January 5, 2022

Heaven knows where we are going, but … we will get there; we know we will.

–”Woyaya” (STJ#1020)

Happy New Year, Dear Ones! 

I hope the coming year will bring happiness and wholeness to us all.  

You’ll have to forgive me, but I’m a wee bit COVID-obsessed this week. I’ve been watching the numbers of cases in our area, as well as our state and the entire country climb steeply over the last days and hoping that the gap between cases diagnosed and hospitalizations continues to grow, indicating that the effects of the Omicron variant are milder than earlier versions of COVID-19 and significantly moderated by vaccinations. 

I’m so, so grateful for the careful work over many months (we can now almost say “years”!) by members and leaders of this congregation to research safety protocols, craft an indoor meeting policy, and solve ever-evolving technical issues so that we can continue gathering for worship. Late last fall, we moved to meeting in hybrid/multiplatform mode. Almost every worship service is now available both online (Zoom and YouTube) and in person in the sanctuary (or occasionally outdoors). 

I expect our hybrid meetings will continue through the current spike in COVID cases, but I want to ask each of you to think carefully about your own safety, health, and risk levels. If you would like to join us in person, please continue to sign in when you arrive, to wear a good mask properly, and to maintain space between yourself and others while inside–these measures help us keep each other safer. Please, please, be sure to get vaccinated and boosted as you are eligible. But also consider your own individual level of risk: if you have underlying health issues, or other areas of your life involve higher levels of risk or exposure, please be mindful of whether or not your overall well-being is best served by joining us in person or online. Our policy and practices cannot keep us perfectly safe, but if each of us is thoughtful and careful, we will all be safer and able to sustain the congregational connections that nurture us.

I know we are tired of living with the pandemic; I know this has been a long slog. I also know that we can keep on being together and supporting each other, and that we will. 

Yours in love, hope, and so much more patience than we ever imagined,

Rev. Denise

Rev. Denise Gyauch
Minister, Greater Nashville UU Congregation
RevDenise@gnuuc.org