Announcements

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  Worship on Sundays

  In-person regular Sunday morning worship is presently suspended due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. However, our church is still open because WE are the chuch. Each Sunday we still participate in LIVE, interactive worship on Zoom at 10am and you are welcome to join us. The details on how to join in each Sunday's virtual worship can be found below (and are usually posted by Friday morning). 

  What is Zoom worship like? Watch a recording of past Zoom worships HERE.

  Want to know what to expect at a typical in-person Sunday morning worship? Click HERE.

  Looking for our core beliefs and values? Click HERE.

   

• Leave Us Your Information!

  If you would like to be on our Zoom worship mailing list or leave us your contact information please click HERE.
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  This Sunday at UCCSV - 8/1/21

  While Pastor Holly is away for retreat and study time on Star Island, UCC Seneca Valley gets a chance to worship with one of our sister congregations, Hope UCC in Alexandria, VA. Pastor Amber Neuroth, who has preached with Holly before in a joint UCCSV/Hope UCC worship last fall, welcomes our church to their Zoom worship. Hope is also doing the Faces of our Faith worship series and this week's focus is on the story of Joseph of Arimathea. One of Hope's members, Laurie James, will be giving a testimony about the Rev. Anne Holmes being a face of her faith. Anne was the interim pastor here at UCCSV before Holly joined us so longtime members of UCCSV might find this testimony particularly meaningful. Hope's worship begins at 10:30am (and their Zoom room opens at 10am). This will be a communion service.

   

  Log in information is below:

  Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/179825419
  Meeting ID: 179 825 419
  Passcode: 6130

  Dial by your location
  +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
  +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
  +1 301 715 8592 US

  You can find the bulletin for this service here: https://hopeucc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/08_01_2021_OnlineBulletin.pdf
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  Faces of Our Faith Summer Worship Series

  There are many heroes of the faith, people we admire and wish to be. However, there are even more ordinary people of faith—those doing what they can with what they have to make a difference. This summer we'll explore bold stories of those often overlooked in our biblical narratives. Using visual art and prompts for reflection, we hope to dig deep into the worlds of these characters, entering their stories with curiosity and openness to what they might teach us. At the same time we wish to lift up the stories of modern faces of our faith, everyday people living out their beliefs whose experiences can teach us about our own. We'll also celebrate the faces of faith in our personal lives, those who taught us to have faith and those who mentor us towards deeper connection with God and the Spirit, through testimonies and pictures. Be a part of this worship experience and join us for Zoom worship this Sunday!

• When Will UCCSV Get Back to In-Person Worship?

  As vaccination rates in our area soar and the number of COVID cases continues to drop you may be wondering why our church is still worshiping online. Here's a few reasons why we're still only gathering on Zoom right now on Sunday mornings and some information about when we think that may change:

  1. We're still worshiping almost exclusively online because at the moment it's impossible for all the church to worship in the sanctaury at the same time. We also have no way to livestream the service or create a hybrid worship experience with the technology currently in our sanctaury. Our sanctuary still only holds less than 50 people if we practice social distancing. While many churches have stopped distancing, our church guidelines call for us to follow the 2 out of 3 rule. There are three ways to stop the spread of COVID. 1. Be outside 2. Distance 3. Wear masks. We must practice two out of three of these methods whenever we gather. If we are worshiping inside then we must continue to distance and stay masked. As long as we cannot all worship together, and we have no way to include others who cannot be there in person with an online option, we will continue to worship online as that is the most accessible worship option we have.

  2. Many of our congregation have told us that they are not yet ready to return to inside worship within a crowded sanctuary. We honor this conservative approach after the trauma of this past year. With limited staff and lay leadership we have to focus on the worship expereince that is presently most accessible to the largest numbers of people. Right now that continues to be Zoom.

  3. Can't you just worship outside? Yes. We have had two outdoor evening Vespers services for those who would like to worship in person. However, these are subject to issues with the weather and staffing. We are trying to offer an in person worship at least once a month as possible but this is only to supplement online worship, not to replace it.

  4. When do you anticipate being back in the sanctuary for Sunday worship? At this time the church is contracting with a company to significantly upgrade the audio and visual technology in our sanctuary in order to provide us with options for hybrid worship and livestreaming. We do not yet have a date for when this work will be finished. When the work is done we will phase in hybrid worship so that we can have in person distanced worship in the sanctuary AND be able to have people also join us online for Sunday morning worship at the same time. We will continue to record our worship for posting on the church website as well. We hope this will happen by late summer or early fall. We continue to try to adapt to this situation as things change. We appreciate your grace and patience. We encourage vaccinated worship goers to get together for Zoom worship watch parties at home or to gather and meet seperately in person to expereince that crucial sense of community and connection. Some of our ministry groups are also starting to meet in person either at the church or off site. Stay tuned for more information!