by Rev. Laura Horton-Ludwig, Minister Dear WUU community, Hello and hope to see many of you soon—literally see you, in person! Just in case you haven’t seen the news yet: we’re reopening the sanctuary this coming Sunday for the launch of our new in-person-and-online worship service. Here’s a link with all the details. What an exciting and creative time in the life of our congregation: we’re transforming into a truly hybrid community, more accessible to more people than ever before. If you plan to come in person, or if you plan to stay at home… If worship in your PJs works best for… by Katrina Landon, WUU Board President Our congregation has faced our share of chaos and tumult these past 18 months, but the loss of both our director and assistant music directors felt like the straw that broke the camel’s back. I understand that many are concerned about the future of our music ministry and I want to assure you that the Board does have a plan going forward which I will briefly share. Given music is a ministry of our faith, and is a program represented on our Program Council, the Board decided it best for the Program Council to… Dear WUU Community, With Covid risk levels coming down in our local community, WUU will be reopening our doors for in-person worship on Sunday, Nov. 7! We’ll continue with one service at 10 a.m., in our new hybrid format that welcomes in-person and online participants as one worshiping community. No matter where you are, you and your family can experience the Sunday service in community. This coming Sunday, Oct. 31, we’ll still be online-only, but our worship leaders and AV team will all be in the sanctuary, streaming to Zoom, YouTube, and audio. It’ll be a chance for our worship… by the Soul Matters Sharing Circle team Pandemic time taught us so many things about relationships. It undid our assumptions about work, calling into question the worth of “going into the office” and exposing how we pass most of the economic pain down to those on the so-called lowest rungs of the ladder. It made clear that there is no real replacement for in-person connection, and certainly reminded us how precious human touch really is. Our friendships were weeded out and realigned, inviting us to now prioritize those that are essential over those that are instrumental. We noticed how much costuming is required… by Katrina Landon, WUU Board President Eighteen months of Covid isolation has taken its toll on both our individual and congregational lives. For myself, this prolonged period of solitude allowed me more time for meditation, carefree Frisbee games with my dogs, and an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of my own humanness. Zoom allowed me to teach from home, attend WUU services and events, and during my nephew’s terminal fight with cancer it allowed my far-flung family to be of great comfort to each other across the miles. While technology helped to bring my family closer, the same cannot… by Austen Petersen, Director of Religious Education Paddles of many colors alternate sweeping through the air and water. The WUU YRUU (High School) and Middle School groups are on the move! YRUU youth and adults, 11 in total, explored the Chickahominy River off Route 5 one recent Sunday on perhaps one of the last 90 degree days, nearly coinciding with the Harvest Moon. The youth paddled their kayaks across currants, through reeds and rushes, and even found some sunken treasure! Inside the treasure, we found the stuff that stories are made of: a cell phone, a knife, a pair of… Dear WUU Community, We are writing to share an update to WUU’s on-campus Covid-19 safety guidelines. We’ve heard from several WUUs who have a strong desire to gather outdoors unmasked on the WUU campus. In this season of pleasant temperatures, they would like to create opportunities for the WUU community on campus to gather without masks and enjoy food and drink together. Knowing that many of us are deeply wearied by the isolation and disconnection of these Covid times, we’ve decided to try this experiment and have updated our guidelines to allow for on-campus outdoor gatherings without masks. Each outdoor… by the Soul Matters Sharing Circle team Of all our themes this year, Embracing Possibility is arguably most central to our faith. It has distinguished Unitarian Universalists from the start. Historically, when others saw depravity and sin at the core of human identity, we saw potential. When many were preaching that this world was fallen, we fell in love with the possibility of heaven on earth. Theologically, you might say we were the people who believed that God hadn’t given up on us and so we shouldn’t give up on each other or this world. Psychologically, it’s led to us being a people of “why… September 2021 Dear WUU community, Years ago, when I was living in a group house in Boston, one of my favorite roommates moved out. I felt very sad that I wouldn’t see her as much any more. I called my mom to vent a little, and she said to me, “You know, this could be a wonderful opportunity to make a new friend!” In the moment, I didn’t want to hear it. I sighed, “Mom, I don’t want to have to make a new friend.” But, as it happened, she was right. The roommate we eventually found, rather randomly through a want ad, turned out… Dear WUU community, We’re afraid we have some disappointing news to share. You may have seen that James City County is now a Covid hotspot, with daily new cases in the “very high risk” red zone on CovidActNow. Our public health & reopening teams have also just reviewed the new guidance from the UUA strongly urging that congregations in the “very high” or “severe” risk zones pause in-person worship immediately to help control the spread of the Delta variant. This chart from CovidActNow helps illustrate where we are right now. Cases are climbing rapidly and it looks like we haven’t…
November 2021 Notes from the Minister
November 2021 President’s Message
WUU News Special Edition: In-Person Worship Coming Nov. 7
Cultivating Relationship
October 2021 President’s Message
RE Goes Kayaking
October 6, 2021 Update from the WUU Reopening Task Force
Embracing Possibility
Notes from the Minister September 2021
August 23, 2021 An Update on Covid-Safe Gatherings at WUU
