The Board Corner

From Board of Trustees President Peter Arian

Back in March, when this unprecedented period in congregational and world history began, our Board of Trustees and Senior Co-Ministers decided that we would close the doors at 67 Church St. and provide virtual programming. In June, we announced that the buildings and grounds remain closed until at least August 31 and the formation of a task force to help guide the reopening process. In the beginning of May, the Unitarian Universalists Association’s advice was that we should consider planning to remain virtual until May 2021. That seemed like an impossibly long period of time (the eternal optimist in me still thinks it is), but our experience since then has made it seem more plausible.

The UUCM Reopening Task Force includes: 

· David Hanley (Lead Greeter and HR professional)

· Jill Magioncalda (APRN FNP-BC, Internal Medicine Provider)

· John Carlton (Building and Grounds Lead)

· Stephan Schwander (M.D., Ph.D. Assoc. Prof., Rutgers School of Public Health)

· Rae Dumont (M.D., Pediatrician and Family Therapist)

· Nick Lewis (Board Member and Past UUCM Board President)

· Senior Co-Minister Rev. Scott Sammler-Michael

The Reopening Task Force has been meeting to discern how and when we can safely return to in-person programming. Our planning has included: increasing the use of technology so that we will be able to stream ALL major programming; looking into improving air flow, employing ultraviolet lighting, methods of social distancing and anything else that would permit us to reopen safely. 

Unfortunately, in an abundance of caution, we must report that there appears to be no possibility to reopen our building and grounds for any UUCM related programming in the near future. There are so many variables in the process of this pandemic that it would be disingenuous for us to predict when we might feel confident in reopening while protecting the health and safety of our staff and membership. The task force members and the board would have loved to suggest a more definite timetable, however, any predictions are impossible (or not warranted) at this point.

In the interim, I urge you to remain active in congregational activities, even if you are now completely sick of Zoom calls. It is so important for us to keep together and to continue to check in with each other. We will be in touch with periodic updates. I am available to discuss this or any other UUCM related issues by using https://calendly.com/uucmboardpresident/peter-arian to schedule.