By Donna Johnson The new heroes of our sudden move to online Zoom services at WUUC are a dedicated group we lovingly call ZoomKeepers (thanks to Karen MacKenzie for this word), who serve as Zoom tech hosts each week, and ZoomMates (thanks to Jane Flood for this word) who serve as back up Zoom hosts each week.
Our current ZoomKeepers are Lanny Commeree, Jane Flood, Sarah Niwa, and David Goss-Grubbs. Winny Schnitzler, Karen MacKenzie and Ava Priest are ZoomKeepers in training. We are very grateful.
This intrepid group has figured out ways to make our services smoother each week as, behind the scenes, they follow a detailed script and switch rapidly between slides, music, and speakers. The group attends trainings and weekly practices and shares new ways to make Zoom work better for WUUC.
We have developed a ZoomKeeper training manual (huge thanks
to Lanny!!). Please let me know if you
too would like to be a ZoomKeeper/ ZoomMate.
What insights can or should we take from the presence of these environmental silver linings?
A few come to mind and I hope that you will take some time to consider others.
I suspect that the idea of telework will get quite a boost from this period in history. Telework is not a good fit in every situation, for sure, and it can be disruptive of home life. Yet, to the extent that it works, telework offers some relief from long commutes, heavy use of gasoline and associated emissions, and traffic-related tragedies.
Although Zoom and other video conferencing services are not perfect, they are certainly better than not interacting at all and they open possibilities for staying in community across distances and across health conditions that could not have been possible earlier. In some instances, it feels that Zoom and similar technologies can help us get better in taking turns in conversation and in bringing greater equity to patterns of conversation.
Videography of sermons and events is not perfect, but it is also better than not participating. Again, the technology opens possibilities for staying in community when distance or health do not permit in-person interaction.
That’s a short list, some of which are directly applicable to WUUC, and some to life more generally.
Take care and be as safe as possible under the circumstances.
By Chris Smith The name “Katherine” is a combination of the words “Kath” and “Er-In”. Neither of those words mean anything individually. But when you put them together, you form an amazing woman.
Katherine Smith was born somewhere in the boonies of Ohio, surrounded by a loving but certainly goofy family. But despite the uh… SUPER EXCITING happenings in Troy, Ohio, Katherine went to school at the University of Pennsylvania. (That’s the one known for academics, not football.) There Katherine met the love of her life… something called “abstract mathematics.”
Kate pursued that love throughout most of her life. First in
graduate school at the University of Washington, studying Computer Science, and
later at Microsoft where she now works as a Program Manager for the SQL Server
product.
Of course, abstract math won’t help you open jars or keep
you warm when it is a — at least to Katherine — chilly 77 degrees out. So she
decided to get married to a guy named Chris.
Now, her heart is no longer stirred by “formal operational semantics,” but instead by her “Smith boys”: Grant (5), Neil (3), and Chris (no seriously, the legos are for the kids, put those down).
Katherine is a kind, loving woman who strives to fill her family with the same sense of love and goofiness that she grew up with. (Although in a much more awesome place than “wherever” Ohio.)
She is thrilled to become member of WUUC, and relishes the sense of tight-knit community. All of her Smith boys love her greatly, and are confident that you — the WUUC congregation — will love her too.
From the WUUC Worship Team UU’s are a ”people of liberation.” We can profit from interpreting the many holidays that occur during the month of April through our UU traditions.
The Rev. Suzelle Lynch of the Unitarian Universalist Church West in Brookfield, Wisconsin writes, “Our freedom to find inspiration in many different sources is breathtaking and cherished… What it means is that in our congregation, we are liberated from the tyranny of “one right path.” An atheist might share a hymnal with a person who believes in God as the “spirit of life,” and a humanist might drink coffee after the service with someone who believes in reincarnation and the power of prayer. A person who finds great comfort in the teachings of Jesus might serve on the Board of Trustees with someone who maintains a steady practice of Buddhist meditation, or one single person might equally value both of these things.”
May you find inspiration in these ideas created from many traditions and sources.
Passover: “We are liberated together and liberation takes time.” Easter: “Loss and defeat never have the last word. We can be liberated from hopelessness.” Earth Day: “Saving the Earth is saving us. Our interdependence liberates us.” Ramadan: “Make room for and remember what matters most. We are liberated from the material into the spiritual world.”
Additionally, in this time of stress caused by the unknown impacts that may be experienced from the COVID – 19 virus, may you experience moments of liberation from the isolation, anxiety and concern you may be feeling.
By Donna Johnson Being part of WUUC’s first online worship service on Sunday, March 8 was an amazing experience. On Wednesday afternoon, March 4, the health department recommended avoiding large in-person gatherings as a way of minimizing exposure to coronavirus. By Thursday, WUUC staff, worship team members, musicians, tech savvy people, and others were swinging into action:
? The previously planned service with its interactive and experiential components just wasn’t going to work in an on-line format, so we developed a new service that included Soul Matters resources for the themes of Wisdom, Courage, Persistence and Resilience and familiar hymns for singing along at home.
? Staff and volunteers came to church on Saturday to develop and test a plan for setting up the pulpit area and the technology.
? The special music musicians, our new choir director, the chair of the minister search committee, stewardship leaders, and a stewardship testifier all agreed to show up in person on Sunday.
? All these people came to church early on Sunday (on the day we switched to daylight savings time no less), and because of all the planning and practice, the service came together beautifully.
? At 10 a.m. all of us at church were pleased-as-punch to see that members of the congregation were joining us from home.
? At the end of the service, the church crew applauded and virtually high-fived each other, and many of the people who joined from home stayed online to enjoy each other’s company in a virtual coffee hour.
Thank you to Bridget Laflin, Karen Hyams, Rachel Eddy, Mark Apland, Phil Archibald, Rebecca Guthrie, Kambria Tabor, Rob Katz, Lanny Commeree, Ava Priest, Kermit Sprang, Matt Smith, Terry Levitt, Lori Varosh, Rev. Diana Smith, and others who helped to make this service happen.
