Social Justice Call to Action Meeting: Black Lives Matter Statement

August 2, 2020
11:30 AM on Zoom
Social Justice Call to Action Meeting

Black Lives Matter Statement to be voted on:

Holston Valley Unitarian Universalist Church denounces all forms of institutional racism and cultural violence. We stand in ongoing solidarity with Black people, indigenous people, and people of color harmed by both past and present injustices.

The recent vigilante and police killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Rayshard Brooks, among others unnamed and unacknowledged, represent the system of white supremacy. We decry and mourn their sufferings, as well as the conditions that produce such acts.

Peace and equity are often difficult to achieve under conditions of deep injustice. We must all work to eliminate racism in our families, our neighborhoods, and our places of work and worship by first learning to make changes in ourselves.

As Unitarian Universalists, our first Principle affirms the worth and dignity of every person. Keeping this always in our consciousness, we invite all church members, congregants, and friends of the church to pause with deep self-reflection on the ways in which we are called to confront and combat these forces.

At Holston Valley Unitarian Universalist Church we must help create a beloved community where Black Lives Matter.

July 26th Kids Coffee Hour

Please join us for Kids Coffee Hour on Sunday, July 26th at 10:00AM!
Follow the link below to register.

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: July 26, 2020 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsd-utqT4tGtfCdxKF8mhNX1Rm9BkeFxpA

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting

Board of Trustees Votes that Virtual Services Continue

The Board of Trustees (BoT) voted to continue to hold virtual services and church-wide activities online through September 30, 2020.

We are watching the Covid-19 cases in our area and will decide at our August BoT meeting about extending this decision through October. The following Gathering Guidelines for small groups at our facilities (inside and outside of buildings) continue to apply.

Gathering Guidelines for Inside and Outside Church Facilities:

We strongly recommend continuing to use online forums for small group/committee/team meetings. However, the HVUUC Board has voted to allow people on site for activities that must be held in person, e.g. work groups.

• Only 1 group may meet at a time inside the church building. To schedule your meeting or workgroup and make sure other groups aren’t already scheduled, please contact Karyn at office@hvuuc.org to reserve your group on the church calendar. You can check the calendar to make sure there aren’t conflicts at: https://localendar.com/public/hvuuchurch

  • To locate the church calendar from the church website (hvuuc.org), go to the "News & Events" menu and select the 3rd item, "Church Calendar of Events and Meetings,” from the drop-down menu

Additional Guidance:

• No children’s activities allowed at this time.

• Please do not bring children to any activity happening at the church.

• Groups of 10 people and less

  • No more than 1 meeting of 10 people or less inside the church building.

  • No more than 10 people in any 1 area of the outside property for workdays. For example, the entrance garden.

  • Whenever practical, work projects should be divided into small groups or individuals.

• The Fred Ball room (fellowship hall), sanctuary, and deck are the only meeting areas that are open for use. The REZ is still off limits for meetings.

  • People doing work projects may enter other locations, but must maintain at least 6 feet of distance while inside.

• Must wear a face mask (please bring your own)

  • When working alone outside a face mask is not required. Face masks are required when working in groups of 2 or more.

  • Anyone in the building must wear a mask.

• Must wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds upon entering buildings, or use hand sanitizer and let air dry. Hand sanitizer is in several locations (foyer, kitchen, REZ), to be used as needed.

• Continue keeping a distance of 6 feet between people of different households.

  • This is especially for inside activities but should also be adhered to when outside as much as possible.

• Whenever possible do not share work tools. If sharing occurs, wipe down handles with disinfecting wipes before returning the tool.

• Meals should be sack or box lunches, no family style meals, ie pizza. No water coolers or other communal drinking, ie punch. Maintain 6 feet of distance during meals.

• If you are ill, have a fever/cough, are someone who is at increased risk, or traveled to endemic areas infected with COVID-19, please stay home and enjoy online content and fellowship.

• Must clean commonly touched hard surfaces like door handles, light switches, counter tops, metal surfaces (chair backs), etc., when finished.

  • Please use the cleaning wipes and/or bleach solution and paper towels in the foyer, kitchen, and REZ for cleaning/disinfecting after each visit.

Online services (on YouTube) will continue during this time. Virtual Religious Education (RE) activities for preschool through 12th grade, will continue. Please register your children at: https://hvuuc.org/religious-education-registration-form

If your small group/committee/team would like to use Zoom, find instructions on how to request a Zoom meeting at this link.

Private, Small-group Zoom Meetings

If your small group needs to hold a meeting, you can request time in the Zoom Room. This is for private, small-group meetings like committee meetings, small group ministry meetings, etc. This is when the link is only being shared with a small group of people by email and not being made public such as on the website or Facebook.

To request a meeting follow these steps:

1. Click this link to the church calendar, which is under the “News & Events” tab of the church website, to see if the Zoom Room is available during the time you are requesting. (Zoom meetings are in bright blue)

   • Please allow 30 minutes between meetings

2. Go to the Zoom Meeting scheduling form under the “News & Events” tab on the church website. All the fields on the form are required.

   • Meeting Title

   • Name of Group Requesting

   • Group Contact Name

   • Group Contact Email

   • Group Contact Phone Number

   • Meeting Date (verify this time is available on the calendar)

   • Meeting Start Time (make sure there are 30 minutes between meetings)

   • Meeting Duration

3. After you submit the form, you will receive an acknowledgement.

4. After the office schedules the meeting, you will receive an email with the Zoom invitation (which includes the meeting link) and a document with instructions.

5. Forward this email with the attachment to all the people who will be attending the meeting. SAVE THIS EMAIL.

6. Please request your meeting at least 2 days before you need to notify your participants. PLAN AHEAD.