland
The purpose of The Mt. Hood Cluster is to nurture a spirit of cooperation and relationship among local UU congregations.
- Provide mutual aid and support
- Communicate and coordinate programs and resources
- Strengthen our presence in the wider world
- Affirm, promote, and practice the principles of our UU faith
The Mt. Hood Cluster typically meets on the second Sunday of the month @ 1:45pm at a location that rotates through the churches that have facilities (lately meetings have been on Zoom).
Report from Eastrose Fellowship UU to Mt. Hood Cluster of UU Congregations
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
News from Eastrose is currently similar to news in the previous report:
Attendance is doing well, with a lot of new faces of different ages, including families with small children. Some membership has come over time from community groups that Eastrose engages with. Most recently we acquired a new member from an Indivisible group that meets at Eastrose twice monthly. On November 23rd we will celebrate with a “New Member Welcoming Ceremony.”
The RE program is largely responsible for the increase in children and families attending, as our DRE offers something to interest and challenge them every week. Our DRE is also encouraging non-RE parents to participate in Sunday programming and is implementing social nights with games for everyone.
On the financial side, our budget for fiscal year 2026 was passed, with a large deficit, due to the withdrawal (with mutual consent) of the daycare center that was setting up to use our premises during weekdays. The deficit will be made up through withdrawals from legacy funds left by deceased or former members. We anticipate the deficit will continue into the foreseeable future, as many of our heavy contributors have now passed away or cut back, while new members are not (yet) in a position to increase their pledges and gifts. On a plus side, we had a successful Auction night (themed on the Day of the Dead celebration, as it was held November 1st). The success was perhaps due more to the fun and fellowship generated by the event than to the inflow of money, but at this time, I have not yet heard what our net earnings actually were.
Community Involvement:
We have been engaging with SnowCap since its founding many years ago by a group of East Multnomah County churches. An Eastrose volunteer group goes to SnowCap once a month to fill boxes with food supplies. It goes without saying that food needs have been growing exponentially in East County, which has a higher baseline of poverty than other parts of Metro Portland to begin with. This semester (September through February), our church is supporting SnowCap with the special contribution we devote to community groups.
Politically, individual members are engaged with various groups, including Indivisible, which is sending people to wave signs from the Market Street bridge over I-205 on Friday afternoons. Honk or wave if you happen to be driving by. Third Act also attracts some Eastrose members, including one of our community pastors. Reflecting on current events, Reverend Robin Zucker preached this past Sunday on the theme of “How America Got Mean and Why It Matters,” riffing off a comment by columnist David Brooks about how we are now growing up “in a morally inarticulate, self-referential world.” Reverend Zucker then asks, “How do we not squander our capacity for kindness, empathy and generosity in this face of widespread cruelty and compassion fatigue?” and places it squarely in the context of our first principle which affirms the “inherent worth and dignity of every person.”
On the environmental front, a couple of members are very busy promoting the concept of Miyawaki mini-forests to area schools and elected officials. They have also planted a mini-forest on their property in Gresham for people to come view, and it’s growing by leaps and bounds after only a year or two. If you are curious about what they are, please visit www.MongoBay.com and www.CreatingTomorrowsForests.co.uk. There are also videos by Garden Fundamentals and Rewildlife, as well as tons of other sites and videos. Does your church have any extra piece of land where a mini-forest could be planted? (It doesn’t have to be very big at all!).
Fellowship and (Fun) Exercise:
Because our “Wednesday Walkers” group is really oriented toward retirees and others who don’t hold a regular 9-5 job, there is now also a “Saturdays Strollers” group.
Respectfully submitted,
Eric Tschuy