Sedona UU Fellowship resumed having In-Person Sunday services on September 12th in the sanctuary at JCSVV (“the synagogue”). We are excited to be able to meet together again in their beautiful sanctuary with our new minister, Rev. Anthony Mtuaswa Johnson. However, in order to do so safely, we need to temporarily change the way we would normally do things.
Due to the on-going pandemic and our region’s high infection rate, JCSVV (Jewish Community of Sedona & Verde Valley) has implemented several safety measures that SUUF will benefit from and also follow, including:
NEWLY INSTALLED HEPA AIR SCRUBBING SYSTEM – JCSVV has invested in air filtration to clean the air of viruses throughout the building.
HAND SANITIZING STATIONS – at the entrance and other locations.
MASKS REQUIRED – Note: disposable blue surgical masks are provided and required for attendance – OR – You may use your own N95 mask instead, or double mask (I.e. cloth mask + JCSVV surgical mask) if you wish. As of January 2022, SUUF has begun to provide KN-95 masks for the highest level of protection to those attending our in-person services.
VACCINATION (with booster) is STRONGLY REQUESTED – Since we are also offering our services online, we strongly request that our unvaccinated members enjoy the service online, instead of attending in-person. The online service will be available via our YouTube channel by the following weekend.
SOCIAL DISTANCING – Seating is no longer taped off, but to ensure at least 6-ft social distance between parties, please leave 2 seats empty between yourself and the next group or individual. Maximum attendance is 60 people.
Additionally, SUUF is implementing our own safety protocols, based on UUA Guidelines, including:
NO LIVE SINGING OR SINGALONGS. For now, our Musician, Susannah Martin, will continue to provide our music in video form, even at our In-Person services. This is because of the additional risks involved in aerosol spread through singing. To this end, we will have a large screen TV monitor for us to enjoy Susannah’s music as well as the music of other performers. SUUF will also hold off on any congregational singalongs until it is safe to do so. For Sundays when Susannah may not be with us, we look forward to having live instrumental music.
LIMITED LIVE SPEAKERS, except MINISTER and PRESIDENT. Our Readings will be presented via video, for now, or by a single speaker. The minister and featured guest presenters will be the only unmasked speakers during our services.
SUUF is implementing a ‘NO-HUGS OR HAND SHAKES FOR NOW’ policy. We hope to be able to get back to our affectionate greetings soon, but for now, the risk of even vaccinated folks spreading or getting the virus is too great for us to be in close contact.
NO GREETERS at the Door. Additionally, we have limited our outreach to new prospective members & friends, for the time being.
SUUF members will also TAKE OUR SOCIALIZING OUTSIDE after the service, instead of using the indoor spaces for speaking in groups.
ONLINE SERVICE AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE. The live service will be video-recorded and edited for viewing online. It will be available on our YouTube channel by the next Sunday, in consideration of the extra time and effort required to maintain the quality of our “virtual services” that we’ve become accustomed to during the past year. SUUF Members & Friends will receive an email with the link to the video of the service, and the link will also be posted on our website as soon as it’s available.
(initially posted Sept 2021 with revision on Nov 4, 2021)