Dear KUUF Fellowship,
Happy May Day! I hope you have spent some time this week “bringing in the May” as they say, enjoying the flowers that are blooming and the sunny weather we have seen. Thank goodness for those moments of sunshine! Because it is Week 8 of social distancing here in Kitsap County and frankly, I miss you! I have spoken with so many of you lately, over the phone and on Zoom. I love seeing your faces and hearing your voices. And yet, it isn’t quite the same, is it? How wonderful it will be when we can all be together again.
The good news is that so many of you are managing well. You are caring for your families and connecting with loved ones and getting outside. Many of you have become tech experts! And a huge amount of you are bravely tackling your internet on Sunday mornings, to worship together and experience community in a new way. One of my favorite moments of the week is when I press “broadcast” on our Zoom webinar and I see each of you, one by one, pop into our virtual worship space. I especially love when you say hello in the chat! And when you share with us who is sitting with you in your home, watching alongside you. Thank you for all the ways, large and small, that you are staying engaged with the KUUF community. Your willingness to try new things and be a part of KUUF, wherever we are, is so important right now.
This week I have been thinking a lot about how to stay engaged. Growing up, May Day wasn’t just about flowers in my house. We also celebrated the labor unions and workers’ rights. And this May Day, more than ever, I feel called to celebrate the essential workers in our communities, who often go unseen but who provide a critical foundation for our daily lives. During this pandemic, they have put themselves at risk to keep the rest of us safe and comfortable. And I am inspired by their service.
Perhaps you are also inspired. Perhaps you are wondering, like me, how we might be of service in this time. KUUF is working with our neighbors at KIAC, the Kitsap Immigration Assistance Center, to put together several ways we can be of service and help those who need it the most. Suzanne Rowley from KIAC has written a beautiful letter for this newsletter, about ways we can help. Please do take a moment to read it.
And remember, one of the greatest things we can do to be of service right now is to stay home. That’s one of the best ways to support our essential workers. Stay home and stay healthy, take care of yourself and your loved ones, and reach out when you need help. The last part is where I come in. If I haven’t heard your voice in a while, you can be sure that I would like to hear it. If you have a moment, give me a call or send me an email and say hello.
And if you need help, financial or otherwise, myself and the entire KUUF community is here for you. You are not alone.
Worship will continue to be there for you on Sunday mornings. Our board is available Wednesday evenings on Zoom. And I have my regular office hours every week. Bring your knitting and a cup of tea and lets chat! As this moment unfolds before us, our connection with one another will light our way through. So don’t forget to let your light shine!
Blessings on a beautiful May Day,
Rev. Jessica
The Light of a Hundred Chalices
Dear KUUF community,
Recently some members of our KUUF family have reached out to me with news of loved ones who are ill, some gravely, with COVID-19. Most of these loved ones are in the hospital and are not allowed visitors. This means that families are separated, from one another and their community and their minister, at a time of grief and death.
One of our members asked me what we could do as a community, to accompany those families who find themselves in this heartbreaking situation. In moments like this, Christian churches often offer "prayer chains.” With the support of our small group circle leaders, KUUF is going to begin something called a “Chalice Chain."
When I am told of someone in our KUUF community who is sick with COVID-19 and alone in the hospital, I will contact the leaders of our small group circles and ask them to light a chalice. (A chalice can be formal, or it can simply be a candle.) They will contact the folks in their circle and ask them to do the same. We have over a hundred people in our collective circles. We will light our hundred chalices together and in this way, no one is alone. And in my prayers with the family, I can say we have lit our chalices for them, and that we are with them.
If you have not yet joined a small group circle, I invite you to take this opportunity. We want to stay connected with you. And we want to include the light of your chalice in our chain.
And if you know someone who could use the light of a hundred chalices, please call or email me.
I am so grateful to you all, for the ways you are staying in relationship with one another, despite how difficult this can be right now. We are building new ways of being together and we are staying connected. Through online worship, small groups, Zoom gatherings and simple phone call check-ins, we remain a beloved community. Our building is a lovely building, but we are the fellowship. And we are so blessed to be in this community together.
Love,
Rev. Jessica
Update from Rev. Jessica
Dear KUUF community,
This week the board made the difficult decision to close the KUUF building until further notice. All gatherings, of any size, are prohibited. All of our staff—including myself and Tanesha Smith, our office administrator—are working from home. During a press conference yesterday the Kitsap Health Board made it very clear that we should all essentially be sheltering in place, in our homes, until further notice. KUUF is following those guidelines and encouraging our members to do the same, as much as possible. If you are working at a job that makes this impossible, please know we support you in doing what you need to do. This is a long-haul situation and we are in it together.
And while this is a difficult time for all of us, it is especially difficult for those who are losing their income because businesses and schools have been temporarily shut down. The board and I want to make sure KUUF is doing everything we can, for one another and our larger community.
Need help?
If you are a member in need of financial assistance, please contact me directly at minister@kuuf.org.
If you need groceries or medicine delivered, contact me or Tanesha and we will get you connected to a KUUF member who can help.
Want to help?
If you are a KUUF member or friend under-60 and not immunocompromised, please consider making yourself available to deliver groceries or medicine. Email me and I will add you to our response team.
If you are able to donate financially, please consider giving to KUUF. You can donate online via Paypal at https://paypal.me/KitsapUU and in the “Notes” section designate your donation one of the following ways:
KUUF Ministerial Discretionary Fund, which helps members in need.
Kitsap Community Foundation, to help those in our community.
General fund, in lieu of our usual Sunday offering basket
Charitable Giving, which goes to our monthly charitable giving recipient
And check in with me and let me know how you’re doing! Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, 12-2pm I am holding office hours on Zoom: https://uuma.zoom.us/j/265672270. And Wednesday evenings, 6-8pm, I am hosting an informal Zoom hangout: https://uuma.zoom.us/j/170960595.
And of course, I am available by phone or text at my cell: 206-890-2872.
Have more questions about COVID-19?
This Thursday, March 19, at 3pm our Parish Nurse Jenn is hosting a Zoom chat.
https://uuma.zoom.us/j/656293173
Or call in by phone: 1-669-900-6833 and enter meeting ID: 656-293-173.
I was so grateful this past Sunday to see so many of you attending our Youtube worship service and our Zoom virtual coffee hour. A lot of you are using this kind of tech for the first time! I hope you’re finding it easier than you had imagined it might be. If not, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or our media team (media@kuuf.org) with questions. We are eager to make sure you have access to your KUUF community. We will be worshipping together again this Sunday at 10:30am. Watch us at KUUF.org.
As we adjust to our new normal for the next several weeks, I invite you to stay connected with KUUF. At times like this we realize how vitally important it is to be a part of such a caring community of folks. Though we may be separated physically, we are still connected with one another. Reach out your heart in the days to come and remember that we are with you.
Blessings and gratitude to you each of you,
Rev. Jessica