Dear WUU Community,
Over the last two Sundays of in-person/hybrid worship, we’ve learned a lot about what works well and how we can adapt WUU’s Covid safety guidelines to create an even better worship experience. Effective this Sunday, here are the changes you’ll see at in-person worship:
- We’ll be singing. We talked this through extensively with the Public Health Advisory Task Force and concluded that congregational singing in worship should be reasonably safe as long as everyone is vaccinated and masked and our space is well-ventilated. With all these precautions still in place, we’ll start singing hymns again in the Sanctuary, with masks, this coming Sunday.
- We’re turning up the heat. We heard your feedback that some of you have been quite chilly with the exterior doors open in the Sanctuary. Though the doors will remain open for ventilation, we’ll also be cranking up the thermostat and rearranging the seats so that no one is seated next to the exterior doors.
- You won’t need to pre-register to come in person. Over the last two Sundays, we’ve been able to accommodate everyone who wants to come in person without exceeding our seating capacity. Therefore, to make things simpler, WUU will no longer require pre-registration for in-person worship services.
- You can choose to sit with friends. We’re going to experiment with putting the seats back in rows, allowing people to distance if they wish, but also choose to sit with friends if that is their preference.
What’s staying the same?
- In-person participants are still required to be vaccinated and masked. Distancing between households is still strongly encouraged, though no longer required.
- Worship leaders will still be masked in the pulpit. We’ve heard feedback from a few people that you miss seeing the faces of your worship leaders. We hear that. But masks are still one of the best tools we have to keep ourselves and each other safe. We don’t want to ask our worship leaders to put themselves and their families at risk by unmasking.
- You can still participate online. Initial feedback from our Zoom participants about our hybrid services has been quite positive, and online attendance continues to be strong. We’re glad you feel included.
What about non-Sunday events?
Groups of any size can now meet inside at WUU as long as group members remain masked and distanced. That means that for now, we’re still not allowing food or drink in the building. The Reopening Task Force will continue to revisit this and the rest of our safety guidelines as conditions evolve.
As always, we welcome your feedback (email us at reopening@wuu.org) and appreciate your cooperation as we move forward together. We look forward to seeing you on Sundays, whether in person or online.
In faith and with love,
Your Reopening Task Force
Rev. Laura Horton-Ludwig
Kerry Mellette
Austen Petersen
Susan Walkley
Lola Warren
Dave Wilcox
And your WUU Board
Dave Banks
Allen Cooke
BethAnne Klaver
Katrina Landon
Kerry Mellette
Jessica O’Brien
Ben Puckett
Melissa Stump
Bruce Thomas