11/1/2021 Your Reopening Team has a difficult update: Reopening Delayed

As of Monday, November 1, 2021. the level of COVID-19 risk and cases in our county is back to substantial risk level (orange), up from moderate (yellow). Of course, your Reopening Team is disappointed to see this.

Our congregational policy is that we will move toward the building (soft launch followed by celebration Sunday) when Alameda County has stayed at moderate risk (yellow) for three weeks. The increase in cases means that when the risk level goes back to moderate, we can go back to our plan to move toward the building. The countdown will restart then.

“Just as long as my heart beats, I must answer, “Yes,” to love;
disappointment pierced me through, still I kept on loving you.
If they ask what I did best, tell them I said, “Yes,” to love.”

This is challenging. I am not going to tell you that it’s not a big deal or that you should cheer up about it. We have been laboring a long time in pandemic conditions, and probably everyone is ready for reopening and what’s next. And even though it’s likely that we’re almost at levels safe enough for us to reopen, it’s not quite yet safe enough. The delay will also be a time when children between five and eleven years old newly have the opportunity to be vaccinated.

We continue to travel through uncertain times, but continue to do so together. Beloveds, call on your courage and your patience a little longer. If you have run out, borrow from a friend or this community, just as you would a cup of sugar from a neighbor. Nicholas Cole, a white writer from Los Angeles offers this reflection:

“People who give up on their goals stay entirely too attached to what their vision was at the onset, unwilling to compromise with the new information their journey has provided. They would rather chalk it all up as a failed venture than take what they’ve learned along the way, apply it, and allow their idea to change shape.”

The goal is safety and care. We will achieve it, but to do so, we must wait. If this turn of events leaves you wanting support, please reach out to the Pastoral Associates at pastoralcare@uuoakland.org.

Holding us each and all in care,
Pastor Ninán for the Reopening Team