The desert will rejoice, and flowers will bloom in the wilderness. The desert will sing and shout for joy... |
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When God's people were in exile in Babylon, Isaiah prophesied that they would return home - that a path would open in the desert and their way would be made clear. Most of 2020 and 2021 have been something like a period of exile for us. That might be overstating it for some, but the long period of being separated, against our will, from people and places that we love leads some of us to view this present moment, as things begin to change, as being poised for a return from exile.
In-person worship has resumed at UniLu.
There are, of course, some adjustments we will have to make, and you will find those outlined below. Some will be a nice change from the restrictions from 2020 and 2021; others will seem unnecessarily restrictive to some of you. While you might be safe without some of the policies outlined below, not everyone is. So, we are asking people to accommodate some inconveniences for the common good. The Council has approved these policies, which were drafted by the Covid-19 Advisory Team, because we want to make the space safe for everyone.
In-person worship has resumed at UniLu.
There are, of course, some adjustments we will have to make, and you will find those outlined below. Some will be a nice change from the restrictions from 2020 and 2021; others will seem unnecessarily restrictive to some of you. While you might be safe without some of the policies outlined below, not everyone is. So, we are asking people to accommodate some inconveniences for the common good. The Council has approved these policies, which were drafted by the Covid-19 Advisory Team, because we want to make the space safe for everyone.
When you come to worship in person
Masks are optional. Extra masks are available in the narthex for use.
Please bring a reusable cup, or take a compostable cup available on the altar. We will celebrate the Eucharist and this is one way we can be both safe and earth-conscious.
We utilize Zoom in the Sanctuary to allow remote and in-person participants to worship together on an equal footing. While each Zoom participant can choose whether to turn their camera on or off, we will leave cameras and microphones on in the Sanctuary for the duration of the service. (We use a Portal set-top box as a Zoom participant with a smart speaker. Speech and face recognition are disabled. If you don’t want to be on camera, please let Pastor or today's Zoom Chief know and we can direct you to chairs that will not be on camera.)
Offer options. When passing the peace and joining in the circle post-communion, please offer your hand, so your neighbor can choose to take it or not. Even without health concerns, people have different comfort levels with physical touch. Passing the peace without touch, for example by wave or bow is always an option.
Be gracious. People have different opinions about and practices for protecting their health and the health of their loved ones.
Offerings are now received remotely and in-person. Please consider to make your tithings online, here.
Please bring a reusable cup, or take a compostable cup available on the altar. We will celebrate the Eucharist and this is one way we can be both safe and earth-conscious.
We utilize Zoom in the Sanctuary to allow remote and in-person participants to worship together on an equal footing. While each Zoom participant can choose whether to turn their camera on or off, we will leave cameras and microphones on in the Sanctuary for the duration of the service. (We use a Portal set-top box as a Zoom participant with a smart speaker. Speech and face recognition are disabled. If you don’t want to be on camera, please let Pastor or today's Zoom Chief know and we can direct you to chairs that will not be on camera.)
Offer options. When passing the peace and joining in the circle post-communion, please offer your hand, so your neighbor can choose to take it or not. Even without health concerns, people have different comfort levels with physical touch. Passing the peace without touch, for example by wave or bow is always an option.
Be gracious. People have different opinions about and practices for protecting their health and the health of their loved ones.
Offerings are now received remotely and in-person. Please consider to make your tithings online, here.
Finally, a few pastoral comments:
Worshiping in-person and together is the norm for Christian communities. It is our hope hope that those for whom it is healthy and safe to do so will join the in-person community as soon as they can. That is, while we are making the service fully available on Zoom, we encourage you not to rely on the convenience of Zoom but to return to the service in-person when it is right for you.
Even those worshiping in person might still want to keep some distance, keep their mask on when outside, or not stay around after worship. Reasons are many, but include people protecting their own health or the health of loved ones.
For some, even these restrictions will not be enough. Though some of us can rejoin the in-person congregation immediately, not all of us can. Please be mindful that we will all be easing into this at different tempos, and remember that people worshiping from home are still part of the community who should be included as fully as possible.
Let us expect and respect the gradual pace with which people will return to larger gatherings.
Worshiping in-person and together is the norm for Christian communities. It is our hope hope that those for whom it is healthy and safe to do so will join the in-person community as soon as they can. That is, while we are making the service fully available on Zoom, we encourage you not to rely on the convenience of Zoom but to return to the service in-person when it is right for you.
Even those worshiping in person might still want to keep some distance, keep their mask on when outside, or not stay around after worship. Reasons are many, but include people protecting their own health or the health of loved ones.
For some, even these restrictions will not be enough. Though some of us can rejoin the in-person congregation immediately, not all of us can. Please be mindful that we will all be easing into this at different tempos, and remember that people worshiping from home are still part of the community who should be included as fully as possible.
Let us expect and respect the gradual pace with which people will return to larger gatherings.