The national setting of the United Church of Christ continues to provide support and guidance to local churches, associations, and conferences during this global pandemic. Below are two of the most recent messages: one from the national officers, and one from our very own Barbara Baylor, the UCC Disaster Ministries’ Health Liaison and member of First Congregational in Atlanta.
“We are with you”
A Letter to Our Churches from the Officers of the United Church of Christ
“Dear Friends in Christ, We send this with the magnitude of our emotions written large on the surfaces of our hearts, minds, bodies, and spirits. We feel deep pain, loss, and anguish on our collective behalf for all that we have experienced in the last two months. Worship in our sanctuaries has come to a sudden halt. Jobs and incomes have been threatened, if not lost. Loved ones have suffered or died from a hidden enemy for which there is no current remedy.
“Our sheltering in place is exhausting. For many of us the loss of human contact, the drudgery of unchanging surroundings, our inability to frequent places that brought joy to our lives, and the call to adapt overnight to overwhelming change are taking a toll.”
Read the full letter on the UCC website: https://www.ucc.org/news_commentary_we_are_with_you_04282020
Strengths, weaknesses of new federal guidelines on “reopening”
“Last Thursday, the U.S. government issued new guidelines on “Opening Up America Again.” I think they are a good start – with some gaps and caveats, chiefly that they won’t do any good if we don’t follow them!
“I live in Georgia – a state that already has begun to “reopen.” Am I being assured the protections I need? How much risk am I willing to take when guidelines based on science are being ignored and politics and a few protesters are driving the re-openings?”
Barbara provides a brief recap of the criteria to be satisfied before proceeding to phased reopening: https://www.ucc.org/daily_covid_19_brief_issue_26
