In this moment, I know that many of you are navigating either COVID exposures, have a family member sick, or are yourselves sick. And others of you are medical staff and school staff who are being asked to give so much right now – too much. Please know that you are not alone, and please don’t hesitate to reach out if we can be a support for you in this time. Â
I wanted to let you all know that this surge of the virus has come in close. On Monday, both my family and Sean’s family were showing symptoms. With school-age children in our homes who had only just gotten approved for boosters, we both recognized that it was likely a matter of time given the omicron surge. By mid-week, my family’s tests confirmed that we have COVID; my kids and partner are all ill – although doing ok. I am still asymptomatic. We are extremely grateful for vaccines. Â
Sean’s family hasn’t yet tested positive but have confirmed that they were directly and repeatedly exposed throughout last week by someone who tested positive, and so we are assuming that their symptoms are also COVID. Tests with omicron are showing more false negatives, especially for vaccinated individuals who may have lower viral loads. Â
Given this, we have decided to embrace the wonderful opportunities that being all online offers and invite our 9:00 service to join in worship with the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee and their lead minister, the Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom. They also meet at 9 am mountain time on Sundays. Actually, they had already planned to join us on January 30th, so this is a great chance for us to have an exchange and experience each other’s worship services and community. Â
Our 10:00 service will continue as planned, information on that is below. There will not be an 11:00 online service this Sunday.
To join the 9 am service, you can either go directly to First UU Milwaukee’s live online stream on Youtube at this link or join our usual zoom link here, where we are hoping to simply share their feed and be able to experience it together. However, if there are any issues with the feed into zoom, we will direct everyone over to Youtube with a link in the chat. More information about their service can be found below.Â
We hope to offer our breakouts after our 9:00 service, but we will play that by ear on Sunday. If we can’t, or if you’d just like to join First UU Milwaukee, you are welcome to check out their zoom coffee hour at this link (ID: 863 9915 2275, Passcode: uumke) after the service.
You are also welcome to join the 30-minute 10 am service led by our family ministry team. This service will serve as preparation for our participation in the MLK March on Monday – more information is below!
This is a good moment to encourage everyone to get your booster if you haven’t already! Get that improved (KN95/N95) mask on, and avoid public indoor spaces as much as possible.
January is just going to be rough. But on the other side of this is February, and all indications are things should be a lot better by then. We just need to take it one day at a time, ask for help when we need it (e.g. join another church for worship on Sunday!), and remember the gift of being in community through times like this. I am so grateful for each of you, for the ways you show up for each other, and for the world with so much generosity, compassion, and humor. That’s the way forward.
With love,
GretchenÂ
We are thrilled to join First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee this Sunday for our 9 am service. Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom will lead an exploration of the relationship between intention and action. Do you do what you intended to do? Did it have the impact you intended it to have? In this service, we’ll explore how to shoot a straight arrow between intention, action, and impact, and what to do when the path gets a little less direct than originally intended.
*We have added a short form to fill out before joining Zoom. This form not only helps keep our worship secure, it also significantly streamlines taking attendance (which we do both for our reporting purposes and so we can reach out for pastoral support when needed). Thank you for being so flexible – this new form saves us about 5 hours a week in staff time, which we can dedicate to other important work!Â
You can also watch First Milwaukee’s service on YouTube at 9 am MST (or anytime after).
We would also love for you to join the Foothills Unitarian Family Ministry Team at 10 am for a 30-minute service in preparation for the MLK March on Monday, January 17th.
Join Foothills for the Fort Collins MLK March on Monday, January 17th
Foothills members of all ages will gather at the northwest corner of Civic Center Park Monday at 10:30 am for a brief time of spiritual grounding. We will then walk a half block north to join the march at Washington Park, which begins at 11:00 am.
Together, we will explore the question Why are we marching? Why now in 2022 as voting rights are threatened?” It will include stories from then and now, music, and why we, as Unitarian Universalists, are called to dismantle racism and oppression in ourselves and our institutions.
In preparation for the march, you are invited to join us for a short zoom service on Sunday, January 16th at 10:00 am.
In preparation for the march, you are invited to join us for a short zoom service on Sunday, January 16th at 10:00 am.
Together, we will explore the question Why are we marching? Why now in 2022 as voting rights are threatened?” It will include stories from then and now, music, and why we, as Unitarian Universalists, are called to dismantle racism and oppression in ourselves and our institutions.
Stay up-to-date with our plans for COVID-19 safety at foothillsuu.org/covidsafety.