In a normal year, I would be at the UUA General Assembly now. I suppose in some sense I am “there,” though what that means is that I fit in attendance by zoom at selected events between zoom meetings “here” at First Unitarian.
In a normal year, we would have ended holding two services in the sanctuary two weeks ago and our attendance would have dropped by 40-50%. This year we have been offering one on-line service since March and our “attendance,” with 600-800 devices tuned in, means many more folks are sharing worship than we would have seen in the sanctuary.
In a normal year, many of you would be travelling out of Oregon, but not this year. Instead, we have folks attending our worship from 30 US states and several other countries.
I know that you do not need to be reminded of how much life has changed in these Covid days. The challenges of staying at a distance are front and center for all of us. So are the economic challenges. So are the fear and the grief we are holding. And the longing to return to a “normal” that we know was flawed but that was familiar.
I even find myself thinking less frequently about our physical campus and the office where I normally spend so much time.
There are real opportunities in these days. The possibility of making the first substantial change in policing seems real. The statues are being pulled down…whether by governments or by the people. But how far along the path to the Beloved Community we will be able to travel is much in question.
I am obviously in a reflective mood as summer begins.
At the church, we have done as good a job as any church I know of, and much better than most, in moving the life of our community into virtual space. We were lucky to have live-streaming of worship well established, with the screens and cameras and mic’s already in place. We had experienced tech/facilities staff and the music talent (and vision) to create the Praise Singers.
We still have much work to do. I think particularly about the needs of our families with younger children and the many choir members who have not been able to sing together.
The next two Sundays we will be streaming worship services (virtual of course) from the UUA’s General Assembly. This has value in strengthening our connection to the larger family of faith. It also allows our dedicated program leaders a bit of time to breathe and to plan for strengthening what we can offer as we look to more months of on-line ministry.
You will see some of the fruits of that planning soon. We will begin experimenting with an on-line “coffee hour” on July 12th. Plans are underway to begin a short family-centered worship before our 10:15 service…in the fall. And I expect there will be experiments in music-making as well. Our justice work, especially in police accountability, is deepening and broadening.
The church that will emerge from these Covid days will benefit from all of these developments, just as we benefitted from our early moves into on-line worship. To say it another way, the emerging church will be shaped by the ministry we do together while we are at a distance.
I will be privileged to be part of this emerging ministry for an additional year. The Board of Trustees has asked me to postpone my retirement until June, 2022, and after a process of discernment I was happy to agree. See the Board’s special announcement in this e-News. I continue to feel called to offer my gifts as First Unitarian lives into what I believe will be an increasingly meaningful future.
I will not be blogging for the next few weeks while I take some time off. But our weekly “Staying Connected” reflections will continue. I urge you to subscribe to our “Speaking of Justice” newsletter as well. And, of course, I hope you will continue to join us for worship at 10:15 every Sunday.
Stay safe and well.
Blessings,
Bill