On Wednesday August 4, your Board held an emergency meeting to discuss three items surrounding our in-person re-opening. Those items were the a) the KUUF picnic/potluck on August 15, b) the choir’s meeting to sing and record music late in August, and c) our combined “soft opening” and our full opening on September 5 and September 12, respectively.
The Moving Forward Task Force (MFTF) had met the previous day to review, with our Parish Nurse, the Delta variant of COVID-19. (MFTF Minutes here) This information was shared with the Board, and was the basis for our decisions.
August 15 picnic: Although we agreed that with stringent protocols on masking and food serving, it is possible to hold such an event safely, the Board decided that the strict protocols would discourage many people from attending. Council members present at their August 3 meeting had expressed similar concerns. The Board voted unanimously to cancel the picnic. We hope to hold such a potluck/picnic at a later date once infection levels subside. Watch The Candle for updates, as well as for notes on when the KUUF Farmer’s Market will be in session.
Choir music: Our fabulous Choir Director had hopes that choir members who chose to, could meet together in the Sanctuary to sing and record music for our services. This truly would have been a joy, both for choir members and for our greater congregation. However, once again our concerns over the Delta variant’s potency prevailed, and we voted unanimously to delay this for at least a month.
In-person reopening September 5 and 12: Finally, our hopes of joining together for in-person services also fell to concern over the surging virus, and we voted to delay our in-person gathering for at least one month. Our vote was also unanimous, although one Board member could not be present for this final vote. The Board will revisit this question when we meet on August 24, and regularly thereafter. We are particularly eager to have Reverend Jessica’s input on these questions when she returns to us in September. In the meantime, our fabulous Worship Committee will continue to move us forward with multi-platform live-streaming.
We are disappointed and sad to have to make these decisions. We hope that Chalice Circles, Neighborhood Groups, book groups and others will continue to create ways for the beloved members of our community to meet together in smaller groupings, both in person and virtually. Our community remains united in spirit, and in love.