Dear Beloved Friends,

Last Sunday was a glorious, giddy day as we held our first in-person service since March 2020, after a full 92 weeks of only online services. The return was not without its bumps (the internet went out at the church only moments before the service was meant to begin!), and we learned a few things that we didn’t know about how best to offer inclusive multi-platform services. There is surely more that we will learn as we continue on.

It pains me to tell you that the CovidActNow.org risk level has returned to Very High, with the number of cases for Pierce County spiking again to nearly 30 cases a day per 100,000, well above the level we had agreed would be safer for in-person worship. We will be back to only online worship again this Sunday, and will continue to monitor the situation in anticipation of our next return to the sanctuary for multi-platform worship.

I don’t have to tell any of you how challenging the pandemic has been on all levels of our community and the wider world. The isolation, the fear of infection, the limitations: all of it has been hard. It is the rare individual and the rare organization that have weathered this without some measure of disruption. The Board, the staff, and I continue to work to find the way to whatever it is comes next for us, and we are all grateful for you who have been around, who have lent a hand, who have attended services, and who continue to support TUUC.

As we continue to ride the waves of the global crisis, I’m glad that we’re together still.

In faith and love,

Linda