Reaching Out With Our Hearts (When We Can’t Reach Out With Our Hands)

What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.

And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.

Promise this world your love--
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.

“Pandemic” by Lynn Ungar, 3/11/20

Dear Beloved Community,

Let me start by making it clear that I have never pastored a church through a pandemic. And it’s not something I learned how to do in Seminary. That being said- I know you. And I know that we will move into this unprecedented challenge together with our Kindom of God values held closely in our hearts- even if we can’t touch each other with our hands.

It has been hard for many of us to know how exactly to respond to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) for many reasons. One of the biggest issues is that available information and recommendations have been changing so rapidly. This week UCC Pastors and NCNC Staff discussed online and in Conference calls what our community response should be. After gathering information, I spoke with UCH leadership about next steps- and by yesterday (Thursday), when Bible Study had an animated discussion about all of this, the responses that many churches had talked about taking felt completely outdated. In another telling example, on Tuesday, we met with representatives from our son’s school and were assured that the kids, teachers, and schools were safe and would stay open; and then just an hour ago we received word that Oakland Unified School District will be closing until April 5- I doubt Hayward Unified School District will be far behind

With increasing urgency, from the California Department of Health, we are being encouraged to practice something called “social distancing.” This means that we should limit any unnecessary physical interactions, and as much as possible we should keep a 6-10 foot distance from other people We are also called to wash hands regularly, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or elbow, and refrain from touching our faces. (For those of us who wear glasses that is a particularly maddening challenge) This makes much of what we do at UCH challenging.

I must admit, as your Minister and Teacher, and knowing our Beloved Community, I had a strongly negative reaction to the idea of social distancing. But as I have reflected on these instructions from the medical and scientific communities pastorally and theologically this week, my reaction has shifted. You know I will be the first to remind us that our faith calls us to cast out our fear. And fear and anxiety has been circulating around us like San Francisco summer fog lately—some justified and some not. But I realize now that the need to create social distance; to cancel travel plans, to work from home, to avoid large events, to practice more rigorous personal hygiene is not primarily fear based. instead, these things are important theological callings to love our neighbors as ourselves and to serve the “least”—the most vulnerable—among us. To do these things effectively, we are called relinquish our notion that our individual needs and desires (or even the needs and desires of our congregation) take precedence over the common good. In other words, we must allow our personal routines to be disrupted for the well-being and for the sakes of others who may be more vulnerable to this virus than we are. All that I have been reading indicates that the best defense that vulnerable populations have against COVID-19 is for healthy people to take serious, precautionary measures to protect the community—halting the disease in its tracks- we are called to use our relative health as a human shield to prevent others from falling ill.

So, it is in this Spirit that I invite us disrupt our regular routines and to adopt some new practices that will enable us to live more deeply into the values of love and service that Jesus taught us—and hopefully help contain the Coronavirus outbreak as much as possible.

We WILL have our worship service on Sunday (March 15). We will be making adjustments to our Passing of the Peace (No Touching), Offering (Deacons minimizing touching the plates- we will not pass them), and Fellowship (We will gather for conversation- But won’t share food during Fellowship) I also want to give us a chance to share feelings during our sermon reflection time and to check in with one another before the Council makes pivotal decisions about the rest of our Lenten trajectory in coming days.

As you enter the church on Sunday, I invite you to please go to the bathroom or kitchen and wash your hands. You can also disinfect your hands with the hand sanitizer that will be available. Greet one another with a smile, a bow, an imaginary high-five, an elbow (not hard football fans), or a “Namaste.” (No hugs or handshakes for now). We will also be practicing social distancing. So, spread out and sit apart from each other. I know these things feel strange. But they are also acts of love and service in this challenging time.

I also want to encourage you to do what is safest and best for you and your family. If you have the slightest question about your or others’ vulnerability, stay home. That may be the most loving Spiritually centered thing you can do right now.

As decisions regarding our community life together are made by UCH Leadership, you will be informed by email, phone call, or text. I know how important it is for many of us to meet together in the same space. So although cancelling our worship, and other events such as Scripture Seekers Bible Study, Healing Group, Community Night, Care Team Retreat, and Choir Practice together is a last resort, I am apprising you now that it will likely become necessary- And we will be experimenting with digital technology that will allow us to form community in new ways when this happens.

In the meantime, if you have concerns, or need a listening ear, do not hesitate to call, text, or email me (510) 290-5568 or revjeanne@uchucc.org. We are on this journey together. And when germs keep us from reaching out our hands to one another in this wilderness- we will “center down” and “reach out our hearts- for better or for worse, for richer and for poorer, and in sickness and in health.”

I am truly blessed to serve as your Minister and Teacher. With Love, Light, Well-Washed Hands, and Warmest Regards, -Rev Jeanne