Dear KUUF community,
Earlier this week you received an email from our parish nurse, Jennifer Ingalls, with information about the COVID-19 coronavirus and how we might begin to care for ourselves and our community. Since that time, King County has increased its pandemic response and Kitsap County has begun testing for the virus as well. Our hearts go out the families of the many people in King County who have lost their life. King County has recommended that all large gatherings of 10 or more be cancelled. Faith communities in King County have responded by cancelling services for this Sunday and providing online worship. As the situation unfolds in Kitsap County, our worship team is preparing for the possibility that we will have to do the same.
Because our scheduled speaker for this weekend—Rev. Liz—was advised not to travel to Washington, we have had to postpone Margo Rinehart’s ordination this Saturday. We will update you when we find a new date for this important ceremony. We send Margo our love and blessings and gratitude for the minister that she already is. And we look forward to the day we get to make it official!
Myself, our board, and RN Jennifer Ingalls will be meeting today to discuss some of the protocols we will be putting into place at KUUF during this time. They include an increased cleaning regimen and suspending all food and drink at the fellowship until further notice. Once those protocols are complete, we will share them with you and post them on our website. We are very grateful to have Jennifer’s wisdom and expertise at this time. She will be updating myself and the board as this situation unfolds. And I will be communicating all of this with you with updates over email, on our website, and in our weekly newsletter.
We will know more this afternoon and will update you via The Candle, which will be going out a bit later than usual this week. Thank you for your patience as we respond to this situation, which changes hourly.
And finally, let me say how grateful I am to be your minister. This past week I have seen how deeply this community cares for its most vulnerable. And how often the health of those most at-risk has been given careful thought and priority. Because we are a community with a high percentage of congregants over 60-years-old, and therefore more vulnerable to this virus, it is important that we take a proactive response. And we know that the interdependent web is not a metaphor, it is our lived reality. We make decisions based on the health of the whole. This is part of our ministry to one another and our commitment to this community. Thank you for being a part of it.
With love and gratitude and diligent hand washing,
Rev. Jessica