How we’re staying safe and connected
OUR BUILDING HAS BEEN CLOSED SINCE MARCH 12, 2020
The decision to close early in the pandemic was a difficult one. The decision to remain closed for the protection of our members, friends and visitors is less difficult as we see the infection rate rise locally and in our state and the number of deaths increase while so many of our members are in groups in the high-risk demographic.
At the time of our closing, Reverend Fred L Hammond wrote, in a message to the congregation:
“We grieve our inability to come together at this time. We know this decision will be hard to accept by some folks. It was hard for the board to make this decision. We need to find a way to stay connected during this difficult and scary time. We have a plan to help us stay connected during this current pandemic.”
That plan involved moving most of our activities, from Sunday services to groups such as Knit ’n’ Chat and our Book Group, online via Zoom. And in just a few weeks, our congregation — most of whom had never heard of Zoom before March — stepped up to meet the challenge and now thrives on this video conferencing software.
One unexpected plus: Members and friends who were away from Florida during the summer months were able to attend services, keep up with their groups, and join our lively weekly wide-ranging chat sessions. As we have sheltered in place, we have expanded our reach.
We are sad that our in-person community volunteer efforts, such as serving meals monthly at the Bradenton soup kitchen Our Daily Bread, have been curtailed by the pandemic. But online we’re starting to resume our regular monthly special collections to assist vital local social service organizations such as Turning Points, which provides assistance to Manatee County’s homeless population. Our fall collection to help the Spanish Community Church[no website, so no link!] in Bradenton provide Thanksgiving turkeys to needy area families was a particular success thanks to the generosity of our members and friends.
Not everything could move online. We are no longer able to rent our facilities to outside groups for meetings and events, and congregation members who participated in these activities miss them. Among the groups we had been hosting were Manatee Clean Energy Alliance, Al-Anon, Toastmasters, and two meditation groups. We plan to make our building available for rent by these and similar groups again when we are able to reopen.
Our own library remains closed, our mahjong and bridge groups have been unable to meet, and our popular Share-A-Dish nights have been suspended, as has our monthly restaurant social outing.
Many of these activities will resume, and eventually we will be able to return to our in-person church life — but not until our minister, our board of directors and our congregation are confident it is safe for them to do so.
We look forward to that day, but we are grateful for the ability to continue to see and share with each other in these uncertain times.
Join our Live-on-Zoom Sunday Service
Unitarian Universalist Association
