Month: May 2020 (Page 1 of 2)

Thoughts on “Re-Opening”

May 29, 2020 /

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It’s been a difficult week of news. We crossed the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths from COVID19, and stories of racialized violence and injustice echo across the country. None of this is a surprise, exactly.  But that doesn’t make it any less devastating, or wrong.

How are you doing? Especially you who are people of color. Outrage upon outrage. If you need to talk (or yell or cry or all of it…) please don’t hesitate to reach out.

And, especially those of you sheltering-in-place on your own. I’ve been thinking so much about you. Wondering if we should make one of those shower-curtain-hugs-stations and set up in the church parking lot, or maybe one in each circle? I’ve been thinking about it, but haven’t done it…

…mostly because like a lot of other things these days, the risks aren’t totally clear. And the last thing any of us want to do is to put someone we love at risk.  Which brings me to another big milestone we crossed this week: the authorization to “re-open” in Larimer County, including, at least to some degree, churches.

I’ve been watching our numbers really closely. I’ve been very happy to see new cases remain steady, about 6-8 new cases a day for the last couple of weeks.  Generally, the trend is good.

And yet, I remain equally steady in my sense that we are making the right choice to stay all virtual for the foreseeable future, as we’ve said, probably through next year at this time.

Here are a few of my reasons….

  1. Church services remain one of the highest risk for mass transmission. Despite the technical authorization, there are plenty of examples of churches gathering “safely” in the last few weeks, only to see hundreds of people infected. Not to mention, our current space is not conducive to social distancing. for more than just a few households.
  2. A lot of us fall into the higher risk population.  The rates of fatality or long term impacts for many of us are intolerable. It’s not a matter of statistics to me – it’s personal, knowing specific people who we’d be putting at risk. Like we’ve talked about on Sundays – it’s not news to me, it’s family.
  3. If we did gather, those who are most at risk would likely choose not to attend – so, whose experience do we prioritize – in person, or online? Our virtual church experience on Sunday is generally going well – trying to merge this with an in-person experience, especially when the in-person wouldn’t be allowed to sing (because singing is one of the highest risk activities!)…it’s just not great.  And probably riddled with anxiety.
  4. And by the way….how in the world can we imagine gathering and keeping literally every one of us from hugging or getting closer than 6 feet?? After this much time apart, it seems nearly impossible. And again with the anxiety…..

With all of that in mind, even larger group outdoor gatherings start to seem unlikely, at least for a while longer. I know some folks are starting to think about smaller group gatherings, outdoors, with masks. These are lower risk, but not without risk.  Especially for anyone over age 65, or with a pre-existing condition, I can’t encourage it, or sanction it.  As of now, our church remains “virtual only” for everything – for all ages.

And still…I understand it.  We’re all trying to find our way through this time, and navigate the risks we can handle, and trying to minimize those risks as much as possible – so that we can keep living a life we can call life. There’s so much we have needed to give up, and so much we’re still trying to understand. I know we’re all doing the best we can in the midst of this incredible and sustained uncertainty.

Earlier this week I came across this article about major uncertainty in our historic past – like the stories we’ve been exploring in worship lately, these stories of the past reminded me of the roots of our collective resilience. Our capacity to wade through this incredibly challenging time and to still claim a sense of meaning, and purpose, and joy.

This Sunday we’re finishing up our series by remembering our personal stories of resilience. I hope you’ll join us on Zoom at 9 or on all the livestream places at 11. It’s truly not the same without you.

As with most Sundays, I’ll be singing out boisterously the whole time, hoping you’re joining me, without any of the risks of actually being together.

It’s funny, people keep talking about this idea of “re-opening” churches, but from what I’ve seen in the last few months, while our building is closed, we’re actually more OPEN than ever. And for this, I am so grateful.

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What’s New? (Serious Question!)

May 23, 2020 /

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]No, you’re not confused about the day of the week! It really is Friday! The Pulse (like the check in) is running a day behind this week. Like my favorite quarantine pick-me-up the Holderness Family says, though – “time has a different sort of meaning these days!”

How are you? And what’s new? It might seem like I’m asking that with a wink because there’s a certain rhythm of safer-at-home that feels like nothing ever changes – like now that everything’s new, nothing’s new. But I’m finding that it helps to pay attention to the small changes, the way life is shifting all around me.

For example, a couple days ago we met our new neighbors – they just bought the house next door. Through masks we introduced ourselves, and they told me about their hopes for their new home. She ended by saying, once we’re moved in, we’ll exchange numbers, just in case. It was a small gesture. She probably didn’t even think much about it. But still, I found it really meaningful. A way of acknowledging that we might each find ourselves in need of help – and given our proximity, we can be there for each other.

This week I’ve been talking to members in our church who were children during World War II, listening to their stories and the lessons they carried with them through their lives. We’ll be sharing some of these stories in our service this Sunday.

One big theme that has come through repeatedly is the way that neighbors and local communities were a source of so much support and strength for each other. Trading ration coupons so that everyone had what they needed. Helping with clothes or food for a family with the dad away at war. Putting on aluminum drives so that everyone could feel like they could contribute. Through these small ways of showing up for each other, people found a sense of meaning, and resilience.

We’re starting to flesh out a fuller vision for our Circles – especially as we prepare for the possibility of being all-online for the coming year. And as we do, these stories of neighbors helping neighbors, and growing relationships at a hyper local level – these stories are at the forefront of my mind for what it means to “unleash courageous love in these times.” To start with the shared assumption that we will all find ourselves at one point in need of help – and with a certain proximity – we can be there for each other in ways that provide us with that critical resilience.

This Sunday we’ll be sharing these stories, and also the stories of sacrifice required by the war – the ways that this does and does not connect with what we are being asked to sacrifice today – and how that sacrifice plays out differently for different people. I hope you’ll join us – 9 & 11 am MT – links below.

With love,
Rev. Gretchen[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

News About Re-Opening

May 15, 2020 /

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As we prepare for our 10th online service, there’s a lot about our Sundays that has started to feel really good, and connective.  And yet…every week that goes by I wonder “how much longer before we can be together again?” I know I’m not alone.

It’s one big reason I’ve been watching the Larimer County and Colorado-wide numbers carefully, listening to the Governor’s counsel, reading articles from a variety of sources offering models, advice and projections.  And I’ve been in conversation with the Board, and with Rev. Sean and the whole staff team as we try to listen for how to move forward and how to think about “re-opening.”

Along the way we’ve been focused on a few key values:

  1. The centrality of science
  2. The safety of our whole community
  3. The full inclusion of everyone, including those most vulnerable
  4. Fulfilling our mission and vision in ways relevant to this changed and still-changing reality

Based on these values, we’ve been clear that we would not be likely to return to in-person services through the summer, and potentially longer.  A few of us acknowledged it was likely to be much longer, but it’s been truly hard to let in the reality of just how long.

Today, we received guidance from the UUA that made us face up to some of these realities. As in, they are advising congregations to plan to meet virtually through May 2021.  I KNOW.  I am feeling especially sad for our choir – I made a video message for choir members and sent it out a bit ago – if you didn’t get it, check it out here. Like I said, there are many things we can approximate using online services, but the experience of singing and connecting in a choir just isn’t one. It’s so sad!

Their reasoning includes the acknowledgment that this pandemic will have a long trajectory, dependent on a number of critical factors like testing and tracing, and effective treatments – that as of right now, are a long ways off. And, their recommendation is based in the fact that a large portion of our communities are considered “high risk,” and the fact that religious gatherings – especially those with singing and with multiple generations present – are considered highly contagious events.  Basically all the reasons we love our gatherings are the reasons why they are so risky. (You can read their whole guidance here.)

However you take this news, know you’re not alone.  Grief or relief or overwhelm or anger or shock…know that we are all trying to make sense and figure out what this all means, together.  From what we can see from here, the UUA guidelines make sense, even if we really, really, really wish they didn’t.

And, we (and the UUA) know that if things change, if the risk reduces and the science shows that we can safely gather with all of our people – we will adapt quickly in response. But in the meantime, making this sort of long term acknowledgment allows us to start to invest in this new reality in more creative and meaningful ways, including keeping an eye on when it will feel safe enough to gather in smaller groups.  Knowing that we’re going to be in this for a while gives us the encouragement to find those new ways to make these connections that are even more critical now than ever.

It’s one of the reasons that I am so grateful for the formation of our Circles – these neighborhood based connections that are at their beginning of taking shape.  Because even if we cannot gather as a whole community, there are so many good ways that we can be neighbors for and with each other over this coming year.

If you haven’t found at least one way to connect in your Circle yet, I encourage you to try to connect this week – express a need you’re having (i.e…someone who will share your grief about online church going on so long!) or join in the Chalice Hunt (described below).  I think we started off with a sense that the Circles were a great “rapid response” idea, but now that we know this is going to be going on for a while, they will be a critical way that we can maintain connections and strengthen community over the coming year.

The lessons of community and the encounter with another who changes us and moves us to care in new ways are the themes of this Sunday’s service, where we will offer the second in our new series, Roots of Resilience. This Sunday we’re delving into the stories and lessons of the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s to listen for the stories and lessons of resilience from that time that we collectively can lean into for today.

Let’s join together in the ways we can – it’s so important.  9 or 11 am MT – invite your friends and family needing connection and community – from around the world.  See you there.

With so much love,
Rev. Gretchen

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Our Rapid Response for Our Immigrant Neighbors

May 14, 2020 /

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It was at the end of March – on a Tuesday afternoon – that we convened a conversation of immigrant-led and immigrant-serving organizations, agencies and leaders across the city.

It was a rapid response action: how do we all get in a conversation so as not to duplicate work when each day was critical? How do we act quickly to leverage the gifts and skills, resources and relationships to respond as a community in the face of sweeping and sudden job loss with no government support specifically for those that are undocumented in our community?

We heard from undocumented leaders –
The pandemic was exposing long-standing systemic injustices:
Undocumented workers hold up our food systems and yet do not
qualify for unemployment benefits.
No stimulus checks were coming for undocumented tax payers.

Can you believe that undocumented tax payers have not and will not receive a stimulus check?

And, rent was soon due. Within days ISAAC’s Emergency Immigration Fund quickly responded launching a COVID-19 Rapid Response Special Initiative.

By April 1st a bilingual application was live for immediate financial support and essential mini-grants of $300 were dispersed with few hurdles.

Your gift to the Emergency Immigration Fund will help to replenish the only fund in Larimer County offering immediate financial support to those within our community who are in crisis and are undocumented.

To date, the fund has dispersed over 315 grants — distributing almost 100K in much needed funds. The stories of impact are countless and the demand for immediate relief continues.

Your gift will make a significant impact locally to those folks within our community who have been locked out of most sources of relief. Everything that you give will directly support undocumented families in our community. Thank you for your generosity and for opening up to the ways COVID-19 is not hitting us all equally.

Give to the Emergency Immigration Fund here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Your Brain on Lockdown

May 8, 2020 /

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In mid-March, I remember thinking: by the end of April, we’ll know a lot more.

Ha! Here we are, a week into May, and although we know some more about some things, a lot of other things are now questions! And it feels like it’ll be a LONG time before we will really know much for sure. We are learning (or trying to!) how to live with extended uncertainty.

For a lot of us, this means feeling both fine, and completely not fine almost all of the time. Because we are ok, mostly. Generally. And yet, extended uncertainty (and of course, the threat of this virus plus economic loss!) engages the amygdala. The lizard brain that triggers flight, fight, or freeze. Stress and anxiety is a regular part of all of our lives right now. If you’re feeling stressed, or anxious, it actually means your brain is functioning well! (Check out this really interesting Youtube series on “your brain in lockdown” for more on this.)

However you are experiencing this moment, this day; whatever level of stress you’re feeling, know you’re not alone. There’s no wrong way to be or do life right now. We’re all figuring this out together.

Some of this uncertainty is connected to the sense that I’ve heard a lot – which is that this moment is unprecedented. And of course in some ways, this is true. And at the same time, this is not the first time in human history that people have experienced something that shifted nearly everything they knew before, instantaneously. Not by a long shot!

Our ancestors – familial and spiritual – experienced many times of profound hardship and change, and through each of these, they found ways to survive, and even thrive. Which means that in our collective memory, and in our DNA, we have the experience, the insight, and the wisdom to face this moment in ways we may not even realize. In our collective history and in our collective body, we have the roots of resilience required to move through this anxious time without losing our connection to life, to love, and to hope. We only need to remember, to listen, to trust.

These are the tasks and the tools of our worship series that we’re launching this Sunday, Roots of Resilience, and that will run through the end of May. We’ll tap into the stories and lessons of history and we will seek out those tools of resilience that we can directly apply into our lives today.  Ways to respond to all this uncertainty with a degree of clarity and collective wisdom. Knowing that although we haven’t been in this particular challenge before, we know in our bones and in our blood how to meet challenges like this.

Join us this Sunday as we grow this faith, together. Live at both 9 (Zoom) & 11 (Facebook/website) am MT – foothillsuu.org/livestream for more info.

With love,
Rev. Gretchen[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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