Dear Members and Friends of UUCV,

We are again reopening our church doors to in-person, indoors Sunday services on February 20th. Using our reservation system, up to 75 people will be allowed in the sanctuary.

After the pandemic emerged in early 2020 and forced closure of the church, a Reopening Team was formed to monitor pandemic news, read and discuss CDC, State, and local advisories, and make recommendations to the Board. The Reopening Team has met frequently to keep up with a great deal of information, much of which seemed contradictory at times. To give credit to this dedicated group, here are their names: Priscilla Akin, Kent Brinkmeyer, Melissa Ruiz, Cassie Tondro, Jim Waldron, and Bryan Buck (chair).

Recommendations made by the Reopening Team are further evaluated and acted on by your UUCV Board. Your Board members are Ron Dallas, Ray Escobedo, Rebeca Fassett, Cassie Tondro, Xenia Young, and Yukio Okano. Rev. Dana is an ex officio member of the Board. During the early stages of the pandemic, the Board decided to be cautious and closed the church. The decision was made to open gradually.

Starting in September, 2021, following an all-generations outdoor church service, in-person attendance was limited to parents of our RE children. This was done to not only limit the number of people attending, but to protect RE children, who at the time could not be vaccinated. About 20 people attended live services.

In early November, the number allowed to attend services in person was increased to 50. To promote fairness, a first-come, first-served reservation system was put in place. The reservation system also helped us to keep track of the number of people attending services. In mid-December, the Board approved a Reopening Team recommendation to increase the number allowed to attend in person to 75. Services were again closed on January 9th due to the surge of the Omicron variant.

As we again reopen the church, here is a reminder of some basic principles followed by the Board in making decisions:

• Outdoors is safer than indoors.
• COVID virus transmission risk increases in crowded settings, especially indoors.
• Masks are needed indoors and even outdoors when there are many people and/or there are unvaccinated people present.
• Many children, especially those under 5, are not yet vaccinated.
• Vaccinations are vital to controlling the pandemic.

While public health data indicate the Omicron surge is decreasing, the Reopening Team and Board believe it is best to resume gradual reopening. Here are some specific actions that have been taken:

• We ask that anyone entering the sanctuary be vaccinated unless there is a medical reason not to be.
• Half of the seating normally in the sanctuary has been removed, leaving 130 chairs. This allows for greater spacing between non-related groups.
• Recognizing the importance of ventilation, the HVAC system has been inspected and tested.
• Windows and doors are open during services to increase fresh air.
• Fans are used in the sanctuary to promote air flow.
• CO2 levels have been measured to confirm that there is a good flow of fresh air.
• HEPA air filtration units have been used to further promote fresh air flow. The Board purchased 11 new units for use throughout the church.
• Wearing of masks is required for those in the sanctuary.

The Reopening Team and the Board recognize that people may not agree on how to proceed with reopening the church. We also believe that our church members and friends are self-selective in their decision-making. Some will feel comfortable in coming to church under these conditions. Others may choose to stay home and attend via Zoom or You Tube.

We have learned that flexibility is essential in adapting to the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic. We are trying to move forward cautiously, knowing that we can make changes as needed. We will not hesitate to make changes needed to protect the health of the staff and congregation.

As we enter yet another phase of the pandemic, we wish you serenity and good health.

Yukio Okano
UUCV Board President

Bryan Buck
Chair, Reopening Team

Dear Ones,
 
   The Omicron wave has crashed upon the shore and is receding again.
 
So, let’s celebrate by coming together for an All Generations, In Person, Outdoors Animal Blessing service fittingly called Puppy Love on the Sunday before Valentine’s Day!
 
We’ll come together as a community – complete with our dear Animal Companions, the dear pets who helped us survive the isolation and repeated shut downs of the continuing Covid Time. 
 
Bring your (mostly) well-behaved pets who can be on leash or in crates to join us for worship, which will include stories and music and conclude with a Pet Parade.
 
We will also have an altar for photos of pets who have died or who it’s best to leave home.
 
It will be so good to be together again. 
 
Given that the Omicron wave has passed, the Reopening Team and the Board are consulting about reopening for hybrid services soon.  Our current plan will be to again ask people to RSVP for church, likely beginning with a sanctuary capacity of 75. 
 
I have learned ever more viscerally over the last two years to hold the words ‘current plan’ very lightly. It is my fond hope that we won’t have to shut down again, and eventually we will be able to open our doors again without restriction, while keeping a window open, too, for those who can join us on Zoom. 
 
Throughout the pandemic, the UUA has offered guidance to our congregations, researching and recommending practices to reduce the risk of Covid transmission at each stage of this pandemic. 
Because the virus is going to be with us for a long time, the UUA advises each congregation to “decide for itself how it will gather given the risks and needs in its community … as the virus surges and dissipates. The UUA supports congregations that make the decision to suspend all in-person gatherings, and we also support congregations that decide to combine in-person and online engagement…. [basing decisions on] your community, your building, and your people” and how in-person gatherings can be adequately safe.
 
Onward together,
Rev. Dana

Good People, 
  On the next two Sundays after church, we are going to have meetings about our long-term and immediate financial sustainability. The meetings are important and related, and I want to give you some overall context for them both.
 
UUCV has been in a Very-Good-News and a Not-So-Hot-News financial situation for several years. The short version is that there are two measures of financial health for institutions. We are Amazing at one of them, and Struggling with the other. The pandemic did us no favors with the struggling part.
 
The Amazing
This congregation has the strongest reserves of any of the churches I have served or belonged to. It has been a long-term practice of the Finance Committee and Board that we keep the equivalent of three month’s expenses in a reserve account, as is recommended by financial planners. We currently have enough to cover 8-month’s expenses. And that does not include our Legacy Funds or the other dedicated funds we hold. This situation has been created by the legacy generosity of several church members and the careful stewardship and management of the funds by several iterations of Finance Committees and Boards.
 
In short, we have a lot of money in the bank(s), and can weather a financial hit or two without great disruption.
 
The Struggles
For a decade or more, the church has operated on deficit budgets. We have found an interesting variety of ways make it through those deficit years without dipping into reserves. Indeed, the Board, Finance Committee, and Generosity Team had nearly gotten us back on sustainable footing in fiscal year 2018-2019. The pandemic hit our budgets hard, though we made up those deficit budgets with grants and PPP loans/grants. 
 
In short, we continue to have a deficit problem.
 
What Next?
As we surface on the other side of the pandemic, we need to pick up the work of regaining our footing and funding sustainable budgets over time. So, the Generosity Team recommended that the Board hire UUA stewardship consultant Kay Crider to help us strategize a 3- to 4- to maybe a even 5-year plan to regain sustainable footing in both measures of institutional financial health – that we have both money in the bank in reserves and legacy funds for new initiatives and we are able to regularly pass balanced budgets that fund our mission, programs, and staff.
 
Kay has been consulting with the Generosity Team and Board all fall. For these last couple of weeks, she has been meeting with a variety of church groups to get to know our community, our mission, our dreams, our gifts, our challenges. 
 
She also has a survey for us to fill out HERE.
 
Two Meetings

• Kay will be sharing her ‘findings’ with everyone after church this Sunday, Jan. 16 at 11:30 on our worship Zoom link.
• The following Sunday, Jan. 23 at 11:30, also on our Zoom link, the Finance Committee with hold our annual Mid-Year Budget Review.  

These two meetings are overlapping though different in focus. On Jan. 16th, we’ll be looking at our long-term goal and a process to get there. On the 23rd, we will be focusing on the details of this year’s budget. 
 
The hymn Woyaya has a line that says, “We will get there. Heaven knows how we will get there, but we know we will.”  Between both of these after church meetings, we will have a much clearer picture of “how we will get there…”
 
I encourage you all to attend both. 
With hope and faith,
Rev. Dana

Dear Ones,

We’ve gotten so good at turning on a dime with the latest news of Covid spread. 
We’ve gotten good enough that sometimes we forget how exhausting it is. 
We forget to check in with ourselves in body, mind, and spirit. 
 
So, this is a reminder to you all to check in with yourself – and with each other. 
And take care of yourself – and of each other.
 
The last two years have been ridiculously trying times. 
For all the times you have risen to the occasion, give yourselves – and each other – a pat on the back.
For all the times you have been impatient, annoyed, angry, sad, lonely, give yourselves – and each other – a hug.
 
I suspect for many, the news of our return to online, Zoom worship feels like a punch in the gut. 
I know many are feeling lonely and isolated, and it just hurts. This seemingly endless pandemic will be behind us eventually. We will cross something like a finish line, though lines are so fuzzy these days, we may not realize it until we’ve past it.
 
Sigh. 
 
And please, please do not suffer in silence. Please reach out to family and friends in the church and beyond.
The staff, church leaders, and Pastoral Associates are all reaching out a lot. Yet we may still miss someone in need; we may still miss you…
 
Another way to reach out is to email the church Warm Line.
It is ‘warm’ as opposed to a ‘hot’ line. The Warm Line was created by the Pastoral Associates* and me for the less-than-emergency, I’m-still-feeling-pretty-low moments when you could use a kind ear. 
 
Just send an email to warmline@uuventura.org. 
The Pastoral Associates monitor the messages, and someone will respond within a day.
You can send a message about yourself or on behalf of someone else in the church. 
Perhaps you’ve noticed someone who seems down, someone in need who is unlikely to ask for themselves.
 
The Pastoral Associates have been quietly working with me, mostly behind the scenes, reaching to our community. We almost always worry that we are missing someone. The Warmline is a way you can help us stay in touch.
 
We will get through this pivot, too.
Remember, none of us is alone. 
We are strongest and most resilient together.
 
With Love,
Rev. Dana
 
*The Pastoral Associates partner with me to attend to pastoral needs in our community. They offer a confidential, compassionate, and listening presence. They are Kent Brinkmeyer, Don Henniger, Kris Langabeer, Darryl Marquez, Madelaine Okano, Yukio Okano, and Rena Pezzuto,

Dear Members and Friends of UUCV,
 
Your Board of Trustees has consulted with the Reopening Team about the surge of the Omicron variant we have all been learning about in the news.  Rev. Dana also consulted with the Worship Team and Fidelity checked with the RE Community.  The latest Covid alert reports that risk in Ventura County has increased from high to severe.  
 
In consideration of the extreme transmissibility of the Omicron virus, the Board has decided to suspend in-person, indoor worship services for the remainder of January.  This also includes suspending in-person RE activities for children.  Services, including RE activities, will continue on Zoom and You Tube.
 
Closing worship services again is a very difficult decision.  We know many of you are extremely disappointed at this news.  We remain hopeful that we will return to in-person, indoor services and RE activities soon.  
 
We will re-evaluate the situation at the end of the month.  I want to add that an outdoor, all generations animal blessing worship service is being planned for January 30^th.  
 
Please contact me if you have any questions.
 
Be well,
Yukio Okano
Board President 

Good People,

  I write to bring you up to date about reopening and risk factors and where we stand.  Scientists have discovered over the course of the last 21 months that Covid-19 spreads most through aerosols, which are even tinier than sneeze droplets.
Remember the days of wiping down our groceries before we bringing them into the house?

People have complained that the advice keeps changing, wondering why our vaunted scientific community doesn’t get it right the first time. Yet that is a misunderstanding of how science works.
Take the Omicron Variant. We don’t know a whole lot about it yet, because the science of detection has gotten so good that it was picked up incredibly early. Poor South Africa gets ‘blamed’ for it because their scientists were the first on it. Scientists are always questioning, theorizing, testing, evaluating, re-evaluating. The more we know, the more things change. (And yes, we have to account for a little human error, too.)
Frustrating, yes, and exactly how it should be.

Here is the best we know right now and how UUCV is responding.
Because Covid is spread mostly by aerosols, ventilation indoors is the most important factor in reducing risk.
So:
** We have tuned up our HVAC, and the ‘old dinosaur’ is working very well.
** Because we can’t install filters on our system, we have place HEPA air purifiers throughout the sanctuary.
** We are also purchasing them for all enclosed meeting spaces.
** We are opening windows and doors, and placing fans around the sanctuary to keep the fresh air circulating.
How can we tell if these measures are working?
** We checked carbon dioxide levels with a CO2 monitor under different conditions, with few people in the sanctuary up to 100.
** The results so far suggest there is very low risk of Covid spread in the sanctuary – even if someone present is unknowingly infected with Covid, the risk that anyone else will catch it is very small.
The risks, as scientists and public health officials tell us, is never zero. It never was and never will be, yet this is the most reassuring news I have heard.
The road ahead?
From the most recent UUA recommendations:
“Guidelines about types of masks to wear, safe distancing, air exchanges per hour, etc. are likely to continue to change. It will be harder and harder to for the UUA to offer specific and/or prescriptive guidance, given the variety of circumstances.”
Some congregations – largely in wintry New England – have decided to cancel indoor Christmas Eve services due to Omicron. Most of the congregations in Southern California are still watching and waiting hopefully.

At UU Ventura, we are still planning two services indoors on Christmas Eve – with an outdoor, masked carol sing for everyone between services. The services, which will be the same, are at 5 and 6:15 pm. Families are welcome at both. The 6:15 service will also be on Zoom and streamed.

The Reopening Team, Board, Staff, and I are all watching and waiting along with you.
Depending on how things develop, we may very well expand the number of people in the sanctuary to 75 by the end of the month.

One last suggestion: Because we are keeping windows and doors open and blowing in as much fresh air as possible, please bundle up in layers when you come to church in person!

They never taught me about ministry in a time of pandemic in seminary.
I’m still grateful that we are doing this together.

With love,
Rev. Dana