March 14 Update: There will be no in-person programming at UUCPA on March 15, 2020. The services will be available online only via Zoom video conference. Please refer to the COVID-10 FAQ page for the latest information.
Dear UUCPA folks,
As Governor Newsom said yesterday, “Each of us has extraordinary power to slow the spread of this disease. The people in our lives who are most at risk are depending on all of us to make the right choice.” Therefore, it is after much deliberation that we have made the decision to hold services both in-person and online this Sunday. Our gathering will respect the strict safety limits meant to flatten the curve on COVID-19’s spread and keep our communities safe. And if there is no safe way for you to participate in person, you can fully engage in UUCPA life from home. So please read on!
At the required distance of 6 feet between people, we can accommodate a total of 50 people in the Main Hall. So if you usually come to the second service, which typically has more than twice that many in attendance, consider coming to the 9:30 service, or gathering with one or two others in one of the smaller rooms to tune it in via radio or the web. Most rooms will be available.
If you’re attending with people with whom you live, you may of course sit clustered closer together. Otherwise, please observe a safe distance. There are lots of ways to feel connected without physical contact–our time together will be as warm and wonderful as always.
Both services will be live-streamed, i.e., shown on the web in real-time, via Zoom online video conferencing, which is accessible via any telephone as well as the internet. If you want to be able to see as well as hear the service, please download the free program now. It will be live-streamed to two Zoom virtual “rooms” to guard against (1) technical difficulties and (2) the remote chance that more than 100 people will want to attend. (Each “room” has a limit of 100 participants.) I know your e-mail boxes are overflowing, but I will send one more with all the login information and other tips for participating from afar. March 14 Update: the Zoom video conference details can be found on our FAQ page.
On campus, outside the Main Hall, you can also tune in to the service at FM 88.7. Most smartphones act as radios with the downloading of this app, which, by the way, is a good thing to have in case of emergencies. (Unless there’s an update I’m not aware of, Apple phones don’t have this capability, sorry.)
To share your joys and sorrows if you’re not on campus, please e-mail me (parishmin@uucpa.org), putting “Caring and Sharing” in the subject line, any time up until that moment in the service (i.e., approximately 9:50 and 12:20). I will check them then and there and share them aloud. If you are on Zoom, you can also share via the included chat.
As always, the most important consideration is your health. Please take care of yourself, stay home if you need to, and avoid loneliness by connecting with your congregation on Sunday.
Thank you to Dox Doxiadis, Dan Harper, Paul Kostka, and Ann Zeise for their tireless work in getting the service out to everyone, and to all of the staff, ushers, audio crew, Children’s Religious Education committee members, and others who have devoted so much time to figuring out how to reshape our Sunday for a pandemic.
Please note that Children and Youth Religious Education and other children/youth programming is suspended.
Forum is also suspended.
It is such a blessing to be a part of each other’s lives, no matter whether we can touch hands or only hear each other’s voices over a phone line. This has been a hard week, and knowing that more hard times are probably ahead, I am glad we are dealing with them together.
Peace,
Amy
Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern, Parish Minister, Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto
parishmin@uucpa.org ~ 650-494-0541 x26
Blogging at http://sermonsinstones.com
she/her/hers
To set up an appointment: calendly.com/amyzm