Update from Rev. Jessica

Dear KUUF community,

This week the board made the difficult decision to close the KUUF building until further notice. All gatherings, of any size, are prohibited. All of our staff—including myself and Tanesha Smith, our office administrator—are working from home. During a press conference yesterday the Kitsap Health Board made it very clear that we should all essentially be sheltering in place, in our homes, until further notice. KUUF is following those guidelines and encouraging our members to do the same, as much as possible. If you are working at a job that makes this impossible, please know we support you in doing what you need to do. This is a long-haul situation and we are in it together.

And while this is a difficult time for all of us, it is especially difficult for those who are losing their income because businesses and schools have been temporarily shut down. The board and I want to make sure KUUF is doing everything we can, for one another and our larger community. 

Need help?

  • If you are a member in need of financial assistance, please contact me directly at minister@kuuf.org.

  • If you need groceries or medicine delivered, contact me or Tanesha and we will get you connected to a KUUF member who can help.

Want to help?

  • If you are a KUUF member or friend under-60 and not immunocompromised, please consider making yourself available to deliver groceries or medicine. Email me and I will add you to our response team.

  • If you are able to donate financially, please consider giving to KUUF. You can donate online via Paypal at https://paypal.me/KitsapUU and in the “Notes” section designate your donation one of the following ways:

    • KUUF Ministerial Discretionary Fund, which helps members in need. 

    • Kitsap Community Foundation, to help those in our community. 

    • General fund, in lieu of our usual Sunday offering basket

    • Charitable Giving, which goes to our monthly charitable giving recipient

And check in with me and let me know how you’re doing! Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, 12-2pm I am holding office hours on Zoom: https://uuma.zoom.us/j/265672270. And Wednesday evenings, 6-8pm, I am hosting an informal Zoom hangout:  https://uuma.zoom.us/j/170960595. 

And of course, I am available by phone or text at my cell: 206-890-2872.

Have more questions about COVID-19? 

This Thursday, March 19, at 3pm our Parish Nurse Jenn is hosting a Zoom chat. 

https://uuma.zoom.us/j/656293173

Or call in by phone: 1-669-900-6833 and enter meeting ID: 656-293-173.

I was so grateful this past Sunday to see so many of you attending our Youtube worship service and our Zoom virtual coffee hour. A lot of you are using this kind of tech for the first time! I hope you’re finding it easier than you had imagined it might be. If not, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or our media team (media@kuuf.org) with questions. We are eager to make sure you have access to your KUUF community. We will be worshipping together again this Sunday at 10:30am. Watch us at KUUF.org.

As we adjust to our new normal for the next several weeks, I invite you to stay connected with KUUF. At times like this we realize how vitally important it is to be a part of such a caring community of folks. Though we may be separated physically, we are still connected with one another. Reach out your heart in the days to come and remember that we are with you.

Blessings and gratitude to you each of you,

Rev. Jessica

Update Regarding COVID-19

Dear fellowship,

Earlier today you should have received an email from our KUUF Board explaining that we have canceled services through the entire month of March, and detailing some of the information that helped the Board come to this decision. (You can see the letter here.)

As you know, COVID-19 continues to make its way through our state and country, and the effects on our every day lives continues to increase. At a time like this, it is difficult not to be able to gather together as we usually do. So I want to encourage you to reach out. Reach out to me, reach out to one another. I am only a phone call away. (360-377-4724. x 2.)

And the good news is that, while we won’t be gathering in person, we will be gathering online. We will be gathering this coming Sunday on our Youtube page. Head over there at 11am and join in the chat. It will be a fun, laid-back gathering with a little prayer, a little music and lots of opportunity to interact.

Regarding in-person connection, for those of you in Chalice Circles, I encourage you to check in with your people. For those of you not in a Chalice Circle, the Caring Committee and I have put together “Circles of Care” in which you’ll be invited to participate. Please look for an email from me in the next few days.

Until then, remember you are an important part of this precious community. Take care of your health, reach out if you feel isolated, and know that you are not alone.

Blessings and gratitude to you,

Rev. Jessica

Our response to COVID-19, on March 6, 2020

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