[Fuusm-l] Healthy Congregations -No Sunday Service March 15

[Rev. Kathryn Hawbaker]

VIRUS - Healthy Congregations March 13, 2020
The Board has suspended all large group activities at F.U.U.S.M.
FUUSM leaders will talk together by Sunday to gather more input in advance of further general closings, cancellations, and creative solutions.
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta.
This Sunday March 15, we will NOT hold Sunday Services, and use this time to help us gather our collective wisdom and address future concerns, exploring the theme of “Good Neighbors”. We will continue to share our experiences with safe practices for groups and programs, and offer some creative online services. Your feedback is vital.
At the FUUSM Office and for other events, we will observe precautions in the ways we greet each other and the ways we handle food. Strict cleaning procedures will be used.
At this time, most groups and gatherings are being cancelled.
We will offer up-to-date communication in the Monday Weekly Update.
Please check the FUUSM-L email list; our website (www.fuusm.org) or Facebook for the latest announcements, and alternative modes of engagement.
Meanwhile, it is always your choice to attend or not be present for any congregational events. People who are ill, or have risk factors are advised to stay home. 
Help us be a healthy congregation. If you have any concerns about exposure, please stay home, and let us know if we can do anything to help.  
-Rev. Kathryn Hawbaker & the FUUSM Board of Trustees

Unitarian Universalist Association
“We prefer to think of it as community care, and how we can be in relationship with each other even if we can’t be in the same room,” Carey McDonald, (UUA Exec. VP) said. “This is a time when we need more ministry and connection with each other, not less; it just may need to take a different form.”
Rev. Susan Frederick Gray (UUA President) has presented general guidelines, and whereas worship and religious education bring many people into close contact, with greater risks, especially in gatherings of 25 people or more.
Central East Region
The Central East Region has cancelled all programming in March and April and is currently working on either moving them to online formats or reschedule.
As a faith community is it our responsibility to protect those who are most vulnerable in our congregations. According to the CDC, that includes anyone over the age of 60, those with chronic respiratory or heart conditions and diabetes. We encourage you to take what your local public health department says to heart and follow their advice. However, I also encourage you to consider taking these steps to protect your congregants before your health department says you have to. Some congregations have said we’ll close when the schools close. -Beth Casebolt, Regional Staff Contact for the Appalachian Cluster.

CDC Guiding Principles (Excerpts)
• Each community is unique, and appropriate mitigation strategies will vary based on the level of community transmission, characteristics of the community and their populations, and the local capacity to implement strategies.
• Consider all aspects of a community that might be impacted, including populations most vulnerable to severe illness and those that may be more impacted socially or economically, & select appropriate actions.
• Mitigation strategies can be scaled up or down depending on the evolving local situation.

Stay informed, wash your hands, care about each other. All blessings, Rev. Kat









-- 
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://fuusm.org/pipermail/fuusm-l_fuusm.org/attachments/20200313/43b6819f/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 2020 March 13 VIRUS Bd Ann.odt
Type: application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text
Size: 30461 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://fuusm.org/pipermail/fuusm-l_fuusm.org/attachments/20200313/43b6819f/attachment.odt>