Have you been enjoying the YouTube services this year? We certainly hope you have taken time on Sunday or any time, at your leisure, to watch our services. 

Sunday Service Team has members who are very interested in providing topical and timely messages for you and the public. We meet regularly, now actually more often via Zoom since the church has shut its doors. Members in-clude Paula Montgomery, Rob Pallme, Dolly Berthelot, Laura Keith King, Nancy Hagman, Thom Botsford, Rev. Alice and myself, Marylee Donnelly. 

During this time of virtual services, we have depended on Rev. Alice and Laura Keith King. Rev. Alice hit the ground running by making sure we had consistent quality. At the beginning of this journey, she enlisted her grand-son, Alessio. Sometimes the younger you are, the more knowledge you have when creating video content. We are very grateful for this start. The amount of time and effort putting together our first foray into virtual church had a steep learning curve. Rev. Alice took this challenge and really made the magic happen. 

This summer, Rev. Alice took time off to regenerate. This did not mean to rest. During these last few weeks of needed rest, she continued to work. She participated in SE UU Summer Institute (SUUSI) and signed up for a pro-gram called Worship Design Studio. All of this effort is meant to help UUCP continue to provide meaningful, thoughtful services. I think this is called a busman’s holiday (look it up). 

While Rev. Alice was working on gaining more options for our virtual services, Laura Keith King and her daughter, Stephanie Ball (of Creative Fuel Co.) took over the programing. This is not an easy task. There are many parts to a service that cannot be done ‘on the fly’. The speaker’s talks, music, opening/closing, chalice lighting and credits all need to be edited to make a service that you will enjoy and learn. The production takes hours of time. Every piece is dependent on the other. It’s not an assembly line, it’s a collaboration. Every piece is important. 

We are all learning new skills. I am very proud and grateful for all the effort and skill given to this important time. We are all the better for this. 

We are always open to suggestions and if you have an interest in sharing your skills of video editing or producing, we’d love to know.