Reluctantly Pausing In-Person Services

With great reluctance, the board and Rev. Dan have decided to pause in-person church services again beginning this coming Sunday, August 29.  Services will still be available on Facebook or through the Website. We are planning for 12:30 Social Hours on Zoom. The link is:

https://zoom.us/j/7745289824?pwd=dy9GeHVpZk9LbGYweGx3QUo5eFBCZz09 (passcode: UUCEL)

Many things contributed to our decision:  the rate of new cases of Covid-19 in Jackson County is nearing the “critical” stage; the vaccination rate in Jackson County remains under 45%; guidelines from the UUA encourage preventative steps such as ventilation and social distancing, which are impossible for us; some of our members and friends and all our young children are not vaccinated; the new Delta variant appears to be easier to transmit. Please see the attached information from the UU Association and statistics from Jackson County: https://www.uua.org/leadership/library/delta-guidance

and https://covidactnow.org/us/michigan-mi/county/jackson_county/?s=22091135   or https://covidactnow.org/us/michigan-mi/county/jackson_county/chart/5?s=22361162

Hopefully, this will just be a temporary pause.  We will watch the rate of cases in Jackson County.  When it drops back somewhere between 5 or 10 cases per day per 100,000 population, perhaps we can consider safely reopening.

Thank you for understanding our desire to keep everyone safe.  This is a painful and discouraging step backward, but we are nevertheless encouraged by Rev. Dan’s outstanding leadership during these challenging times.  Don’t hesitate to contact Rev. Dan or another church friend if you feel you need an extra dose of human contact to keep your spirits up.

Virtual hugs are not as warm as real ones, but they are equally heartfelt.

Welcome! Each week during this time of physical distancing, you can find our worship services here or join in through our Facebook page.

Our regular UUCEL livestreamed service appears here on Sunday mornings at 11:00 a.m. If the livestream does not start playing at that time, try reloading this page by clicking here: RELOAD.  If you see the video but cannot hear the sound, move your cursor over the video and click the little speaker icon.

Looking for a previous service?  You can find worship recordings on our Facebook page.  You do not need a Facebook account to view the videos. If asked to log in, just click “Not Now.”

Ingathering and Water Communion Service

FACEBOOK – LIVE ON-LINE
Ingathering, with Rev. Dan Miyake. This is our annual water communion ceremony. Because we are doing this service virtually, please email Rev. Dan (uudjm@yahoo.com) with photos depicting the water you gathered from your summer travels so he can include them in a slideshow during the service. The deadline to send him your photos is Friday, September 10 at noon. You are also invited to email Rev. Dan with brief stories or statements about what UUCEL means to you. He will try to incorporate some into the service to commemorate our 165th year! –If you have actual water to contribute to the communion bowl for this service, please drop it off at the church between Friday the 10th and Sunday morning the 12th. There will be a container by the back door for you to place your water in.