Our board has decided to suspend in-person Sunday services and any in-person meetings or groups at UUMAN until further notice.

Update from Bob Popp, UUMAN Board President on November 9th, 2020:

Dearest Fellow Members and Friends of UUMAN!

The UUMAN Board of Trustees met on Tuesday for its monthly meeting. At the top of the agenda was to review and discuss the latest report from the UUMAN Pandemic Task Force. If you remember earlier this year the Board formed the task force to assist with determining how best to operate safely during this unprecedented time of Covid-19. The task force has been meeting regularly, about every 6 weeks, and reporting to the Board.

Last night we reviewed and discussed the latest report from the task force. The bottom line is that given the current infection rates in Georgia and the approach of the winter flu season it is the Board and the task force’s opinion that it would be unwise to open backup to indoor gatherings at this time. The Board does not take this decision lightly as we know our members and friends, especially our children and youth, are tired of not being able to spend more time socializing with their friends and family.

On the positive side we are finding creative ways to have socially distanced, small group, safe outdoor events at UUMAN. Here are few recent examples:

• About a month ago the Sweet Serenade concert from last year’s Harvest Moon Auction was held in the back parking lot,

• this past week the Senior Youth met outside and made toiletry kits for North Fulton Community Charities, and

• the 2nd-5th grade RE class safely decorated pumpkins together for Halloween!

Also on the bright side we continue to hold services every Sunday (now hosted on YouTube). If you haven’t participated in a Sunday morning service you really should do so as they are powerful and diverse statements of who we are as a congregation. In addition with the help of virtual meeting technology (aren’t you loving it?), we are meeting and connecting with our beloved community perhaps even more now than ever before.  Weekly gatherings include casual social hours like the Friday Happy Hour, check-ins like Coffee and Conversation, ministry team and group meetings, religious education for children and youth each week, religious education for adults (All Souls United, Poetry, etc), meditation, physically distant volunteering, book clubs, movie watching, and more. There are many, many ways that you can become engaged or “plugged into” UUMAN whether you are very new to UUMAN or have been coming for many years.

To learn more about UUMAN including upcoming events, our Sunday service, education for adults and children and more visit our website at uuman.org or our UUMAN Facebook page. And by all means please reach out if you need help. We are all here to support each other, and we will all get through this together as a community and come out even stronger in the future!

I want to finish by thanking the Pandemic Task Force (Leslie Wolfe, Merri Beth Stephens, Wade Sellers and John Algren) for their work and efforts to keep us all safe during this most difficult and challenging time. With the task force help we will continue to monitor the situation and share updates. We will also be sharing and discussing this topic at the November 22nd Congregational Meeting, so I hope you will join us.

Peace, Love and GOTV,

Bob Popp
UUMAN Board of Trustee President

Email update from Bob Popp, UUMAN Board President on August 30th, 2020:

Dearest Fellow Members and Friends of UUMAN!

As my predecessor, Todd Callen, stated about five months ago – “What a strange and unprecedented time we are living in! Uncertainty reigns supreme and we are all collectively trying to navigate this new world which is dramatically changing each day. In moments like this, I am especially grateful for the community and connectedness that UUMAN provides, as I am sure you all are as well.” These words hold true today and most likely will hold true for the foreseeable future. And although the physical doors of UUMAN continue to be closed for gatherings, UUMAN continues to be an OPEN, vibrant and active Welcoming Congregation due to the passion and leadership of our staff and lay-leaders!

So where are we right now? We continue to hold services every Sunday (now hosted on YouTube), and we are meeting and connecting with our beloved community perhaps even more now than ever before with the help of virtual meeting technology.  Weekly gatherings include casual social hours, check-ins, ministry team and group meetings, religious education for adults and children, meditation, physically distant volunteering, book clubs, movie watching, and more. There are many, many ways that you can become engaged or “plugged into” UUMAN whether you are very new to UUMAN or have been coming for many years.

So while we are in this period of time where we are unable to meet face-to-face-in person, our community continues to thrive, coming together with the help of technology to build new relationships. Join us as we work to connect people, make new friends, and share our lives and our interests with each other.

To learn more about UUMAN including upcoming events, our Sunday service, education for adults and children and more visit our website at uuman.org or our UUMAN Facebook page. And by all means please reach out if you need help. We are all here to support each other, and we will all get through this together as a community and come out even stronger in the future!

Love,

Bob Popp

UUMAN Board of Trustee President

Update email from Todd Callen, UUMAN Board President on March 19th, 2020:

Dear Friends and Loved Ones,

What a strange and unprecedented time we are living in! Uncertainty reigns supreme and we are all collectively trying to navigate this new world which is dramatically changing each day. In moments like this, I am especially grateful for the community and connectedness that UUMAN provides, as I am sure you all are as well.

I promised an update last week after we decided as a Board to close UUMAN’s in-person service last Sunday, and since then, schools have closed, businesses have ceased certain operations, and more and more we are needing to social distance. It is clear to The Board that we must suspend in-person Sunday services and any in-person meetings or groups at UUMAN until further notice.

But with social distancing can come feelings of isolation, and it is critical we maintain our sense of community and “connectedness” throughout this period. As previously mentioned, Sunday sermons will continue virtually, and the appropriate web link will be provided each week so be on the lookout. Also, our Communications Team recommends Google Meet for easy access for both video and audio for virtual meetings. The Board encourages using these types of virtual meetings to stay connected with one another during these times. If your internet connection is poor, dial-in with a phone number. I have copied and reposted Phillip’s Google Meet instructions below.

Be safe and stay connected during this period of uncertainty. Don’t create unnecessary risks for yourselves and your families. Reach out if you need help. We are all here to support each other, and we will all get through this together as a community

Love,

Todd Callen

Board President

Letter from Todd Callen, UUMAN Board President on March 12th, 2020:

Dear UUMAN Members,

With recent events regarding the ongoing coronavirus situation, the Board has been discussing how to best manage our traditional services and keep our members as safe as possible. We first wanted to make sure everyone had access to the UUA recommendations here: https://www.uua.org/pressroom/press-releases/preparing-coronavirus-your-congregation.

Out of love and concern for everyone at UUMAN, as well our dedication to the common good of the larger community, the UUMAN Board has decided to suspend in-person services and meetings for this Sunday, March 15. This also includes cancellation of OWL and any other groups that meet on-site on Sunday. We are also closely monitoring the situation and will update the status of future Sundays shortly. As we know from the public health experts, the best way to contain the spread of COVID-19 is to limit the gathering of crowds before any cases in the community are discovered. To protect the most vulnerable among us, we all need to limit our contact. This truly is a “moving from ME to WE” moment.

The Board is looking at how to best broadcast a version of the Sunday sermons via video and audio so they can be viewed at home on a computer. We are looking at options such as Google Hangouts and Zoom. We would also encourage individual groups to set up remote capabilities (or at worst conference call capabilities) to allow flexibility for all of our individual UUMAN groups. We will announce to the congregation once we have this feature set up.

The Board takes its safety responsibility very seriously. As the UUA says, we want to make sure we are caring for our most vulnerable and keeping our exposure at a minimum. We also acknowledge that we cannot make UUMAN a 100% completely sanitized and safe place, so we want to make sure we are being most prudent during this time of uncertainty.

Family Promise will still continue, as it is our mission to care for others. We will be having the cleaning service do an extra deep cleaning this Sunday and we will be doing our best to keep UUMAN as clean as possible.

We recognize this is an inconvenience for all of us, but The Board takes its safety responsibility very seriously. As the UUA says, we want to make sure we are caring for our most vulnerable and keeping our exposure at a minimum. We also acknowledge that we cannot make UUMAN a 100% completely sanitized and safe place, so we want to make sure we are providing flexibility and options for our members and visitors.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Peace and Love,

Todd Callen
Board President