Dear FUUSN community

Over the past couple of months the Operations Council, Board of Trustees, and FUUSN staff have continued to monitor developments and progress in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. We have reviewed guidance provided by our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), the Massachusetts Public Health Department, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and various public health experts.

In light of the continuing spread of COVID-19 and the surrounding uncertainty we have made the difficult decision to plan for virtual operations at least through May 2021. While we recognize that all of us would like to be able to gather in-person, we do not believe that it is safe for us to do so. Our decision is grounded in our UU values of care and concern for all our members and the desire that all of us be able to participate equally in congregational life. We recognize too that we are part of an interdependent web and that our actions can affect more than just ourselves.

While we are planning for virtual operations throughout the church year, we will continue to monitor the pandemic in Massachusetts, notably progress in testing and contact tracing and the development of treatments and vaccines. We will reassess in November and then again in March to determine whether any types of in-person gatherings may be possible.

Our staff are working diligently to develop creative ways to expand our level of inclusion and engagement in virtual congregational life. The Operations Council will review the myriad of activities that occur over the church year and work with committees to see how we might adapt to virtual programming. We invite you all to contribute ideas about how we can strengthen engagement within the community as we move forward virtually.

We will send all updates via e-mail and facebook. All information will be posted on FUUSN’s website: www.fusn.org

Erin Splaine, Minister
Chris Krebs on behalf of the Board of Trustees
Susan Bartlett on behalf of the Operations Council