Dear People of UUVentura,
The latest word from Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association is the recommendation that we start addressing the reality that we may well not be able to gather in person for worship for a full year.
She writes: “Over the past several weeks, the UUA has consulted with multiple public health officials in order to update the guidance we provided on March 12 recommending congregations stop gathering in person. Based on advice from experts, we continue to recommend that congregations not gather in person. We also recommend that congregations begin planning for virtual operations for the next year (through May 2021). Take a moment to breathe. I know this is significant.”
Though this is stark and hard news, my first reactions to her missive were gratitude and relief. Gratitude for real leadership that consults experts and faces reality. Relief for clear guidance that we can begin to make plans around. For the last two months, it has seemed that the ground has been shifting by the hour, the day, maybe the week. Though it is a long time to consider, we can move ahead now with plans and goals.
This may yet be hard to wrap our heads around. Cities, counties, and the state are beginning (hopefully very slowly and deliberatively) to open up. Yet gathering in large groups in enclosed spaces will be the last to reopen.
Alas, as Rev. Frederick-Gray says: “Religious gatherings are highly contagious events. Singing together, the familiarity of people across households, the multigenerational community of children, youth, adults, and seniors—the things that make our congregations so special—also create more risk for spreading the virus.”
We have been utterly amazing over the last two months in worship and in so much beyond. The importance of this spiritual community of kindred spirits and shared value has become clearer. We are finding ways to strengthen the ties that bind us together. Our ministries together never stopped being essential.
Now we get to take a deep breath, and take a moment to take it all in (once more).
Let the sense of disappointment, even heartbreak wash over you. There is the particular loss of not being able to sing together felt acutely by the choir and our church musicians.
Then we get to ourselves up and take up the creative, long-term planning that will continue to carry us through. We will still be able to be flexible to changing conditions. We may well be able to gather in small groups – observing all the recommended safety protocols – before May 2021.
I am grateful to be a part of a religious tradition that reveres science, human community, and justice. Quoting Rev. Frederick-Gray again: “This pandemic teaches us that our actions directly impact the health and well-being of our neighbors, and so it is imperative that we make choices that keep our congregations and the larger community safer. As COVID-19 disproportionately impacts people with disabilities, Black people, Indigenous communities, Latinx people, the elderly and essential workers, a majority of who are women and women of color, religious communities have a moral responsibility to do all we can to reduce risks for those already at such high risk.”
So, let’s all take a moment to breathe.
I leave you with something to look forward to next week. Our speaker May 24 will be Tanner Linden, a young man who has grown up in the church and who this community has helped form into a fine young man. Many know the amazing things Tanner has done in church, in denomination, and beyond. He has also worked at the Santa Barbara Zoo for several years. His topic for Sunday, May 24? It’s a Zoo Out There. It promises to be a thoughtful and delightful Sunday.
Our mission as a church may be more vital than ever in these times. A large part of that mission is to nurture our children and youth a they grow into kind, compassionate, and thoughtful people. Next Sunday, we’ll get to see an example of doing that.
With love and gratitude,
Rev. Dana