Nov. 3, 2021: "Are you ready? Our options for worshipping together are expanding!"
Ours is no caravan of despair. --Rumi
Are you ready? Our options for worshipping together are expanding!
Starting this Sunday, we will be slowly finding our way (both technically and socially) back to using our sanctuary for worship services. Upcoming services will continue to be available on Zoom (except for 5th Sundays, which we will spend working together on service projects), but will also be available to enjoy in-person in our garden and/or sanctuary. Different options will be available on different weeks, so please be sure to watch the Eblast, website, and other communication channels for reminders each week.
It may be difficult for any of us to see from a distance everything that has been and continues to be poured into our weekly worship life, but your leaders have been generous in donating time, energy, skill, and personal resources to research and implement health and safety measures, solve technical problems, and perform feats of logistical wizardry so we can stay connected and move toward connecting in more satisfying ways than have been possible since the beginning of the pandemic.
Last Sunday (a 5th Sunday), we met outside on the church grounds to welcome a new member, make care packages for Room in the Inn, play together, and feast on deli sandwiches. It was a glorious day in many ways, and I realized that I probably quadrupled the number of congregants I’ve now met in person just that morning! I can’t wait to meet more of you…
If you’d like to spend a little outdoor time with me while the weather is good, consider signing up for one of the Picnics with the Minister. (Dates are coming up soon; follow the link in the article below to register asap.) And of course, I’m always just a phone/Zoom call away—just email me (RevDenise@gnuuc.org) to set an appointment.
As we move into this new, not-quite-post-pandemic season of congregational life, I’d like to encourage us all to keep a few things in mind:
If you are joining us for worship in person, please pay close attention to our safety guidelines. Knowing and following key points of our policy (such as properly wearing masks inside our buildings) expresses care and respect for each other and our visitors.
Please be patient with everything (including yourself). We’ve been through a lot, and we’ve all been solving brand-new challenges weekly (or more often) for months on end.
Expect things to change, perhaps frequently:
Sundays will look different from what has been recently, from what was in the pre-pandemic past, AND from one week to another in the next few months. Not every Sunday will include indoor worship options, and for now we will not sing or eat together inside. (But we can if we’re outside; let’s plan to do that!)
You may feel differently than you expect, and your feelings and needs may change from week to week. Part of keeping each other safe is learning to listen to ourselves and make good decisions that align not just with our intellectual values, but also with our emotional needs and sense of safety. You know best what you need, and that could be joining worship in the sanctuary one week and staying home with Zoom the next. Please be kind to yourself and patient with all of us.
Think of our process of moving from worship during a pandemic to worship in whatever world we will inhabit next year as more of a long on-ramp than an abrupt 0-60 acceleration. We are still figuring things out as we go and may need to go slower than we’d like to avoid crashing or running down our batteries, but we will move forward, and we’re going to have good company as we ease onto that road ahead.
I am so grateful for all the good work that has gone into keeping our congregation vibrant and healthy this year, and I can’t wait to be in closer proximity with you (as you feel ready)!
Remember, you are a good gift to GNUUC and to the world; take good care of yourself!
Yours in connection and hope,
Rev. Denise
Rev. Denise Gyauch
Minister, Greater Nashville UU Congregation
RevDenise@gnuuc.org