March 18, 2020
Beloveds,
As the landscape keeps shifting with the impact of a new coronavirus on our community, the Fellowship is here for you. By staying connected, we will navigate our way through these times. Imagine that everything we’ve done, individually and collectively, has been preparing us for this moment in time. Over the past few years, our congregation has learned to adapt to lots of change, to be flexible and to gather remotely. We have caring networks for one another, and a strong web of relationships to build upon.
What a joy it was to see all those folks who were able to join us via Zoom on Sunday! And for those of you who were unable to join us, our apologies. Rest assured, we are researching both how to increase our capacity and train folks who are new to these technologies. It was pretty darn good for a first service online.
I continue to be appreciative of the many ways you continue to be so generous with your financial resources. Your monetary donations last Sunday kept pace with in-person services, and we received a donation to the minister’s discretionary fund, which supports people in need within our congregation. Please remember that we are still in our pledge season, and we understand that you must make the best decisions you can for yourself and for what you can share with the Fellowship. Your generosity shows up in so many ways, and inspires me deeply.
I’d like to share some new information now:
- Stay tuned for details about this Sunday’s service. Hope you can find your bunny slippers!
- Each week, I’ll open my Zoom Room for anyone who wants to hang out. (Zoom office hours!) Here’s my office hours schedule for the next two weeks:
- Wednesday, March 18 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- Thursday, March 19 from 12 noon to 2:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, March 24 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, March 25 from 9:00 a.m. to 11 a.m.
- Grab a cuppa tea, or a snack, and join me!
- Drop in and out any time.
- These dates with the zoom link are posted on the Fellowship website
- link to my zoom room and link to the instruction form
- Our Caring Council is meeting this week to strengthen our networks, paying particular attention to individuals living alone, and to those with physical and mental health issues. If you would like to be a part of our growing caring network, email the Neighborhood Connector Coordinators, Sharon Hardin and Sheri Price.
- May’s Path to Membership is cancelled. Stay tuned for when our next class will be offered. Everyone is welcome to attend all of our Fellowship offerings, no matter their membership status.
- Stay Connected to Other UUs:
- See after my signature for recommended online resources for up-to-date information, and for important information communicated in my last letter.
May we continue to bring love, reason, compassion and justice into the world, no matter how we gather,
Rev. Lydia
Recommended links for online sources for more information:
Tech Tip: Here’s how to use the links below, which are in blue and are underlined.
- Click on the blue link, then click on the link that will appear underneath the first one.
- If on a computer (and not your phone), the online resource will show up in a new window on your computer, and you can move back and forth between this letter and those resources by clicking on the tabs that show up at the top of your computer.
- For more tech support, email the office at officemanager@bvuuf.org. Please be patient while we respond to your requests.
- For the most current information, there are numerous organizations helping to inform the public. The Boulder County website has some basic, and local, information. There, you can also find links to state, national and world health organizations that have a vast amount of information.
- For those over 60 and those with underlying health conditions, extra precautions are needed. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Staying Healthy offers helpful guidance.
- There’s a lot of misinformation about how the virus spreads. Although it may be possible to get COVID-19 from touching a contaminated surface, person to person transmission is what has been documented so far. You’ll find more information about how it spreads on this link at the Center for Disease Control website.
Information is changing by the hour as more is learned about the characteristics of this virus. These links are dynamic and change as new information becomes available.
Information shared previously, for your easy reference:
- You can expect to receive weekly information from Lydia in these forms:
- an email communication with this same title from me on Wednesdays
- a link on Connections Weekly on Fridays, and
- an update on Sundays, no matter how we gather
- these will be linked to Facebook, etc.
- Our BVUUF COVID-19 Response Team:
- Rev. Lydia Ferrante-Roseberry, Minister;
- Carol Pranschke, Office Manager;
- Jessica Laikeman, Director Lifespan Faith Formation;
- Marky Lloyd, Board President;
- Deborah Mensch, A/V;
- Nancy DiLaura, Vice President; and
- Karen Axe, Health Task Force
- Judy Schmidt, Health Task Force
This group is meeting at least weekly and in regular contact to plan communications and responses to this rapidly changing public health emergency. In addition, we have sub-teams that are developing support such as our Caring Council, Sunday Service and Audio-Visual teams.