March 30, 2020Dear Friends,
In the interest of caring for ourselves and our community, at our meeting on March 26. 2020, CUCC Council voted to continue our building closure through May 15, 2020. As the situation with COVID-19 unfolds, we have the flexibility to change this date as needed. Council feels that the best course of action is to follow the public school closure timeline. Our facilities will remain closed to both congregants and community until further notice. We will continue our ministry in our virtual space and through a new definition of community in the coming days and weeks.
Council discussed multiple opportunities for all of us to “be the church.” Consider the following suggestions:
Care for the building: Merrilee is spearheading “cabin fever” worktimes She has a list of projects that can be conquered by individuals or families and can be a great break from being home while helping your church family in a safe way.
Be a financial steward: We still have bills to pay and responsibilities to honor as people of God. You can send a check to the church or give via Breeze. Check out the church website for more details.
Connect with others: Check in on your friends and acquaintances from church. How is your pew mate doing? Drop them an email or give them a call. Find ways to connect with someone new if you can.
Share the work: As we all find our way during this time, there have been many people keeping our ship afloat. I want to personally thank our awesome interim pastors and our 2020 church Council for doing whatever is asked of them-- and more. There are many others who are not elected officers of the church who have pitched in and I am very grateful. Jane Smith has taken on even more roles that usual, and would appreciate a hand from willing folks. This is a great opportunity to use your time at home to help the church using gifts you already have. If you are interested in helping out with any of the following, please contact Jane as soon as possible:
1) Facebook and Twitter: Write and schedule a daily post which is meaningful to both CUCC folks AND to people beyond our in-person community. You must be a member of Facebook, but will use the CUCC account on Twitter. Key to these posts are events open to the public, current liturgical season or sermon themes, inspiring photographs, opportunities to serve. Because one can schedule, a week’s worth can be done at one time, and the same message usually works on FB and T. Create occasional Facebook events for major CUCC-wide events, inviting your personal CUCC friends. Best done on W-F, your choice, so you can link to articles created on Monday and Tuesday by person 2 (below). 2 hours or less, depending on how many days you have to create “fill” items. Weekly. You will work closely with the pastors and person 2 (below).
2) Using content provided by ministries and committees, convert that information (with links, graphics, and photos) into eNews articles on Blogger. Do on Monday or Tuesday of each week. Will require consultation with the submitting group to remind them to provide a contact name and how to contact, and to differentiate between CUCC-engaged events, and sharing of opportunities from the community. Review the CUCC calendar to see if a ministry has forgotten to contact you about PR for their upcoming event. Label items for the appropriate editions of the eNews. Copy the information onto the event entry on the CUCC online calendar, creating an entry if none already exists. Send the link to the article to the person who requested it so they can review it for errors; approval is assumed if the person does not respond. Will probably take at least 3 hours, depending on how good individual groups are at submitting everything you need. Weekly. You will work closely with person 1 and person 3.
3) Edit the CUCC Weekly eNews (best end of day Tuesday or first thing Wednesday morning). Review articles for appropriateness for the eNews using publication guidelines! Ensure each article has a CUCC contact name and contact info, usually including the relevant submitting CUCC group! Ensure that each event is on the CUCC calendar, with details in description. Create “This week at CUCC” table of contents using articles labeled for that edition. Change date/time stamp to make articles appear in correct order. Review layout. Send Tony or the designated staff person the link to ensure that everything necessary is included (there may be last minute items from staff). If Tony is still here, he will send out the MailChimp. If not, after approval from designated staff, send the MailChimp sometime Wednesday. 90 minutes. Weekly. You will work closely with staff and person 2.
4) Schedule Zoom meetings and add to the CUCC Online Calendar (throughout the week; one day turnaround required). Put the event on the CUCC online calendar. Work with the requester to schedule the meeting on Zoom, consulting with them on settings and timing to meet their goals. Discuss level of openness of meeting and who should receive the Meeting ID. Send the Meeting ID to the appropriate recipients (requester, but also possibly the eNews article writer (person 2 above). Add Meeting ID to CUCC Online Calendar, if appropriate. Refer questions about Zoom to our Zoom Help Desk volunteers. Who knows? It is pretty constant with 3 or 4 requests each day right now. It takes about 20 minutes for each request, including the conversation with the requester.
5) Assist worship team with Zoom behind-the-curtain work at rehearsal and during 10:30 worship (probably Sunday 10 to noon). Requires comfort with Zoom, preferably with more experience than Jane has!
Finally, please feel free to reach out to anyone on the Church Council, pastoral team, or the Deacons ministry if we can be of service or support during this unprecedented time.
Megan Fackler Bretz, current moderator
mfacklerbretz@gmail.com