2020-02-27

From the Sabbatical Minister - February 27, 2020

Taking Care of Our Health


Questions swirl around in our minds and hearts, sometimes wildly so:

How can we keep ourselves safe? 
How can we keep those we love safe? 
How can we keep others safe? 

With news of the rise of the novel corona virus and its spread to these shores, these questions take on new meaning and urgency.  

At this time, there is no confirmed case near us. Still, it is good to practice caution and resilience. 

With that in mind, there are things we can all do; here are some practical tips to care for yourselves and each other:

  • If you haven’t yet gotten a flu shot, please do – while there is currently no immunization for this virus, improving your immune system is always useful.
  • If you are sick, stay home - from work, from school, from CUUC. You care not only for yourself this way, you care for those with whom you would have come into contact.  Not everybody you encounter has a strong immune system.  Consider the impact of your germs on others.
  • Reach out by phone or email to let someone know you are ill ~ whether that be a member of the Caring and Sharing Circle or me (Rev. Kimberley).  Just because you are sick doesn’t mean you have to be isolated.
  • Wash your hands often - ideally with non-anti-bacterial soap and running water.  If that is not available, then used an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. (There are bottles of hand sanitizer located all over the building.)
  • Maintain a social distance of three or more feet from someone who is coughing or showing other symptoms; check in with that person to see if they need help to ensure they are getting what they need to recover.
  • Opt for non-tactile ways of greeting one another – instead of hugs and handshakes, wave, elbow bump, use ‘the Force’, say 'Namaste', etc.
  • Notice how often you touch your face – we all touch our faces way more than you would ever think. Your awareness may help reduce this behavior, which is one of the ways any virus is spread.
  • Stock up on your regular medications (prescription and over the counter) – this will help both if you can’t get to a pharmacy for a long period of time, of if supply lines from China (where most of our medications are made) are delayed.  
As always, contact the Caring and Sharing Circle for any needs you may have.


At this time, there is no sign that there will be reason to panic in Westchester County; however, if the virus does spread such that government offices and schools close, we will look at closing as well, and if needed, will hold services online. 

Helen Keller once noted that, “security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of [humanity] as a whole experience it.”  This can be a hard truth to face. Yet there might be a different kind of safety. As Rev. Karen Johnston, minister at The Unitarian Society in East Brunswick, NJ, wrote, “there is a kind of safety –  a kind of well-being – we can craft: one that is worthy of our attention in an uncertain world. It is the safety that comes from living into connection – among those you claim as kin with the joy and power of deep radical inclusion; with neighbors in your proximity, known and yet to be known; in communities you cherish and sustain, and which cherish and sustain you.”

Lastly, if your anxiety about this, or anything else going on in the world, is at a breaking point, or just feeling too much, you are not alone. Reach out to someone you trust.  Risk connection.  Make some time to hang out with me.  

We’re all in this together.

~ Rev. Kimberley

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