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First U and the Coronavirus
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Dear First U family and friends,
Last week in worship, both in the Meeting House and in young people’s Chapel, we spent time on what ‘love beyond belief’ and ‘giving, receiving, as love shows us how’ really means. In times of stress and uncertainty, we always turn to one another for wisdom and support. We are inextricably bound in a beloved community of care. Now that the Coronavirus is in Rhode Island, we know this time will be challenging. Many of us are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst, spiritually and emotionally, as well as physically. If the coming days are hard on some of us, they will be hard on all of us. Days ahead may challenge us to find new ways to show our care and commitment to each other as we move through this time; if they do, we will be ready to respond.
This message is to let you know some plans we’ve put in place to manage things and how you can help. (For information about the Coronavirus itself and preventive measures, please click here for the CDC website.)
We absolutely share the concern so well expressed by our sibling congregation in Brooklyn, NY: ‘our biggest concern is to protect the vulnerable. Immuno-compromised people and people with chronic illness are more likely to be infected and seniors are more likely to become seriously ill if they are infected. Those of us fortunate enough to feel healthy and resilient are responsible for protecting the vulnerable people with whom we worship, and we do it because when the whole community takes precautions, young and old, the overall burden of illness, including severe illness, goes way down. Therefore, it is most important to stay home if you are not feeling entirely well.’
We really must stress this. Even if it is just a tickle in your throat and an occasional cough, or if you think you’re mostly better, or if you’re pretty sure you didn’t have coronavirus anyway – stay home, rest, drink fluids and please don’t come to church unless and until you feel 100% well. (If you’ve had a fever, you should stay home until 24 hours have passed, unmedicated, without any fever.)
We will work together to take care of each other. If you want help with managing this with children or within your family, Cathy Seggel is very available. If you need support or assistance, reach out to Rev. Roger and let him know so we can put supports in place to help you. If you need a listening ear, our lay ministers are ready to hear you and talk with you. Click here for their contact information.
Make sure you’re getting rest and eating well; take care of your body as well as your spirit. If you’re worried about someone, reach out to them and find out how they’re doing. If you have health considerations that make you especially vulnerable to Coronavirus, take extra precautions and let us know how we can help. We will find our way together, as we always have.
We’re going to be adapting our usual operations in order to be as responsive and flexible as possible. If we get to the point of suspending Sunday worship and religious education, we will email and post electronic and online reflections and spiritual resources for all ages. As things evolve, we’ll also be posting any updates or new information. We’ve developed a chart that outlines our plan for moving through this time; click here to see it.
As you see in the chart, we have three phases of protocols we will be following:
- our current status when risks of contracting Coronavirus are present but low;
- an elevated status when risks increase somewhat in our area; and
- a high risk status when risks increase further, for instance if we learn that we have had someone with Coronavirus in our buildings
We are also creating a new section of our website dedicated to supporting our progress through this; click here to access that section. Please save this link. This area will be the primary location where we will post all relevant First U information including current risk status, spiritual and support material, member information, and more. We encourage you to check it daily (though it may not always change) to make sure you know the latest. If you’re not able to get online easily, you can also call the church office for news. If we have to close the church office, we’ll post a recording with any updates regarding church status and programs.
As you can see, with low risk levels we are looking forward not only to holding worship and religious education this Sunday, but also to continuing to hold meetings, classes, and rentals. We’ll be working to keep our church spaces as sanitary as we possibly can. We’re counting on your help in all these steps we are taking. If you have help to offer in any of these areas, please contact a member of the staff or lay leadership. If you have vocational expertise/input for our chart and protocols, please contact Prudential Committee President Cheryl Bartholomew; click here for her email.
Keep washing your hands; keep taking care of yourself; keep checking in with us; keep letting us know if you need any help, even just someone to talk with. Take time to send prayers/hopes, healing energy out to the world, and make sure to save energy for your own needs. Like everything else, we will do this together. Carry the flame of peace and love, dear friends.
Warmly,
Liz
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