Sunday services are now back indoors! This is exciting – we haven’t had a scheduled service in our Sanctuary since March 8, 2020. We are doing this knowing that Covid, and particularly the Delta variant, is still a risk for all of us. We have many precautions in place, and trust that you will do your part to help keep all of us safe. We are excited to gather in worship, together, safely.

Our service will be held in the Sanctuary, with overflow seating in the Fellowship Hall. The Service will continue to be live-streamed for those who are unable, or uncomfortable worshiping in person.

Here are the precautions that we are taking:

• Asking all who participate in person to review and commit to our Covenant for In-Person Gathering (below).
• Contact Tracing – simple style – we ask all who attend an in-person service, meeting, or other gathering to complete our contact tracing form. This allows us to inform you of possible exposure from another congregant. There will be QR codes on the Order of Service. Please help a fellow congregant out if they don’t have a smartphone available. Click for the Contact Tracing Form. Read more about the QR Codes and how they work here.
• Asking you to promptly inform the Minister or a Board Member if you test positive for Covid following being at the church.
• Requiring proper fitting, properly worn masks for all people over the age of two anywhere in the building and outdoors (the only exception is individuals working alone in offices)
• Unvaccinated Adults are asked to participate in the Service virtually so long as vaccinated people can transmit the virus to unvaccinated people (as is true with the Delta variant).
• Sanctuary Seating –
  • We will limit the number of people in the Sanctuary
  • Overflow seating will be in Fellowship Hall
  • We are requiring 6 foot distancing between pods (side-to-side and front-to-back)
  • Sit with your pod where there are blue X’s on the pews. Keep six feet distancing side to side and front to back.
  • Families and pods larger than the two-three person sections taped out should pick an empty pew with an empty pew in front of it.
  • The first three rows of the sanctuary are reserved for the Choir – helping to create a buffer between the choir and the congregation when the choir sings from the front of the Sanctuary. More details on singing precautions can be found here.
• Good airflow and purification
• Air filtration in the Sanctuary
• Fans in use
• Doors and windows open in the Sanctuary (please bring your jacket in with you, as it will be chillier than normal)
• Note, because doors to the narthex and 2nd floor hallway will be open during the service it will be helpful to keep noise in those areas to a minimum. We’ll have signs to remind you!
• We are working to eliminate Pinch points, or bottlenecks as they create additional risk for everyone. Please follow the directions of Ushers, Staff, and Leadership to help us prevent those from happening.
• We will continue having our social (coffee) hour outdoors.
• We are asking members to use their permanent name tag rather than writing a new sticky one each week. We will have colored dots you can put on your name tag to indicate your comfort with closeness/touch with other congregants. Pick them up from the name tag boards on the first floor landing as you enter the building.
• Information about singing in church can be found here.

Most importantly, please be aware that our precautions may change from one week to another as we adjust to this new environment.

Many, many thanks to the Regathering Committee for their dedication in following ever changing information regarding Covid-19, as well as researching equipment and best practices. And so much more. Please thank any or all of these committee members when you have the opportunity – Ray Gonzalez (chair), Amy Glesius, Randy Partain, Allan Georgia, Mike Carney, and Ken Kuehm.

If you have any questions about our move to worshiping indoors please contact Carol Gay or Amy Glesius.

Thank you all for your patience and commitment to UUCC over this unprecedented time. I’m really proud of us.

Carol Gay, UUCC Board President

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