Communication – Page 63 – All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church of Shreveport, Louisiana

Announcement — Special Virtual Congregational Meeting (19 April 2020)

Please watch your emails for notice of a Special Virtual Congregational Meeting beginning in the next few days and lasting through Sunday (19 April 2020) at 3 PM.

On the Agenda:

Application for a small business loan through the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) for the purpose of paying our employees through the time that COVID-19 (Coronavirus) restrictions are in place.

You will receive via email a form which will allow you to vote for or against this loan application.

You may vote upon receipt of the form.

Or if you have questions, you may pose those questions at any time between now and 19 April 2020 using the church’s Slack channel using #board-agenda tag.

We will also hold a meeting via Zoom on Sunday (19 April 2020) at 1 PM where you may ask questions of the Board using Zoom (we will supply a link for this before the Zoom meeting).

The deadline for voting will be on Sunday (19 April 2020) at 3 PM.

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Email Scammers Targeting All Souls Members

The scammers are at it again.

During the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, our congregants are once again receiving scam emails that are fraudulent and that claim to be sent from our minister Rev. Barbara Jarrell.

The first one arrives as as brief cursory email saying “email me right back.”

Many people, seeing such a message from the pastor, are inclined to do as asked.

Please do not! Mark as spam and delete immediately.

If you missed the last round of scam warnings and have already responded to the first email and received the second asking for gift cards for cancer patients, coronavirus patients, anyone or any cause at all, do not send anything.

The fraudulent email sender may claim to be Rev. Jarrell or All Souls Board President Bennett Upton.

Rev. Jarrell and Bennett Upton did not send these emails.

These types of email are scams — please do not fall for the scam.

The Federal Trade Commission has more information on this type of scam on their web site.

Neither Rev. Jarrell nor anyone in congregational leadership at All Souls will ever ask you for money, gift cards, or anything like this for any reason.

We are grateful to the congregants who received it this time around and and took the time to let us know.

If you ever receive a pitch for donations that is not part of a pledge drive nor part of our monthly “Give Away the Plate” efforts, please do not reply to that address and do not send them anything.

Please do take the time to call, text, or email us at our legitimate email addresses and phone numbers which are available in all church materials and on our web site.

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Online Middle School / High School Check-In (29 March 2020)

Please join us online today (Sunday, 29 March 2020) at 2:00 PM for our weekly middle and high school check-in.

We will be meeting online using this Zoom link.

Our middle and high school youth will meet Sunday afternoon for an online check-in with Noah Wagstaff and Susan Caldwell.

We’re trying this again, getting the word out a little more widely this time.

We’ll see how everyone is doing, and also think about some other ideas for keeping the group connected online during this time.

We hope to see you Sunday afternoon.

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15 March 2020 Worship Livestreaming Video

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services.

This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats.

For our first attempt at livestreaming our worship, we have used Facebook Live.

You can find the 15 March 2020 worship video here.

Starting next week (22 March 2020), we will only have the online livestream worship to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our community and our community’s medical resources (this is known as “flattening the curve” and NPR explains why this is important here).

We will monitor the risks and make an evidence-based decision to resume in-person worship when it is appropriate.

We will announce that decision when it happens online through email announcements, social media, and our website.

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15 March 2020 Worship Service and Religious Education for Children and Youth

Please join us on Sunday (15 March 2020) at 11:00 AM for our worship service.

We will also be live-streaming this service using Facebook Live on our congregation’s Facebook page tomorrow at 11:00 AM.

This is our last Sunday of in-person services due to the recent COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

We encourage everyone to use discretion in your decision to attend or not based on your own personal health risk for yourself and others.

For at the two weeks starting next Sunday (22 March 2020), we will move to online services only at All Souls and will evaluate after that time if we should resume in-person classes and worship services.

For 15 March 2020, religious education classes for children and youth are offered during the 11:00 AM service. Children and youth attend the first 15-20 minutes of the service and then are dismissed to class.

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Carnival Art Market (9 February 2020)

Please join us for our Carnival Art Market this Sunday (9 February 2020) from 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM (with a break for the 11:00 AM worship service).

Just in time for Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras, we’ll have prints, jewelry, fabric art, delicious baked goods, and more!

Come and shop before and/or after church and invite your friends from other congregations (and no congregation) to do the same!

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Building and Grounds Work Day — 8 February 2020

Please join us on Saturday (8 February 2020) from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM for our monthly building and grounds work day.

For this month — new thrones for our All Souls royalty!

We have 7 new toilet seats for the bathrooms and we need folks with tools to undertake this most vital of missions.

We also need to clean and sanitize all the tables and chairs in the social hall and classrooms, and anything else we see that needs doing — outside (weather permitting) and inside.

Beyond basic cleaning and yard mowing, all of the work of maintaining our congregation’s physical space falls to us — the members and friends of All Souls.

We have tasks for all ages and abilities and you are welcome to help whether you can stay the entire time or for just an hour or so.

Can’t stay? Consider dropping off some breakfast or snacks for the work crew.

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2020 Pledge Drive

Send in your 2020 pledge form now or bring it to church this Sunday (29 December 2019).

For more than 70 years, All Souls has provided a home for liberal religion in Northwest Louisiana.

The church currently hosts a variety of activities — Sunday services, adult and children’s religious education, Buddhist meditation, yoga, Earth-Based Spirituality, and more.

All Souls is proud to be recognized as a Welcoming Congregation (Unitarian Universalist program for congregations that have done additional study and discernment around issues related to bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender equality).

We are also honored and thankful to be the host location for the monthly meetings of Louisiana Trans Advocates (Shreveport Chapter).

Your donation helps maintain and improve All Souls.

Thank you to all who support this congregation with your time, talent, and treasure.

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