A note from Bill Harlan
This Sunday (November 1) we’re trying an experiment. It’s a three-part plan. We’ll take a virtual road trip from Columbus to a livestream service in Atlanta at Georgia’s largest UU church, then return to Columbus—virtually, of course—for our own Q&A session.
Rev. Taryn Strauss of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta (UUCA) personally invited our Fellowship to join them on Sunday for her sermon titled “Being a Good Ancestor.” She describes it as “focused on the election along with what it means to be a good ancestor.” Rev. Strauss added, “If you all join our livestream, we would specifically welcome you and mention you.”
I liked the idea. Ellen and I often watch the UUCA services on YouTube. We love Rev. Strauss’s talks. The UUCA music is great. And with a number of Turner Broadcasting professionals in their congregation, they produce a live service every Sunday that’s fun to watch. We’re learning from them.
The UUCA livestream starts at 11 a.m., but we are not skipping our own live service on Zoom. Here’s our three-part plan:
- At 10:45 a.m. join our standard Sunday Service Zoom link for short announcements and coaching on how to get to UUCA’s livestream on YouTube. (We’ll have a short edition of Joys and Concerns.)
- At 11 a.m. (or a little before), you can leave our Zoom conversation and click the YouTube link (here and in the graphic below) to join the UUCA service. It’s on YouTube, not Zoom, so joining is easier. You don’t need an account, a Meeting ID or a password. Just click the link or the graphic below.
- At noon (or thereabouts) we’ll return to our own Sunday Service Zoom link to discuss the service, the election or anything else. UUCA services sometimes run long. Not to worry. We’ll keep our Zoom link open during the service Atlanta. Someone (most likely me) will be monitoring our Zoom conversation if you have questions or trouble getting to the UUCA service.
You can, of course, skip our Zoom meetings, either before or after the service, and just watch the UUCA service. But please do join us. Tell us what you thought about the experiment, and use this time to connect one last time before the election.
Rev. Strauss, by the way, knows our Fellowship. In the early 2000s she slept on our floor at our old Double Churches Road home with other protestors demonstrating for human rights at the School of the Americas here. I had contacted her to ask permission to use some of her pre-recorded sermons on Sundays we can’t find speaker. She readily gave her permission—we’ll like use some of them—but she also made the kind offer to welcome us this Sunday.
I’ll admit to trepidation about this plan. There are moving parts. Some of our members and friends are not thrilled about meeting online—especially on Zoom but even on YouTube. I prefer in-person services, too, but our Fellowship is not ready for that. i hope you will give this experiment a chance. And if you don’t like Zoom video, you can join our Sunday Zoom services by telephone. Call 1 646 558 8656, then enter the Meeting ID (929 9483 158) and Password (173326).
To recap: click the graphic below to be taken to the UUCA livestream service. Before then, the link will take you to the UUCA YouTube channel, where services are archived. It’s worth a look. I hope to see you Sunday.