Hallie Bowie, President of the Board of Trustees (she/her)

Thinking Spring

I don’t know about you, but I have been living in “one more month” mode for the last 12 months. It is taking much longer for the number of Covid-19 cases to go down than I ever imagined it could. As of today, Summit County is STILL at a level 3 advisory. But by the time you read this, everyone old enough to become a voting member at UUCA (16) will also be old enough to be eligible to be vaccinated. We hope that by the Board of Trustees meeting on April 28th it will be appropriate for us to open the church to groups larger than 10 people. We are even starting to talk about a picnic sometime in June! Imagine, welcoming the whole congregation to come together in person!

We aren’t yet talking about returning to services in the sanctuary. The lack of mechanical ventilation in that space makes it more challenging to bring us together there safely. With warm weather and vaccinations, we hope to have many more outdoor events at our church campus, where we have plenty of space to maintain masked social distancing while transmission is still a concern. Inside, our new air purification system in the Hannah Hall, entry hallway, and office area will make indoors at least as safe as outdoors. The Bipolar ionization system we have installed is proven to kill 99% of the virus that causes Covid-19 in the air and on surfaces. We will need to maintain social distancing for a while, so the size of groups in Hannah Hall will still be limited until the virus is under control.

Right now, we are at the equinox. Things are starting to change from the long winter of the pandemic. It will not simply disappear overnight, but we are starting to anticipate a mix of in-person events with continued Zoom services and committee meetings. We want to be able to welcome once again all the people who don’t have access to the internet, those who don’t have the technology needed, are those who are simply less comfortable with using Zoom. Meanwhile, we will keep doing the vitally important work of UUCA: supporting our immigrant community, feeding families, working to dismantle systemic racings both inside and outside our church, providing support for the queer community, educating our children about our UU faith, and growing together in love and friendship. Blessed be!