Dear Beloved Community,
This Sunday’s service will mark the one- year anniversary of our Coronavirus lockdown. It has been a grim and an amazing year. The world, our country, and our community have faced terrible losses. We have also drawn together, reached out and supported each other. We have grown as a congregation; we have called a Settled Minister. And we will continue to move forward, together.
Last summer the KUUF Board formed the Moving Forward Task Force, to share information and advise the Board on how to keep our congregation and employees safe as we move through the phases of the shutdown. Task Force members are Jennifer Ingalls (Parish Nurse), Beth Wilson (Worship Chair), Ed Woods (Building and Grounds Chair), Susan Welsh (Finance Chair), Tanesha Smith (Administrator), Lisa Johnson (Board) and Reverend Jessica. They have created the KUUF Pandemic Safety Guidelines and Plan, which is a history of KUUF’s response to the pandemic and a plan for the evolving path forward. The Plan’s Executive Summary is below, as well as a link to the entire document.
Executive Summary
This document identifies KUUF’s moment in time during the Coronavirus Pandemic (see next section below), our plans for responding to it going forward (see the Reopening Plan chart on page 4), what values underlay those plans (Seven Values, page 2), what we have done to date to protect and support our congregants’ and congregation’s health (To Meet the Challenge, pages 5-6), and what specific protocols we are and will continue to use to limit risk of infection (Important Protocols, page 3). Our plan relies upon national, state, and local public health guidelines and requirements and is based on medical science and is guided by the medical expertise of our Parish Nurse.
In our phased approach (page 4), the use of the building is currently limited to only the most necessary needs. All worship, meetings and business are conducted online, to the extent possible. We will enter each KUUF Phase two weeks after the state opens Kitsap County to each phase. Our KUUF Phase II will allow for live streaming of worship services (with no singing inside), indoor non-social meetings of up to 5 people and outdoor use for small group KUUF gatherings. Users must be masked and physically distanced (6’ or 2 meters) from each other. We will enter Phase III two weeks afterthe state designates Kitsap County to be in Phase III. Aside from a detailed opening/risk reduction plan that we must prepare, little more is known at this time about Phase III or subsequent phases.
One decision has been made: We will not worship together in our sanctuary until we call ALL do so safely. We are one church and we will be all together again when it is safe.
Because the situation is so fluid, the Board may need to change these plans as we learn more or conditions change. The Board recognizes that our congregation is feeling its way through this time with uncertainty, love and great care.