From the Associate Minister of Religious Education – June 2020

A number of people have wondered when UUCPA might start having in-person events again. The UUCPA Board of Trustees is currently researching options, and developing a policy to answer this question.

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), to which our congregation belongs, has issued guidance that we should plan as if we’ll be doing all our activities online through May 2021. This guidance is based on what we know right now about how COVID-19 is spread, and on possible timelines for an effective vaccine and/or cure.

At a recent meeting, the Board of Trustees reviewed this guidance and passed an interim motion that no in-person events may be held at the UUCPA campus without prior Board approval. The Board is in the process of reviewing state guidelines, information from our insurance company, and other reliable sources to develop a science-based and rational approach to determining when in-person events might be held.

The Children and Youth Religious Education Committee has also looked at the UUA guidance and concluded that we will make plans assuming that we will not be able to have in-person Sunday school through May 2021. If other in-person programs become possible before then, our first priority will be to resume the OWL class for grades 7-9, and perhaps other small group programs for middle schoolers and teens. But we have set no time table for this, and at this point, Santa Clara County still does not permit Sunday school programs.

On a brighter note, even though humans can’t join programs at UUCPA, stuffed animals can. So we are sponsoring a Stuffed Animal Sleepover for the weekend of June 19-21; see below for more information. This Stuffed Animal Sleepover will conclude with the stuffies attending the Flower Communion led by our senior minister, Amy, on Sunday morning — even if your stuffed animal can’t attend the sleepover, be sure to watch the service on Sunday morning to see the other stuffies!

See you on Zoom sometime soon,
Dan Harper