At press time for this July Heirloom, most states (including Ohio) are reporting dramatic spikes in coronavirus cases. Far from being behind us or even on the decline, the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading rapidly. Doctors and scientists are telling us that the situation is even more dire than it was in March, when we shut down, sheltered in place, and began implementing various safeguarding measures.

The good news is, those measures worked to slow the spread of the virus and “flatten the curve” – so long as we were following them. They can again.

Even the governor of Texas (!) is saying it: As much as possible, stay home. When you are out avoid large crowds, stay outdoors whenever you can, wear a mask, and practice proper physical distancing from others who are not part of your household. Your health and safety, and that of others, depend on it.

If you’ve been part of the Heritage Church community for a year or more, you know that one of our most beloved Unitarian Universalist traditions is the end-of-summer Water Ceremony. Everyone is encouraged to collect a small amount of water from somewhere special to them over the course of the summer, and then bring that water to our sanctuary on the last Sunday of summer. At that time, we pour all our waters together to create the upcoming year’s “holy water” to symbolize our deep interconnection with one another (and for use at ceremonial occasions, such as baby dedications, weddings and funerals).

With COVID-19, we won’t be gathering together in person this year for our traditional Ingathering Sunday. However, that doesn’t mean our annual Water Ceremony can’t happen! Our 2020 Water Ceremony will take place – as do all our worship services right now – virtually, on Sunday, August 30. Between now and then, you are encouraged, as always, to collect some water from a special place (though we hope and expect the locales won’t be nearly as far-flung or exotic as they sometimes are!).

Maybe with the pandemic, you have come to see a particular water source close to or even in your home as meaningful or spiritually significant (a bathtub where you have found peace amid the chaos; your tap water source, once taken for granted; a hose in your yard where the kids play on hot summer days; a nearby creek – the possibilities are endless). As we come to greater appreciation of the simple blessings of life during this strange time, perhaps our annual Water Ceremony can reflect that; maybe distant travels and vacations will be replaced, if only temporarily, by comforts much closer to home.

So this summer, remember to collect some special water. Then have it with you during our Water Ceremony on August 30. In big, legible letters, write where it came from on a piece of paper or cardboard approximately 8½ by 11 inches. Have that sheet with you on August 30 as well. You will be prepared for our Water Ceremony, 2020 style.

Oh – and don’t worry. We still have some of our 2019-20 “holy water” from last year’s Water Ceremony, that can be used during ceremonial occasions if needed in the months ahead.

Our Senior Minister, Rev. Bill Gupton, will be on vacation this month, taking contractually accrued time off totaling three weeks, from July 6th through the 27th. In case of emergency you may reach him via the church office at 513-231-8634 or by contacting our Church Administrator, Denise Martinez, at:

A video recording of the May 31 Town Hall Meeting is now available online.

You can reach it by going to the HUUC website, pointing on the menu to CONGREGATIONAL LIFE, pointing and clicking on MEMBERS’ AREA, then on that page, clicking on “Town Hall Meeting Videos.” You will need to enter the standard Members’ Area password. Heritage Church congregants who don’t know the password may learn it by placing a phone call to the Church Administrator.

A message from the Women’s Retreat Planning Team:

To our Heritage UU Sisters,

Thank you so much for your survey responses and kind words of support regarding the 2020 HUUC Women’s Retreat. We are so deeply grateful for the continued enthusiasm we have witnessed over the years for the Women’s Retreat.

However, as we begin to acknowledge the many challenges facing us in the next days, weeks, or months ahead, there are so many variables that affect group events being held, including the retreat at Hope Springs Institute…

After a great deal of discussion in which the retreat planning committee visualized many scenarios and options, the HUUC Board determined that it is safest to err on the side of caution by postponing events affiliated with HUUC through the month of September, and possibly through the 2020 year. We love our congregation and our sisterhood, so our top priority has to be ensuring your health and safety the best we can.

While the Retreat Planning Committee supports HUUC’s decision during these tumultuous times, we are deeply saddened by this rather unfortunate turn of events. As we know, sometimes “life just happens” and we have to adapt the best we can. However, we hope that we can count on your support next year for the return of the Heritage Women’s Retreat, 2021! Hope Springs has been very accommodating, and will not extend any financial penalties for postponing the retreat until 2021. Additionally, they are holding our preferred date for 2021, so we can continue our time-honored tradition.

We would like to mention that Hope Springs, along with many other non-profit organizations, are struggling financially in these uncertain times, due to the many cancellations they are experiencing. If you feel compelled to help, we suggest checking out the Hope Springs Institute website, https://www.hopespringsinstitute.org/ , where there are opportunities to support them in various ways.

We look forward to spending time and singing with you again at the HUUC Women’s Retreat at Hope Springs in 2021!

With Love in Sisterhood,
The Retreat Planning Team: Joelle Tunning, Michelle Kelly, Julie Kane, Cherylin Loney, Shelley Graffs, Beth Fritsch, April Theirot

Heritage Church has entered the Zoom age! Each Sunday morning, a small, committed team of volunteers from the congregation creates, for all of us, a wonderful worship service that – while maintaining similar elements and structure to previous, in-person sanctuary services – involves many unique new challenges to create, including a brand-new level of technological skill and management.

Recognizing these new realities, our Personnel Committee, along with our hard-working, dedicated Worship Committee, petitioned the HUUC Board of Trustees to create a paid, part-time staff position with the title Technology Coordinator. That new position is included in the proposed draft operating budget for our 2020-21 fiscal year. Pending approval of the budget by the congregation, Heritage is now actively seeking a part-time Technology Coordinator to manage our Zoom worship services, as well as modernize our social media presence.

For more information, please see the Technology Coordinator position description.

If you know someone who would be a good fit for this position, please have them contact Rev. Bill Gupton.

June 2020.

Heritage is blessed to have not one, but two ministers on staff. Their jobs have changed tremendously during the pandemic, making summer vacations even more important for rest and renewal. Unlike in some past summers, Rev. Bill and Rev. Leslie have decided to alternate their vacations so that the congregation will have at least one minister present throughout the summer.

After guiding the church through the first few weeks of the Coronavirus crisis while Rev. Bill was just beginning a sabbatical, Rev. Leslie Woodward, our Assistant Minister for Religious Exploration, will be taking the month of June off, using contracted and accrued vacation and study leave time. For the past few months, she has worked far more than the 30 hours per week that her contract calls for, helping us put processes in place ranging from caring circle phone-trees to Zoom worship technology.

Then, after ending his sabbatical four months early to return to us as the crisis began to unfold, Rev. Bill Gupton, our Senior Minister, will be taking three weeks off from July 6-27. His contract normally calls for him to have the full month of July off. Rev. Bill is also in discussion with the Board and the Committee on Ministry in hopes of being able to take two months of his remaining four months sabbatical time sometime during the fall or winter, while keeping the remaining two months for some time in the future.

We thank our ordained ministers, and all of our outstanding Heritage employees, for their commitment and dedication to our church community during this period of distancing and separation.

June 2020.

Please make sure your screen name easily identifies you.

If you have attended Heritage online worship services, participated in a church meeting or meditation session, or just spent time virtually hanging out with some friends or family members through your computer, you already know about Zoom, a video-conferencing platform in wide use throughout our communities. Our Heritage Worship Committee has decided to use Zoom to stream our worship services until we can meet again in person.

There are many advantages to using Zoom for Heritage’s Worship Services. If you’ve attended in the last few weeks, you have witnessed those advantages, including seeing one another’s faces, voicing our joys and sorrows in Candles of Community via the “Chat” tool, seeing and hearing recordings by our musicians, praying our Benediction together, and even joining a small group afterward for “virtual coffee hour.”

But sadly, there is one particular disadvantage with Zoom which is worrying, and we wanted to let you know about it. It’s called “ZOOMBOMBING,” where people with malicious intent can invade a Zoom session, for example by posting racist slurs in the Chat, shouting hate speech or taking over the video screen and showing offensive images, including graphic pornography. These “invaders” are typically unknowingly admitted to the Zoom session by the Host or Co-Host because the invaders masquerade as legitimate attendees / participants. Then, once in, they disrupt the session by “bombing” with offensive messages and images.

A handful of UU Churches have experienced zoombombing – two in the past week in New York and Massachusetts. Churches are not the only targets as zoombombers have disrupted online school classes, AA meetings, press conferences and other gatherings. In such cases, if the Host is not able to block the offending “bomber,” the only alternative is to shut the session down and end it for all.

Since Heritage will be using Zoom for worship services for the foreseeable future, we wanted to make you aware of this issue. Here are the steps we’ve taken to try to prevent zoombombing at Heritage’s worship and other online meetings.

1. Only the “host” of the Zoom meeting has the ability to share their screen.
2. Virtual backgrounds (which may include offensive images), white board, annotation, and remote control features are all disabled.
3. All participants (except for those presenting in the service) will be muted throughout the worship service and will not be able to “unmute” themselves, except at key points in the service, such as during the Benediction.
4. Before the Worship Service begins, all Participants are first placed in a “waiting room” before being admitted into the service.
5. Two Co-hosts act as “ushers” (ushers are typically members of the Worship Committee) and “admit” each participant individually, once they recognize that participant’s name.
6. When the ushers do not recognize the identity / name of a participant, they send a chat to let the person know they will be admitted soon. Ushers then use the HUUC Directory to check identities.
7. Even if the participant is not in our current directory, they will still be admitted to the worship service as we always welcome visitors. Once they are admitted to the service, they will receive a warm, friendly welcome in the Chat and asked their name, much as an in-person greeter would welcome someone who is physically visiting Heritage Church on a Sunday morning.
8. Throughout the service, ushers will keep an eye on any participants who are unfamiliar. If a participant attempts to disrupt the worship service, ushers have the ability to “remove” them from the Zoom meeting.

YOU CAN HELP US BY IDENTIFYING YOURSELF!
Please be sure your screen name easily identifies you, if possible. If it is a nickname, a company name, your phone number, or someone else’s name, please change it to your name as soon as you are admitted. Hover over your image until a drop-down menu appears and choose “Rename,” then enter a name that our ushers will recognize.

This helps the ushers know they do not have to worry about monitoring you. Newcomers and visitors are always welcome, but the ushers do try to keep an eye on them until it is clear they are there with good intentions. We are working to take every precaution for the safety of our worship service and your families. Making sure your screen name is your actual name, will make the ushers’ job so much easier.

Even with these precautions, it may be possible for a ‘Zoomboomer” or a group of them to cause havoc. Should this occur, and our ushers are not able to quickly remove the person or persons, the Zoom Host will end the service immediately. If this happens, look for an email from the HUUC Announcements list for a new link or more information. While this is unfortunate, it is necessary to preserve the safety and privacy of all of us.

Thank you for your cooperation and patience as we learn how to stay connected and worship together, in the Love that is the Spirit of this Church.

April 21, 2020.

In the midst of making phone calls, delivering soup, and grocery shopping for those who are home-bound, our Caring Circle has also been organizing for the long haul.

Over 60 people completed our online Heritage Needs and Gifts survey and the vast majority also volunteered to help keep Heritage connected while our church building is closed. Volunteers are being divided into teams that will expand the reach and efforts of our Caring Circle and be sure that all church members and friends are contacted and their needs met to the best of our abilities.

You’ll hear more about our Heritage Caring Network teams in the near future. For now, if you receive a voice mail, email or other message from someone identifying themselves as a Heritage Caring Network member, please call them back! We just want to be sure you are ok and that you know how to reach out if you need us.

If you want to get in touch with the Caring Circle, send email to Michelle Kelly and Barb Beezley at: