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Coronavirus update: All in-person events cancelled

Dear friends,

We have been carefully tracking the news of the coronavirus (COVID-19). As you know, the news about COVID-19 intensifies and changes by the day. At this time, organization after organization—including churches, institutions of higher learning, professional sports, and entire towns have cancelled in-person events and meetings.

After serious consideration, the Council has concluded that it is necessary to cancel all in-person events, including worship, at the church. The church building will be closed to all groups beginning Saturday, March 14th at 5:00 p.m. through March 31st. On March 31st, we will reassess the situation.

The physical office will also be closed, but we will be responding to messages, emails and otherwise doing the business of the church virtually. So, please make sure to contact us by email (office.cucc@gmail.com) or by phone (919-809-8850) if you have any questions or concerns, and to let us know how we can help you. Our deacons will also be in touch with you to further assist you in this time.

While we are canceling all in-person events at the church, we will be providing opportunities to meet, including to worship, on Zoom or by conference call. For example, our planned Healing Conversations meetings will be moved to Zoom. We encourage all groups affected by the church closure to consider meeting together on a platform like Zoom. We are here to help should you need assistance using such services.

Please check your email regularly for updates and invitations to join us for worship or to join your group virtually. We will share information by Saturday about how you can connect through platforms like Zoom and conferencing for worship. We also want to remind you that you can continue giving financially to CUCC through Breeze. If you need help giving through Breeze or signing into Breeze, please contact the church office for further assistance.

We know access to computers, iPhones, etc. is not universal. If you know of someone you can help by providing a spare phone or iPad and a WiFi-connection, please do so. All services will be available on our website for future viewing.

While this is a worrisome time in our history, we are cancelling in-person worship and events  not because we fear the virus or because we believe that we have entered the “end times.” We are canceling our in-person events in order to do our part to stop the spread of the virus, thus reducing strain on our healthcare system and saving lives in the process. Let us give thanks to God for the opportunity we have to help keep people healthy and safe.

Most importantly, we are the family of God. We are connected to each other, and so now we must be attuned to and attend to each other in this moment. As Mike Cline, our Moderator-elect, reminds us, while we are “not being physically present to see each other—this may be a time where we, in fact, can be MORE connected within the midst of this crisis, a time when we are reminded of the sacredness of life and that we do not know what tomorrow brings. Being less focused on whether or not a service can be held—and more focused on each other and on the most vulnerable.”

 Peace,

 Pastors Carol and Tony