Dear Members and Friends of First Unitarian,

This morning, we made the decision NOT to hold in-person worship this Sunday. There will not be in-person worship at least through the end of this month. Live-stream worship will continue and we encourage everyone to sign on at 10:15 a.m. to view the service.

Yesterday, we sent out a plan for much scaled back worship in response to the risks of the spreading virus. This plan included no Religious Education classes, no coffee or snacks, no orders of service, no passing of the collection baskets and a number of other steps to minimize risk. Many of you expressed appreciation for the care and thought that went into that approach.

But information about the virus and its spread continues to change almost hour by hour. Last night, Gov. Brown indicated that she would be requiring the cancellation of all gatherings of more than 250 persons. The cancellation of professional basketball games was also announced.

At this point, it is not an abundance of caution but appropriate caution for us to cancel in-person worship and most other gatherings at the church. Many of those other gatherings were being cancelled one-by-one. Please consult notes in this e-news or check the web-site (www.firstunitarianportland.org) for information about specific events.

We recognize that an important part of our coming together is the community we create each Sunday and throughout the week. In the coming weeks while we are not together in person we are working on ways for us to stay connected as a community.

Look for a weekly reflection from one of our staff, in addition to a blog from me in Thursday E-news. If you want outreach from a lay minister request it by clicking here, even if it is only for prayer. Look for information about other opportunities to gather “virtually.”

I also want to urge you to make connection with others part of your daily spiritual practice. Find time and space to reach out to those in groups you may be a part of or committees on which you serve. Are you old enough to remember “phone trees?”

How we care for one another will make all the difference in these days and help us make the difference that we can in a world where the need for love and support just became so crystal clear.

Blessings,

Bill