A meeting of the Congregation will be held via ZOOM on Thursday evening, January 28 at 7:30 pm.  A link to join the meeting was sent by email to all voting members.  If you cannot find the link, please contact Val Rosado or Christy Millat.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the Board’s proposal to sell a piece of our land.  Questions which arose during the informational meeting on January 10th will be answered.  Ballots will be sent out during the week following the meeting.

The UUCLC’s Social Justice and Environment Committee is pleased to announce the next three Online Social Justice Programs, all of which will be devoted to ending racism. These presentations are free and open to the public and are made possible by the expertise provided by the UUCLC’s Zoom Tech Committee. Each presentation starts at 7 p.m.

• Sunday, January 10, 2021: Healing Racism. Ruth Anne Bergeron King, a local blues artist and author, will share her music and new memoir, Zebra: Lost and Found between Two Races, about growing up half Black and half White. Register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwtf-ypqj0vH9MNpyT7qe41ynrIGTlh3TTT
• Sunday, February 14, 2021: Confronting Racism. Rev. Sandy Haxton will monitor a panel discussion by three faith leaders — Pastor John Christian, Rev. David Crump, and Rev. Michael J. Watkins — on identifying and confronting racism. Register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIvf-yspzIqHd00Q3JevxTy5AjEh7PfqtmK
• Sunday, March 14, 2021: Living Racism. Cassandra Brown and Mae Hazelton, co-founders of 2020 All About the Ballots, will present a 90 minute interactive learning experience to show what living in the racial wealth gap is like. Register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkdeiqrTwpGNGNe9L6Mkrn0XzPVk5IBJZw

Since our building is closed until further notice, UUCLC is now using ZOOM to facilitate meetings and services.  If you would like to schedule a ZOOM meeting for your committee or group, please send an email to valzoom84@gmail.com with your name and email address and Val Rosado will send  you a request form.

We want to make supporting UUCLC easy for members and friends.  This is particularly important during the current COVID 19 crisis when our building is closed but we still have bills to pay.

Sign up to use our new e-giving option!  You can schedule regular donations or one-time donations to our general fund.  Regular donations can help support our mission throughout the year with a more predictable donation stream.

Due to concern for the health of our congregation members, friends, and citizens of this community, UUCLC will not hold worship services until further notice.  Please check our website  and watch for email notifications for any updated information. The building will remain closed to all events and meetings during this time. In the event of an emergency or a congregational concern, please reach out to Rev. Tracie or a UUCLC Board member.

Thank you for your understanding. We wish everyone to be safe and well.

UUCLC Board of Trustees

Your Safe Congregation Team, Board, and various other leaders of the congregation have been carefully weighing the increasing risks posed by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We recognize that emotions and anxiety are high, and we ask for your patience and understanding as leadership makes the best decisions it can with the information we currently have.

Our planning is based on the fundamental hope that no member of UUCLC contracts COVID-19, but with the awareness that it is entirely possible one of us will do so in the course of our daily lives, and so our goal is that UUCLC will not become a site of spread. We of course balance this hope and this goal with our deep desire and commitment to continue providing the spiritual and social nourishment we all find at UUCLC.

At the moment, the effort to balance these leads us to a preliminary course of action. The below actions are taken with the understanding that social distancing (literally putting space between humans), is primary in slowing the virus’ spread.

1. All potlucks have been canceled. If you need food after the service, you are invited to bring your own. Coffee and tea will continue to be served.
2. Children’s programming has been canceled for the time being.
3. The Bing Futch concert and chili dinner event has been postponed.

Sunday morning services and discussion group will continue for now, though we will continue to ask you not to make physical contact with each other– no handshaking or hugging– and we will ask you now to maintain some physical distance. We also encourage you to wash your hands frequently. If you have extra hand sanitizer and wish to bring it to UUCLC, we will gladly accept it (make sure you have enough for yourself first!).

Small group meetings– committees, covenant groups, etc– may continue on site. However, we encourage the following steps:

1. If you can meet remotely without severely limiting your meeting, please do. Rev. Tracie has a Zoom video conferencing account that she is willing to set up for committee meeting use. Please contact her at tbarrett@uuma.org with at least a week’s notice so she can set that up for you.
2. If you intend to meet in person, please sit far apart from each other.
3. Encourage your meeting members to wash hands upon entering the building, and before leaving.
4. Have tissues available for your meeting.
5. Do not engage in any food sharing at your meeting.

Please know that as we enact these first measures, Rev. Tracie is in touch with our Caring Team and the Safe Congregations Team. We are making plans to be ready to support any UUCLC folks who end up in quarantine, and to ensure that those among us who must stay home because they are at high risk are supported and checked on frequently. We will make every effort to maintain the central functions of UUCLC for as long as possible, but we will make all necessary plans for the future.

Please let Rev Tracie know if you have been exposed to or have contracted the virus, or have been asked to self quarantine.

Please also heed the CDC’s advice to self quarantine if you have been traveling to countries with an outbreak.

Our goal is to keep all of UUCLC safe, with special attention to protecting the most vulnerable among us.

This is a scary time, and we are here for you. Please be in touch with Rev. Tracie, or any of our amazing UUCLC leadership if you have questions, concerns, needs, or a listening ear at this time.

With hope and commitment,

Rev. Tracie and the Board of Trustees