Summer greetings UUSS!

With the on-going situation in Afghanistan, the increased intensity of weather events linked to climate change, and the delta variant of COVID, this summer has brought many opportunities to grieve, to be disappointed, to feel afraid.

Many of us have also taken some time to assess our lives. We’ve made an effort to visit with loved ones or to travel a bit or to unplug from the stress and dire strain of the past year+.

There has been beauty and there has been brokenness here and abroad. We have been living through a time of trauma and loss alongside of moments of joy and connection. We have continued to monitor both the CDC recommendations and the UUA recommendations regarding gathering along with the many other factors that impact the decisions to gather together for religious education and/or worship. While we are hoping for a mid-September in-person worship experience, we are not confident that the numbers will be what they need to be to do so safely inside.

We will continue to monitor and to discuss with the COVID Prevention and Response Team as we navigate these next few weeks. Whether we stay fully online, have a multi-platform worship experience outdoors, or a multi-platform worship indoors, we will need volunteers, a lot of them for any of these endeavors to be successfully meaningful. Please watch for opportunities to serve, even if you don’t think of yourself as very tech savvy. And if you do think of yourself as tech savvy, please write to us right now to tell us you want to help and let us know about your skills.

Here is the most recent news out from the UUA: https://www.uua.org/leadership/library/delta-guidance

We will continue to rely on our cherished UU values of inclusion, living our interdependence by prioritizing one another’s health and well-being, science, and continuing to go forward with an attitude of curiosity, learning, and care for one another.

With much care,

Rev. Wendy and Rev. Lynn