Thoughts about Re-Opening for Worship at UUCMP

After 18 months of virtual online worship, many UUCMP members long to return to in-person worship. In late November, the air circulation system in the sanctuary and fireplace room will be upgraded to exceed minimum recommended standards. Once that step is complete, modified worship could potentially resume in the sanctuary. There are also plans to offer a livestreaming option for those who wish to watch from home. This survey is designed to assess your readiness to return to in-person worship in some form and the safety standards that will make you feel comfortable returning.

The Reopening Task Force’s building use policy requires all people 2 years old and older to be masked in the building and to maintain a 3-foot distance from people outside their household/bubble. In addition, the maximum attendance for worship in the sanctuary (and welcome hall) will be limited to 75 people, to maintain that 3-foot distance. For the near term, singing in person will not be allowed. Until children younger than 12 can be vaccinated, the Religious Exploration program will remain virtual.

Please respond to the following questions assuming the above policies are in place. We hope to have input from as many people as possible. The survey may be completed for your household, in which case, please indicate how many people (adults and older teens) are represented; alternatively, each adult (or older teen) may fill out the survey separately.

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* 1. How likely are you to attend meetings or worship in the church building if vaccination is strongly encouraged, but not required, for all attendees?

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* 2. How likely are you to attend meetings or worship in the church building if proof of either vaccination, or a negative COVID test result within the past 72 hours, is required for all attendees?

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* 3. How likely are you to attend a small group indoor meeting in person?

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* 4. How likely are you to attend a larger indoor gathering (20+) in person?

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* 5. How likely are you to attend worship in the sanctuary in person, with up to 25 people present?

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* 6. How likely are you to attend worship in the sanctuary in person, with up to 75 people present (the maximum allowable with a 3-foot spacing)?

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* 7. What additional precautions or conditions would be necessary before you are willing to return to in-person worship?

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* 8. When services begin in the sanctuary, a livestreaming option will be available for people to participate virtually.

Have you experienced our online virtual worship services during the past year?

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* 9. Given the choice, would you prefer to attend online virtual worship or in-person worship while the pandemic continues?

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* 10. If expectation for live attendance exceeds our capacity, we may need to have a signup system to limit attendance. How likely would you be to attend if preregistration were required?

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* 11. If you were to attend Sunday morning worship, would you be more likely to attend the 9:30 or 11:15 service?

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* 12. The current UUA guidelines specify no singing indoors for the time being, so no congregational singing would be allowed during our services. How will the lack of congregational singing affect your likeliness to attend in-person worship?

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* 13. Would you feel comfortable with a soloist or small ensemble singing in the sanctuary while wearing a mask and with a minimum 6-foot distance from congregants?

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* 14. If you have children younger than 12 years old, would you bring them back to worship and religious exploration classes once they are vaccinated?

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* 15. The worship team is considering offering small-group worship services during the week. These would likely be held in the sanctuary, with a maximum of 25 people, for a duration of no more than 30 minutes. They could be followed by a brief social time, indoors or outside. Would you be interested in attending a brief worship service one or more times a month?

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* 16. Are there any other offerings or format that would meet your needs for worship or community?

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* 17. Would you appreciate any of the following? (Please check all that apply)

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* 18. Are you able to offer any of the following? (please check all that apply)

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* 19. Are there any other suggestions, concerns or questions you have about our congregation and its offerings?

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* 20. Have you received a COVID vaccination? (This information will be held in confidence by the ministers.)

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* 21. Please complete the following so that we can follow up with you.

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