Closer to home

May 6, 2020

Beloveds,

You may have noticed that we are hearing more sharing in our services from people personally impacted by COVID-19, from deaths of relatives and friends to concerns for their own exposure.  Please know that I am available for pastoral care of any of you — whether you are experiencing grief from personal losses, or anxiety from the immense toll this is taking on literally the whole world.  

And, for your own health and safety, please remember that this is not just an older person’s disease.  Young people can get sick from coronavirus, and the symptoms vary.  Although all around us, things are ‘opening up’, physical distancing, as tedious as it may be, is still the most effective way to reduce transmission of the virus. 

That said Saturday, Boulder County is going to enter into “Safer at Home” orders. Here’s Broomfield County’s Blueprint for Reopening, as well as a great quick video, suitable for kids and adults.  

The Fellowship’s COVID-19 Response Team still meets weekly, on Tuesdays. Thanks to Carol Pranschke, our Office Manager, Jessica Laikeman, our Director of Lifespan Faith Formation, and lay leaders Karen Axe, Constance Holden, Janet Meyer, and Judy Schmidt.  This group is coordinating with the Building Committee as well as the Move Back In Team to ensure we develop safe protocols as we plan anything related to the building.  (see below for more details)

Are you getting weary at home?  I know I am. My desire to connect deeply with you in person is only growing.  But I am confident we will stay connected through this time.  We have a long history of deep relationships within this congregation, and our recent big undertaking of a building project has taught us flexibility and perseverance, along with a handy set of Zoom skills.  

Practicalities 

Connecting via Zoom 

We continue to explore ways to make our  Zoom access both accessible and secure.  

All Fellowship Sunday Services can be found at:  https://uuma.zoom.us/j/993783355

or call in at: 1-346-248-7799 Meeting ID: 993 783 355

There is also a link on the home page of the Fellowship website.

Meetings with me will be on my personal zoom link. If you get stuck, remember that the meeting IDs for meetings with me are the same as my cell phone number.  

All School of the Spirit events can be found at: https://zoom.us/j/552956886  

Check out our Fellowship google calendar for all our activities. 

For security reasons (who wants a Zoom-bomber in the middle of a covenant group?) we will no longer be putting these zoom links on our Fellowship calendar. If it is helpful, you can bookmark them on your browser. 

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Sunday Services 

Sunday Services on Zoom are our primary way to gather the whole community together. For the next two weeks only, they  will continue to be held at 12:30 p.m., with School of the Spirit Zoom class at 11:45 a.m.   Starting May 24th, our services will start at 10 am, with a 9:55 am tech talk. When we first started these zoom services, we thought it would only be for a few weeks, and we’d be back in our building soon. Now we know better, so 10 am it is, until further notice. 

Be sure to join us this Sunday, 12:30 for our Youth Service — where our bridging (graduating) Seniors will share some words about this threshold time in their lives. 

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Office Hours and Packing/Moving time

I am not taking appointments next week, (May 11 — 17) so I can focus on repacking up my home office and setting up my Fellowship office. I don’t expect to be on email much either, so please text me at 720-272-8284 if you have something time sensitive I can help you with. 


My upcoming Zoom office hours are:

  • Thurs. May 7 5 — 6:30 pm
  • Tues. May 19 2:30 — 4 pm
  • Wed. May 20 7 — 8:30 pm

This time can be used for personal meetings as well.  If we are chatting and someone else joins in, I’ll let them know I’ll text them when our time is complete. 

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Our Fellowship Building

As of now, we are anticipating receiving the final inspection and certificate of occupancy within the next couple weeks. Irony of ironies — right? Our building is ready to occupy, and we can’t meet there. But we can get ready to gather there. There are lots of details to consider, and we are going slow. The Move Back In Team is beginning meetings with our COVID-19 Response Team to develop protocols for us to begin the process of emptying the pods and moving items into our new space.  

Unfortunately, even under the next level of loosened public health restrictions (Colorado’s Protect your Neighbor), we will not be able to have large gatherings. We are exploring ways for people to come to the building in small groups and celebrate this milestone in our congregation’s history.  Stay Tuned! While it’s hard to let go of our visions of a ‘grand opening’, public safety will remain our highest priority. 

For the health and safety of everyone, it continues to be important to minimize the number of people at the building.  Please continue to contact Carol to sign up for building access.  (officemanager@bvuuf.org and phone number?)  

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The Conversation Project and Covid-19

The many impacts of this pandemic are hard to take in, and can feel overwhelming. But spending some time thinking about your own needs and wishes should you become ill can be empowering. I share this video from The Conversation Project with you about what to think about in terms of end of life wishes in this unprecedented time we are in. 

Please feel free to reach out to me, Constance Holden, or Scott Nelson and Mzia Chatara (our lay pastoral care associate coordinators), to discuss your plans or concerns during this time.  

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Some Offerings to consider:

When the leadership of the congregation decided in August of 2018 to adopt one congregational goal, and then reaffirmed that goal in August of 2109, I don’t think any of us could have ever imagined that “Staying Connected” would take on this much importance!  Please do stay connected!  Don’t let physical distancing lead to social isolation.  Check out the BVUUF Calendar to see all we are offering. 

Here’s some options to consider:

Mist Ari’s Morning Merriment: Monday through Friday 9:30 — 10 am Keep connected with all your BVUUF preschool friends and Mist Ari every weekday morning!

Longmont Unitarian Universalist Presence (LUUP) Online Dinner Church: Friday Night, May 15,  6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Grab your meal, put your feet up, and join with other UUs. All are always welcome to join this evening of ritual and eating together. The LUUP dinner church is an opportunity for a multigenerational community to share a meal and meaning-making rituals. Each time we gather, we explore questions and do an activity around a theme. The experience is interactive and accessible to people of many ages, even online.  Every first and third Friday night.

Mama’s Movie Night: Saturday, May 9 7 pm – -9 pm Kick back and start your Mother’s Day Celebration early with this School of the Spirit staff offering. 

Poetry Night: Second Thursdays in May and June. Join Rev. Lydia on Thursday, May 14 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for a contemplative evening of sharing using poetry. Rev. Lydia will provide a poem for us to dive into, based on the SoulMatters theme of Thresholds. There will be time for personal journaling or drawing, followed by small group sharing. (These events used to be called “Deepening the Conversation,” and are based on the work of Parker Palmer).

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Links:

If you are experiencing economic hardship, here’s a link for Help for workers in CO during COVID-19  

Interfaith Alliance has developed an extensive list of community resources for those impacted by COVID-19.  

Recommended links for online, reputable sources for more information:

Please use reputable websites for accurate information including the 

These websites often link to other sites they have vetted and consider accurate.  

Here are two additional resources you may find helpful:

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