Dear WUU Community,
As Virginia cautiously begins to reopen, many of you have been wondering whether WUU will be reopening our campus as well. Your board members, safety team, and medical response team have been carefully considering what is possible and prudent.
This week, we received an important announcement from our Unitarian Universalist Association, with a strong recommendation that all UU congregations continue with online-only worship at least until May 2021, a year from now. This is a lot to take in. We are still pondering what it means for WUU. But, right now, it’s looking like online-only Sunday mornings will continue to be the best way to protect you and our community for quite a while to come.
We miss you all–we miss hugs, and kids in the hallways, and casual conversations during the social hour. But we are keeping our virtual doors open and welcoming. We have been encouraged and inspired by how lovely it is to gather on Zoom and via Livestream, waving hello through the screens and chat boxes. We’ll keep it up as long as we need to, to keep everyone safe.
On a positive note, we are also working on ways to increase our service and generosity to the larger community. We will also be launching some new online programs to help you stay connected, explore your faith, and learn new things. We welcome your ideas for other ways we can live out our mission in these times.
Meanwhile, we are in discernment about how small groups might be able to begin to gather safely in person, especially if it can be done outside. We’ll share more guidance on that as soon as we have it.
We are so inspired by the grace, resilience, and determination of this congregation. You all are the heart and soul of WUU and it is our honor to serve you, especially now. If we can help in any way, or answer any questions you might have, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Take care, stay safe, and see you online on Sunday!
In faith,
Rev. Laura Horton-Ludwig
Minister
revlaura@wuu.org
Jessica O’Brien
Board President
wuuprez@gmail.com