Announcements – Heritage UU Church

It’s Time to Return to the Church

(Can We Get an ‘Amen!’?)

The Heritage Board of Trustees has approved returning to in-person worship services on the church grounds (outdoors)! After 18 months worshipping away from HUUC, both virtually on Zoom and sometimes at Moundview Park in Newtown, we are eager to begin reclaiming our sacred space for Sunday services on September 12 with our annual Ingathering Sunday and Water Ceremony. Note: Certain Sundays in September and October will continue to be Zoom-only. Check the website (https://huuc.net) to see whether a service is being held outdoors at the church this fall. All services, even those in-person Sundays held outdoors at Heritage, will be available live on Zoom as well.

The Worship Committee, our Tech Team, and the Board are working hard to configure an outdoor setup (most likely just outside the sanctuary on the patio) that will allow for safer in-person worship. Your patience and cooperation – including masking when requested and getting vaccinated – will be greatly appreciated as many volunteer members of our congregation work with our dedicated staff to make the experience of returning to worship at our own space as positive and rewarding as possible, for folks of all ages and stages. There will likely be some growing pains, and some physical (and emotional) discomfort, but consider it a small price to pay for being together again worshipping at Heritage Church!

Small groups are also allowed to meet, indoors or outdoors, at HUUC throughout the week. If you are meeting indoors, please follow the Board guidelines listed here https://huuc.net/heritage-uu-church-policy-related-to-covid-19/#smallgroup including wearing a mask at all times when in the building, and meeting in the largest room possible (the Sanctuary or the Great Hall). Remember to actually socially distance. Chairs are set up in a large circle in the sanctuary, with proper spacing; please do not scoot them closer together. We love to be with one another, but it’s just not safe to be that close yet. We have had several “breakthrough” cases of COVID in the congregation in the past month, and we don’t want anyone else to get sick. Remember as well that those in our church family under the age of 12 are not yet able to get vaccinated.

Please note as well that we recommend no more than 8 people in the Heritage Room – socially distanced – and no more than 5-6 in any classroom or the kitchen.

Thank you for your cooperation as we slowly return to Heritage Church. Stay safe. Be well.

8/27/2021.

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Heritage UU Church Board of Trustees for 2021-2022

The church year runs from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022. Shown here, left to right, are the members of the Board of Trustees: Michael Wilhite (President), Michelle Kelly (Secretary), Kay Inskeep, John Sandman, Meredith Meyer, Julie Kane (Vice President), and Mark Buckley.

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Heritage UU Church Policies Related to COVID-19

This document contains three policy statements in response to COVID-19. They are:

Heritage UU Church Policy Related to COVID-19

In-Person Worship Policy

Indoor Gathering Policy

Heritage UU Church Policy Related to COVID-19

The following policy shall be reviewed monthly by the Board of Trustees. The purpose of this policy is to assist church groups and individuals with planning.

For the health and safety of our church community, all HUUC-affiliated groups are strongly encouraged to meet virtually.
The following applies to HUUC-affiliated gatherings regardless of location:
- Indoor and outdoor at 2710 Newtown Road:
  - See attached Indoor Gathering Policy.
- Outdoor at Other Locations:
  - See attached In-Person Worship Policy.
The following applies to 3rd-Party Use of HUUC Facilities (e.g. rentals):
- Will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Board.
If the Ohio Public Health Advisory Alert System moves to a Level 4 for our area, no non-essential outdoor gatherings will be permitted at church.

Posted 5/26/2020. Last revised by the Board of Trustees on 8/9/2021.

In-Person Worship Policy

All in-person worship services at this time shall be outdoors at Moundview Park.

At these services:

Everyone should be respectful of one another’s choices and decisions concerning social distancing.
Hand sanitizer and masks will be available.
Unvaccinated persons should wear masks.
Fully vaccinated persons are encouraged to wear masks.
Fans located in the ceiling of the pavilion will be used to increase air flow and ventilation.
Congregational singing is allowed. When singing, masks should be worn by all.
Choir must use specially designed choral masks when singing.
In-person services will be livestreamed or shown on Zoom, Facebook Live, etc., so that those who cannot or do not choose to attend can be part of the worshipping community. It is understood by those in attendance that they may appear in the worship broadcast, including any Candles of Community they may share.
Microphones, P.A. system, etc., will be used as needed. Sharing of hand-held microphones is not allowed.

Established by the Board of Trustees on 6/14/2021. Last revised by the Board of Trustees on 8/9/2021.

Indoor Gathering Policy

Beginning August 10, 2021, church groups of up to 30 adults can continue use of indoor Heritage Church spaces.

Given the current rate of transmission, masks are required whenever two or more persons are together indoors.

These small group meetings should:

Be held in the largest room/area possible. Room choice and assignment will depend on anticipated attendance and social distancing.
Include an option for a video connection for those who do not feel comfortable, or cannot, attend the meeting.
Have hand sanitizer and masks available.

Group singing with masks is allowed indoors for any gathering adhering to the outlined requirements. Choir members are still expected to use the special choral singing masks that they have been given for rehearsals.

Fans located in the church should be turned on to increase air flow and ventilation for all meetings, and approved HEPA air circulators as recommended by the Safety and Reopening Team should be operating in any meeting rooms.

This and all policies regarding meetings in the church building following “reopening” will be periodically reviewed and potentially updated by the Board of Trustees.

Established by the Board of Trustees on 6/14/2021. Last revised by the Board of Trustees on 9/13/2021.

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Introducing Laci Lee Adams, our new Director of Lifespan Faith Development

Laci Lee Adams

The Settled Religious Educator Search Committee (Kay Inskeep, David Knight, Katie Kpaeyeh, Amy Leirer and Ann Roberts, with consultation from Rev. Bill Gupton and Interim Religious Educator Karen Hager) is thrilled to announce that Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church has hired Laci Lee Adams as our Director of Lifespan Faith Development.

Laci has just completed four years as first the Coordinator of Religious Exploration and more recently the Director of Religious Exploration at the First Parish UU Church in Brookline, Mass. Laci is a warm, engaging, passionate advocate for children, youth and families, for social justice, and for true lifelong learning, exploration and spiritual development for Unitarian Universalists of all ages.

She came to Unitarian Universalism via the United Methodist Church, where in 2007 she completed an M.A. in Specialized Ministry with a concentration in Spiritual Formation and Religious Leadership at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver. Her B.A. was in Religious Studies from Centenary College in Shreveport, La.

Laci’s career prior to UU religious education included transformative work in multicultural education and cultural competence at Georgia State University in Atlanta, and grassroots organizing work in Chicago, Madison (Wisc.), Denver and Atlanta.

She and her wife, Emily Popler, are the proud parents of 18-month old Benjamin Alexon Popler-Adams (Ben). They live in Northside. Emily is a Clinical Fellow in the Division of Adolescent and Transition Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

We look forward to welcoming Laci as our very first Director of Lifespan Faith Development. She will officially join our staff on Sunday, August 1. We invite you to come meet her at our in-person, outdoor worship service that morning.

2021.

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Registration for RE and YRUU This Fall

Fall registration has opened for Children’s RE classes and YRUU (high school youth group). Register online at the HUUC Children and Youth Registration Form for 2021-22. All children and youth must be registered to attend classes and meetings this fall.

Returning families have been sent a link to a pre-filled registration form to make registration easier. Please check your email.

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Reopening: It Takes a Village

Seeking
Audio Visual Volunteers,
Parking Lot Greeters and More!

With our return to in-person worship services on June 6 comes the need for increased community participation (translation: helpers) to make things work smoothly in-person and at a new, outdoor location. For the past year-plus, a smaller group of volunteers has brought you increasingly sophisticated online Zoom worship services, but the needs of an outdoor, in-person service are very different.

Throughout this summer, with services at Moundview Park planned every-other Sunday, Heritage Church needs you! If you can help with any of the following, please contact Rev. Bill Gupton at:

P.A. and Sound System help. We will be using a church-owned P.A. system plugged into power outlets at the Moundview Park pavilion. If operating a soundboard, running wires and cables to microphones, etc., is something you can do or would love to learn to do, we need you!

Parking Lot attendants. Are you a friendly person? A good problem solver? We’re looking for several folks to be available to help direct traffic and get cars efficiently parked at Moundview Park. You’ll be the first to see your old (and new) friends on Sunday mornings. Sound like fun? We need you!

Videographers. We will have 2-3 cameras set up around the pavilion during our outdoor Sunday services for the livestream portion of these services. It is important that folks at home, who do not come to the service in-person for whatever reason, can still worship with us. These will be static (not roving) cameras, so all you need is a good smart phone or other camera, a well-charged battery, and willingness to set up the camera (tripods a plus) and monitor it, staying in touch with our technician “in the studio” in New Jersey. If this sounds like your gig, we need you!

Ushers. There will be programs and announcements to hand out, seating to coordinate (helping households find accommodating ways to maintain social distance), and perhaps a timely need or two from our Worship Committee on Sunday mornings. People will need to be directed to the Joys & Sorrows Book, the restrooms, etc. Seeking gregarious and helpful souls for this important role. We need you!

What have we forgotten? This is an ever-evolving process. The Worship Committee and your Senior Minister are hard at work on planning outdoor services, but perhaps there are other kinds of help we will need, that we haven’t even considered. If you have thoughts, please feel free to share them with Rev. Bill at the email address above. Everybody, we need you!

June 2021.

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What to Expect and What to Know About Our Return to In-Person Worship

Moundview Park picnic shelter

Thanks to the hard work of our Safety and Reopening Team, we will once again be able to gather in-person for Sunday worship, every other Sunday this summer at Moundview Park, beginning on June 6. We offer our gratitude to Board members John Sandman and Mark Buckley, to Worship Committee representatives Regina Pugh, Steph Tacy, Jenn Hester and Lisa Prantl, to our Interim Religious Educator Karen Hager, to Steve Sievers and Marleen Johnson and Jaime Castle, and to our scientific consultant, Ken Martinez, for this exciting opportunity.

On alternating Sundays beginning at 10:30 a.m., outdoor and in-person worship will be held in the large pavilion at the top of the hill at Moundview Park at 3130 Newtown Road, about a mile north of Heritage Church. Please plan to arrive early each Sunday to allow time for parking; most folks should park in the parking lot near Newtown Road, next to the baseball field, but those with accessibility challenges may drive up the hill and park in one of the limited number of handicap parking spaces located there.

Bring a mask with you. You might also consider bringing folding (soccer-type) chairs. While many of us will be eager to hug friends, others will be uncomfortable with close, physical contact. Further, some of us will be vaccinated – and some will not. We must be particularly careful about children, those who are immune-compromised, and so on. And we cannot make assumptions about another person’s vaccination status, health or emotional situation. As a loving community, it is incumbent upon us to be careful, gentle and forgiving with one another.

Below is the text of the current re-opening report the Board of Trustees approved from the Safety and Reopening Team. We ask that you read this document carefully before attending in-person worship services this summer. If you have questions, please ask.

Worship “Re-Opening” Plan

Phased return to in-person Sunday morning worship services

PHASE I: Summer 2021

Outdoor services at 10:30 a.m. at Moundview Park large pavilion
Every other Sunday June thru August. (Alternating Sundays continue to be Zoom only)

Households should remain socially distanced apart from other households. People may sit at tables, in chairs that they bring, or stand in the surrounding area.
Hand sanitizer and masks will be available.
Unvaccinated persons should wear masks.
Fully vaccinated persons may consider wearing masks as desired.
Fans located in the ceiling of the pavilion will be used to increase air flow and ventilation.
Congregational singing is allowed. When singing, masks should be worn by all.
Choir may sing as a group but will do so outside (not under) the pavilion, distanced from congregation, unless weather requires them to sing under the pavilion. When singing, masks should be worn by all (and must be worn if the choir is singing under the pavilion).
Choir should rehearse prior to services only outdoors, and masked.
There is a playground right next to the pavilion. Children may play there before, during and after the service, but should be masked at all times, and of course monitored or supervised by parents/guardians. No need to clean playground equipment.
Candles of Community (“joys and sorrows”) will be submitted in writing ahead of time, either via email as is done now, or written on a pad that will be available ahead of the service. They will be read aloud by the Worship Associate.
On Sundays when food will be consumed, each household will bring its own food (no “potluck” or food-sharing).
Expectations around hugging, physical contact and consent will be explained at the beginning of each service.
In-person services will be livestreamed or shown on Zoom so that those who cannot or do not choose to attend can be part of the worshipping community. It is understood by those in attendance in person that they may appear in the worship broadcast, and their names may be mentioned online for any Candles of Community they may share.
Microphones, P.A. system, etc., will be used as needed. Sharing of hand-held microphones is not allowed (e.g., multiple speakers or singers do not use the same mic).
At this time no numerical cap on attendance is expected. This may be reconsidered with more experience throughout the summer.

PHASE II: Fall 2021 (target)

Our goal is to resume in-sanctuary, in-person services on Sunday, Sept. 12, with Ingathering Sunday / Water Ceremony. Detailed plans for achieving and implementing this goal will continue to be worked out by the Worship Sub-Group of the Safety / Reopening Team, with recommendations to follow on a timely basis.

Posted 5/24/2021.

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Collecting Family Information

As we continue to be mindful of the safety and security of our members and friends when they are in the Heritage building, we’ve discovered that information for many of our families is incomplete.

Security professionals have urged us to have emergency contact information for everyone who attends programming in our church, especially on Sunday mornings. In January and February, you may receive an information form via email. We urge you to fill it out as completely as possible and assure you that all information collected will remain safe and secure from hacking or other unauthorized access.

Paper forms will also be available at the Religious Exploration recruiting table on Sunday mornings.

Please help us ensure the safety of our Heritage children and youth!

January 2020.

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Church Financial Statements are Now Available

In response to discussion at our annual congregational meeting in June, Heritage UU Church has started placing its financial statements on a password-protected webpage on the church website.

To go to the financial statements, on any church webpage find the main menu bar, point to CONGREGATIONAL LIFE, then point and click on MEMBERS’ AREA. On that page, scroll down and click on the Financial Statements link. This will take you to the Financial Statements page.

You will need to enter the members’ area password if you have not entered it recently. If you do not know the password, please talk with the Church Administrator either in person or by phone.

If you have questions about the content of the financial statements, please talk with Reid Hester, or email him at:

September 2019.

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Doorbells …

The church has two front doorbells, and it can be a little confusing as to which one you should ring.

If you come to the church for a gathering of some sort and there is no one standing there to let you in, ring the bottom doorbell. It is small, a vertical rectangle, and has a little notice that says “Push Here for Main Building.” This doorbell rings a buzzer throughout the building, so that anyone who has already arrived for your gathering should be able to hear it and come let you in.

(There is also another doorbell—square, larger, and higher—that rings in just the church office, and that is meant for persons delivering packages, etc., during the Church Administrator’s office hours. Don’t ring that one unless you know for certain that the Church Administrator is in. People in the rest of the building can’t hear it.)

If you have questions, please contact our Church Administrator at 513-231-8634, or email her at: